Lowcountry outdoors: 2022 Nemours Wildlife Foundation

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

2022 Nemours Wildlife Foundation - Spring Birding

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks circle the pothole

The birding expedition led by biologist Beau Bauer began at 9 a.m. and started out in an open air wagon towed behind a pickup truck. With droughty conditions in place, this trip around the grounds at Nemours Wildlife Foundation brought a little more uncertainty. But once again the bird species seem to be able to tolerate both dry and wet conditions equally, and the total number of bird species encountered this day was over 50, which is about the normal amount.

Cormorant on the dock

Our stop at a brackish water impoundment was quick to yield several species of birds right around the dock including cormorant, barn swallow and least tern. A bald eagle was situated in a towering pine and simply overlooking the whole scene of gallinules, wood ducks and wading birds that reside here. Of course other wildlife can be spotted when everyone has optics handy and several alligators were located, plus a grasshopper and dragonfly.

The final leg of our trip before noon saw the birding friends carpool to a place on the property that was off the beaten path, behind a gate, and filled with water despite the dry conditions. This place proved to be the motherlode of unique species for our day which included the prothonotary warbler and black-bellied whistling ducks. Wood ducks and great blue herons were also in this swamp filled with green duckweed on the water's surface. A brief tailgate gathering finished our day, just long enough to enjoy home-made brownies and chex mix that allowed us a moment to reflect, before getting on with the remainder of a long summer day.

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