2023 Jarvis Creek Park - Master Naturalist Birding

Landmark Live Oak by Liggett Lake

My first visit to the 53-acre Jarvis Creek Park came on March 24 with the Lowcountry Master Naturalist bird walk led by Jenn Clementori. I was pleased to find that the City of Hilton Head owned the park and preserved the land, essentially what surrounds a large body of water named Liggett Lake. A very special live oak sitting on a peninsula that juts into the lake is where our birding walk began. I noticed a handsome male bluebird hovering by the trunk of the live oak tree, and after raising my optics for a closer look, I spotted a rat snake high in the tree presumably hunting for bird nests. We saw other birds appear to fly by the snake and issue a verbal warning to all the other birds that a predator was present.

Great Blue Heron using natural camo

Our walk around the lake hardly started when a green heron and a great blue heron were observed. An osprey perched high in a pine tree with a fish was our first raptor. Pied-billed grebes and gallinules in the lake grabbed our attention, and yellow-rump warblers teemed along the woodline. Several alligators could be seen sunning, along with some yellow-bellied slider turtles. An anhinga was sunning his wings nearby too. Cardinal, titmouse, blue jay and other common birds were spotted, but the most active birds were the blue-grey gnatcatchers we saw. The grand finale came when an immature bald eagle soared above, which drew an attack from an osprey, which excited a crow to come join in the chase. Lots of action!

Rat Snake in Oak Tree

To view Field Trips from 2023 click on Bio Blitz at Caw Caw -  Yawkey Wildlife Center - Botany Bay WMA - Pinckney Island NWR - ACE Basin NWR Combahee Unit

To view Field Trips from 2022 click on  Palmetto Buff Christmas Bird Count - Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary - Bailey Mill Plantation - Niederhoff Seed Orchard - Hunting Island State Park - Botany Bay WMA - Nemours Wildlife Foundation - Cumberland Island - Harbor Island - Silver Bluff/Audubon - Phinizy Swamp - Oldfield Plantation - Dolphin Head Beach - Bear Island WMA - Widgeon Point Preserve - Port Royal Sound Foundation - Parris Island