2024 Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center with Patrick McMillan

The Hammock Coast Birding Festival sponsored by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce took place Feb. 8 - 11 in calm, cloudy and mild conditions. Noted botanist and birder Patrick McMillan came to speak to the attendees during a Friday night supper at Pawley's Plantation, and then he went into the field on Saturday at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. SCDNR manager Jamie Dozier and SCDNR's Jim Lee greeted the 28 birders that would take a brief boat ride from the Belle Isle Landing over to Cat Island, before boarding two vans that would take them to red hot birding spots deep within the Santee Delta.

Shorebirds Buzz the Birders at Yawkey Feb. 10

Patrick McMillan educating Birders about Plants

We spotted a flock of seven wild turkeys free ranging in an open field on the way to a stop at managed wetlands that was busy with migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds and raptors too. Dunlin and dowitchers buzzed around inside the open water areas, while the shorebirds patrolled the shallow muddy edges. The highest number of birds were waterfowl, with 1000 gadwall and widgeon using that far side of the main pond at this stop, and they were under continuous observation from bald eagles passing overhead, which made them pick up and fly around multiple times.

The second stop on this tour is the 'blackout' site, and the discussion about rice culture blossomed, while watching more waterfowl and looking for rails. SCDNR's Jim Lee knows the history of the Yawkey Center and provided details on the chimney that still stands today, while Patrick McMillan had a chance to pick a few local plants and educate others about what their botanical footprint means to the Lowcountry. McMillan told me that Spanish moss is quite possibly maintains its heaviest presence along the Georgia / South Carolina coastal plain, and that it simply exists on trees, and is not a hindrance in any way.

To view past blog entries from the Yawkey Center click on 2023 Winter Birding - 2023 Fall Birding -  2023 Formula For Success - 2023 Winter Photo Safari -  2018 Walk Through History - 2016 Birding Tour - 2015 Shorebirds with Manomet - 2015 Yawkey Legacy Story 

1000 Waterfowl (or more) at Yawkey Feb. 10

Any trip to the Yawkey Center begins like this

To view Birding Trips from 2023 click on  Nemours Wildlife Foundation - Yawkey Center / Fall - Botany Bay WMA -  Fripp Island -  Wings Over Beaufort -  Sea Island Shorebird Festival - Beidler Forest - Harbor Island- Kiawah Island -  Webb Wildlife Center - Whooping Crane Pond - Jarvis Creek Park - Caw Caw Bio Blitz - Hammock Coast Birding Festival  -  Botany Bay WMA - Pinckney Island NWR -  ACE Basin NWR 

2023 Gamekeepers / Winter - Regarding Wild Turkey Decline

Title Page

Jason Hewett is owner of Private Land Management Co. in S.C., and he spent years amassing experience as a plantation manager in the Lowcountry. He managed for trophy bass, mature whitetails, and sustainable bag limits for doves and ducks. “We had wild turkeys too, and I could see over time that their numbers are a reflection of the habitat they are in,” said Hewett. “It doesn’t matter what species you are talking about, habitat is the No.1 issue for all of them. Habitat loss is a key to wild turkey decline, and no other influence is greater.”

Outdoor Writer Ramblings

Charles Ruth is the Big Game Program Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), and he would be the first to defer to other studies, but the new data from an S.C. study site is looking hopeful. “While the SCDNR summer turkey brood survey program dates back to the 1980’s, it’s a new study at the Savannah River Site (SRS) that has potential as a roadmap forward,” said Ruth. “We have completed three years of wild turkey studies at SRS on 40,000-acres with our research partners, and the numbers show about three-times more poults produced over that time, than at other Southeastern study sites.” 

For more information click on Mossy Oak Gamekeepers Magazine.

To view past blog entries from Gamekeepers click on 2022 Managing Duck Impoundments - 2021 Regional Wood Duck Study -  Fall 2021- Summer 2021 - Winter 2020- Spring 2020 - Fall 2017- Spring 2016 - Winter 2016 - Fall 2015 - Summer 2015 - Spring 2015 - Winter 2015 - Fall 2014 - Summer 2014 - Spring 2014 - Winter 2013 

2024 U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone - Tour in Charleston

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone in Charleston 1/26/24

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone was moored at the port in downtown Charleston for public tours on Friday, January 26. The tour was in conjunction with the Coast Guard making two announcements that celebrate their past relationship with the Charleston, and their future at the North Charleston Shipyard. The tours began at 9:30 a.m. under sunny skies, mild temperatures and heavy fog. The walkway onto the 418-foot ship was quite steep, and we accessed the help pad area for demonstrations of fire fighting equipment, and to learn about the different missions the crew of 109 sailors deploy on. 

Educational Coloring Book

Guided tours included going into the Bridge area where the ship is controlled from, and it boats a top speed of 28-knots and a range of 12,000-nautical miles. The Stone can carry three boats and one helicopter while at sea. A walk thought the bowels of the vessel included lots of loud noises from equipment running presumably to keep all her systems in a ready status. Going on to the bow allowed visitors to see the large gun mounted there, and all the anchor chains that criss cross the deck. All of the Coast Guard seamen were friendly and offered to shake hands or exchange names, and it was delightful tour in many ways. Which helps to keep in mind that Americans are grateful for the service of the Coast Guard.

To view past blog entries on wooden ships click on Nao Trinidad -  EOS - Windy- Grace- Aphrodite - Osprey - Annalee - Hinckley 

One of Three boats on the Stone

Serviceman exiting the USCG Cutter Stone

2024 Yemassee - Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Cardinals on 1/4/24

The First (official) Yemassee CBC took place on Jan. 4, 2024, after a test run in 2023. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is an annual way to tabulate and record bird sightings on specific sites, and the Yemassee count includes both private and public lands. A very cold morning saw my team dispatched to cover Buckfield WMA but first we stopped by a roadside marsh to count wood ducks in their pre-dawn flight, and counted about 125 woodies, plus one American woodcock. 

Birders at Buckfield

Fun CBC Factoids

Driving through a mature pine forest we stopped at pre-scouted locations to look for woodpeckers, songbirds, raptors or anything with feathers. This team included four master naturalists so there were a few pauses to notice vegetation and other flora. Bachman's warbler, wilson's snipe, rusty blackbird and other hard to spot birds revealed themselves to us, but a barn owl that had been spotted the day before remained invisible to our search. A nearby duck impoundment yielded some green-winged teal sightings. The collaborative efforts of 30 birders in Yemassee identified 132 species for the count. 

The CBC After-Party is hosted by Bray's Island

To view past blog entries from the Edisto Island CBC click on 2024 - 2023

To view past blog entries from the Palmetto Bluff CBC click on  2023 - 2022 - 2021 

Release Over 20 Concept Catching Anglers

Published in the January Issue of Trilogy Outdoors

The concept of Releasing Over 20-inch Fish encourages anglers to set their own creel limits more restrictive than what the law calls for. This science-based management initiative is based on the fact that mature fish release more eggs as they mature, and at 20-inches that increase begins to be exponential. The leadership at Release Over 20 is volunteer-based and they became a 501C3 organization in 2021. As of today, anglers have logged 11,000-entries in the Release Over 20 database, which qualifies them for a monthly prize drawing, while trying to be good stewards of the fishery.

Kerry Browning releasing a 24-inch red drum on Dec. 1

The founder of Release Over 20 is David Fladd, and he is also active with the SCDNR fish tagging program, and sits on the Saltwater Recreational Fishing Advisory Council (SRFAC). “We started out with trout, flounder and sheepshead as our target species and added redfish to the list in the Fall of 2023,” said Fladd. “Most of our Release Over 20 entries up until now have been trout, and our mission is to get fish biology facts out to the anglers. For instance, a 20-inch trout is likely 4-years old and they release 20-million eggs per year, whereas a 15-inch trout only release 9-million eggs per year. Regarding flounder, males don’t grow big in size so almost all keeper flounder are female, and we’d like anglers to choose to use 20-inches as an upper slot limit for releasing flounder.”

Release Over 20 Events Coordinator Kerry Browning and Treasurer Adam Fahrer went fishing out of Garris Landing in Cape Romaine on December 1, and I was fortunate to witness their release concept in person. “Fundraising is an ongoing project for Release Over 20 and we are committed to raising awareness in S.C. and in other states too,” said Browning. “We had a Release Over 20 booth at ICAST in Florida last year, and we have a booth this January at the Haddrell’s Expo.” Both Browning and Fahrer are SCDNR-certified fishing instructors, and Browning operates a YouTube channel called Charleston Inshore Fishing. 

The Release Over 20 YouTube channel includes best practices for handling and releasing fish over 20-inches. Keep the fish wet, and don’t let them fall into the boat are two key points. When using a lip grip, be sure to provide support to the body of the fish, and don’t let the fish hang from the jaw. Anglers submitting entries need to visit the Internet at www.ReleaseOver20.org  to attach a photo, and they hope to reel in enough funds to create a Release Over 20 App for future ease of entry. The Charleston-area hosts annual Cast It Forward events, sponsored by the Post and Courier, encouraging anglers to join in and Release Over 20.

To view past stories from Trilogy Outdoors click on 2023 Hawk Watch -  Kiawah Bird Banding -  2023 Crappie Camp -  Early Birds of September -  SCDNR Salt Fishing Clinics -  Silver King Makes Big Splash - S.C. Mahi Series - 2023 Yawkey Wildlife Center - 2023 Hammock Coast Birding Festival - 2023 Lowcountry Oyster Festival - 2022 Sea Turtle Season - Navigating an S.C. Public Draw Deer Hunt - Crappie Camp - Blessings of a Sporting Father

2024 Edisto Island - Audubon Christmas Bird Count

American Oystercatcher 1/2/24

A very cold weather day greeted the bird count team on January 2, 2024 for the 3rd annual Edisto Island Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC). I was tasked with leading a team of birders through Zone 7 and we elected to start our day on Edinsgsville Beach due to a low tide cycle in the morning. Crisp cold weather greeted us but a Great Blue Heron was already on station in an ocean inlet fishing for its breakfast. A gathering of several species of shorebirds at the same inlet gave us the chance to use spotting scopes to better ID these birds that were scurrying about.

Polar Explorers? Nope.  Edisto Bird Count Team!

Traversing the beach we arrived at Frampton Inlet to find a large flock of white pelicans and cormorants gathered there. We also spotted several hundred dunlin in that area that were migrating through. American oystercatcher, ring-billed gull, bald eagle and osprey were some of our other beachfront observations. We then canvased multiple creeks and neighborhood ponds for wading birds, and listened out for songbirds of all variety. Capt. Phillip Albenesius and three guest birders from N.C. were on my team, and I hope that we get back together for the 2025 Edisto Island count.

To view past blog entries from Edisto Island CBC click on 2023

To view past blog entries from the Palmetto Bluff CBC click on 2023 - 2022 - 2021 

Dunlin at Rest on Beach. We were careful to not disturb!

Ring-billede Gull in the sun

To view 2023 Birding Trips click on  Yawkey Center / Winter - Nemours Wildlife Foundation - Yawkey Center / Fall - Botany Bay WMA -  Fripp Island -  Wings Over Beaufort -  Sea Island Shorebird Festival - Beidler Forest - Harbor Island- Kiawah Island -  Webb Wildlife Center - Whooping Crane Pond - Jarvis Creek Park - Caw Caw Bio Blitz - Hammock Coast Birding Festival  -  Botany Bay WMA - Pinckney Island NWR -  ACE Basin NWR 

2023 Birding Journal Observations - November / December

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

After New Year's Day spent with Family, a full day in the field at the Edisto Christmas Bird Count ensues on January 2 to kick off the 2024 Birding campaign! The weather in November 2023 was mild, but some strong waterfowl migration was observed with concentrations that month along the Combahee River Flyway. 

December brought the first freeze of winter to the Lowcountry and pine warblers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers and towhees became frequent at the feeders again after a summer leave of absence. More waterfowl were counted during the Palmetto Bluff Bird Count.

C'mere Dear! Hooded Merganser Ducks

To view past Birding Journal Observations click on 2022- 2021 - 2020 - 2018-  2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013- 2012 - 2011 - 2010 

To view 2023 Birding Trips click on Yawkey Center / Winter - Nemours Wildlife Foundation - Yawkey Center / Fall - Botany Bay WMA -  Fripp Island -  Wings Over Beaufort -  Sea Island Shorebird Festival - Beidler Forest - Harbor Island- Kiawah Island -  Webb Wildlife Center - Whooping Crane Pond - Jarvis Creek Park - Caw Caw Bio Blitz - Hammock Coast Birding Festival  -  Botany Bay WMA - Pinckney Island NWR -  ACE Basin NWR