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Brrrr...Ding: Birders' outing at the coast fruitful in spite of freezing temperatures
Photo Courtesy of thirdbirdfromthe sun.com
A snowy egret keeps watch over a lagoon that holds its next meal.
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Published: February 20, 2009
Midwinter is a great time to leave the area and head for a warm, sunny beach.
Maybe we should have gone a little farther south.
The weekend of Jan. 17 was the Audubon Society of Forsyth County's annual winter bird
outing. Our destination was Murrell's Inlet, S.C., just below Myrtle Beach.
Huntington Beach State Park is truly a birding hot spot, but the weather was anything but hot. When we assembled the first morning, the number of birders equaled the temperature --19.
The subfreezing temperatures made for a bracing morning, but that same cold front drove more birds our way. Colder weather farther north tends to freeze lakes, ponds and rivers, so lots of aquatic birds fly just far enough south to find open water where they can feed. Despite the air temperature, the water was warmer and there was little ice.
In addition to the open water, what makes Huntington such a great place for
birding is its variety of habitats. The entrance to the park is set in a woodland of mixed pine, deciduous and evergreen hardwoods. Just past the entrance, a causeway passes between a saltwater marsh and a freshwater lagoon. Farther along, a path leads through sand dunes to the beach. At the north end of the beach a riprap jetty thrusts into the ocean. Each of these habitats -- woodland, freshwater, saltwater marsh, dunes, beach, jetty and tidal waters -- attracts different kinds of birds.
This outing was coordinated by Don Adamick, the society's field-trip chair, who arranged in advance for two local birders to accompany the group.
The morning started out on the causeway. The abundance of birds took our minds off freezing fingertips most of the time. Dozens of waterfowl swam in the lagoon on the left. Hooded mergansers, ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, ruddy ducks, green-winged teal, and gadwalls dotted the calm surface. Several snowy egrets stood silently in the shallow water along the edges.
The tide was out, so there were plenty of exposed mudflats on the marsh side of the causeway and several species of shorebirds were dipping their bills into the mud in search of food that might be stirring. Lots of dunlins, black-bellied plovers and short-billed dowitchers skittered along the flats, while black-crowned night herons stood in the tall spartina grass. They kept their eyes on the cluster of strange animals known as birders.
After a couple of hours on the causeway, we made our way to the beach. Even the slightest breeze coming off the water would have made it too miserable for birding. But on this day it was calm and the sun was shining brightly. Along the way we stopped to sort through a small flock of red knots and dunlins. In their winter plumage, many shorebirds can be challenging to identify. It took us a few minutes of close scrutiny -- plus consulting a couple of different field guides -- before we were confident about our identifications.
Once on the jetty, we made our way out to the far end, pausing briefly for close looks at several horned grebes. But it wasn't until we reached the end that we saw our main quarry, a rare purple sandpiper blending in with several dozen ruddy turnstones and western sandpipers.
On Sunday, the weather turned worse. It was warmer, but it was raining. Birding in the rain is much worse than birding in the cold. Several birders headed home early. Those who stayed got together that evening and recounted the birds we had seen over the weekend. We logged 124 species. It wasn't the warm break from winter we had hoped for, but the birding was excellent. And, after all, it's all about the birding.
■ Bird's-Eye View is a joint column by Ron Morris and Phil Dickinson. Today's column was written by Morris. Morris retired after 24 years as curator at the N.C. Zoo. He has studied birds around the world and is currently the vice president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County. Dickinson is a legal writer. He has been an active birder for 15 years and is a past president of the Audubon Society of Forsyth County and chairs the conservation committee. If you have a birding question or story idea, write to Bird's-Eye View in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101-3159, or send an e-mail to birding@wsjournal.com. Please type "birds" in the subject line.
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