Category Archives: Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC

Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC

A Common Gallinule encounter in South Carolina

By Sally Siko

One of the most unique looking birds we’ve got here in the Carolinas is the Common Gallinule.
I spotted these two a few weeks ago while birding at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet SC.



These sharp looking relieves of the Coot are mostly found in our eastern coastal counties though they do stray further inland from time to time.
Generally, Gallinules are not easily spotted as populations are scarce in certain areas within it’s overall range, yet they may be locally common in others so it sort of depends on where you are in regards to chances of seeing one.

Common Gallinules breed in areas where they have access to small ponds and marshes to hunt for a meal and are easily identified by their charcoal black plumage and by that bright red and-yellow bill, and of course by those huge yellow feet.
Unlike their cousin the Purple Gallinule, Common’s spend a lot of time swimming vs. the Purple’s preference to search for a a meal on foot. This behavior difference is a helpful way to ID them when viewing one from a distance or in poor lighting conditions




These understated beauties are a year round resident of the Tarheel state but are much easier to find during the spring and summer.
Along with the Huntington Beach State Park in SC, you also have a good chance of finding Common Gallinules at the Lake Mattamuskeet NWR in Swansquarter, NC during the winter months so it’s worth keeping an eye out for them over the next few months.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC

Snowy Egrets at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC

By Sally Siko

Although their numbers have been in decline in recent years, Snowy Egrets are still a relatively common sight in our wetlands and marshy areas of coastal of North Carolina.
With that bright yellow eye cere, the crown-full of white plumes and a menacing stare Snowy Egrets are indeed a striking bird to photograph, especially in the slanting light of an early morning.



Don’t let their delicate appearance fool you though. These beautiful birds are expert hunters, deadly assassins to fish, crustaceans, small invertebrates and insects alike.
Wading through shallow waters, they’ll use their yellow toes to stir up the mud in order to flush out a snack buried beneath their feet.
Once the prey tries darts away they’ll strike with deadly precision often impaling their meal with its bill before swallowing it whole.



Snowy’s are a year round resident of coastal NC, however since they are a migratory species as well, your odds of seeing one are better duration the spring, and months.
They are also noted as post breeding transient visitors to the Piedmont region and western NC from late July to September in inland areas of the state.
Aren’t they lovely?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC

Seaside Sparrow sighting in Murrells Inlet SC

By Sally Siko

Though they’re not the flashiest of species, I always enjoy seeing Seaside Sparrows whenever I go birding along the coast.
With those long legs, these little guys are perfectly suited for a life hunting for a meal in and along the shallow marsh waters.



In North Carolina, it is found throughout the year in our coastal/tidal marshes, though they do seem to shift their habitat, preferences in the spring and winter months.
Because salt marshes tend have shifting tidal amplitudes, Seaside Sparrows avoid nesting in such sites.
Instead they choose to breed in brackish marshes, both along the coast and at locally around the inner portions of Pamlico Sound and the tidal creeks entering into it.
From fall to spring, birds move into richer salt marshes, though they also winter in brackish marshes as well.



Photographing Seaside Sparrows is moderately difficult task as they usually stay hidden in dense marsh grass.
There it will search for spiders, seeds, marine invertebrates and insects in the dirt and mud and on nearby plants.
I got in a few lucky shots when this one popped up from the reeds to look for a meal on the mudflats.
Isn’t he sweet?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC, Field Notes

Wood Storks in Murrells Inlet SC

By Sally Siko

Of all the species of birds to be found at the Huntington Beach State Park in S.C., few capture the attention of visitors more than the Wood Stork.
In addition to their *ahem* unique appearance, these birds are incredibly interesting to watch hunting for a snack on the mudflats.



While observing this large flock in action, honestly it was tough to choose which bird to photograph at any given time.
With so much going on, I managed to photograph a nice series of pics of one trying to eat a Blue Crab which was pretty cool!The bird would hold the crab in its mouth and shake its head, crunching down on the crabs shell. One by one the crabs legs popped off until only the cephalothorax remained.Then the Stork swallowed the crab whole in one gulp without so much as a pinch of Old Bay seasoning or melted butter to wash it down with lol!



Wood Storks are best found in the eastern counties of the Carolinas from June through September. Our largest species of wader, they prefer to hunt for a meal in swamps, freshwater marshes and in shallow ponds.Wood Storks are very particular about the depth of water that they’ll hunt for a meal in.Preferring no more than a foot of water to rise up their legs, the flock actually waited until low tide before finally coming down from out of the trees to hunt in the rapidly draining marsh below.
Pretty neat, huh?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds