Category Archives: Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

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Warbler Spring migration bird watching trips in North Carolina, South Carolina and New Jersey

By Sally Siko

The grass is greening up and the flowers are starting to bloom. Spring is on the way and with it, new species of warblers will soon be arriving in the eastern United States.
Soon the woods and fields will be filled with chirps, buzzes, trills and tweets as the birds sing in search of a mate and to establish nesting territories.

Warbler vocalizations fall into two categories – songs and calls. In general, we define bird song as a structured, usually complex vocalization serving either or both of two purposes – to defend territories and to attract mates.
Most of the songs are sung by the males, though females do also sing territorially or for pair bonding, especially in the tropics.
Generally their calls are usually shorter and structurally simpler, serving a wider range of functions, including courtship, signaling alarm, or communicating a change in location.



Interestingly, almost no songbirds know their songs by instinct. Rather, most need to learn to sing.
Warblers begin learning songs as nestlings by hearing the songs of adults nearby. In this way, song traditions (known to biologists as “memes”) are passed down in songbird neighborhoods from year to year.
In fact many warbler species have area-specific dialects.
Makes me wonder if our warblers have a southern accent lol!



I can’t wait for spring migration to kick off! It’s so much fun to lead my birding tours, showing off these beautiful feathered gems to my guests.
I’ve got 80 new tour dates available for booking in the Carolina’s as well as in eastern New Jersey and coastal Maine.
If you’d like to join me to go birding this spring, check out the calendar shown below for location and date information.


Feel free to send me an email if ya have any questions about upcoming trips too!
Happy birding-
Sally

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

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Birding tours in South Carolina

By Sally Siko

Really looking forward to leading more birding trips in South Carolina this year!
I love seeing the huge variety of long legged, pointed (and spoon) billed, fish slayers (both feathered and otherwise lol!) that are found along the coast.
The cool thing about spending time Herons, Spoonbills, Woodstorks, Gallinules and Egrets is that generally, these are active birds which makes them entertaining to watch.
I love trying to freeze the quick action sequences as the birds squabble for a catch.


Though it can be challenging to capture the action, photographing wading birds is an opportunity to learn something new about capturing good images.
Between adjusting ISO numbers for the light, tweaking shutter speed for action and figuring out aperture values, there’s a lot to think about before I’ve even pressed the shutter.


Luckily the birds, gators and minks tend to stick around for a long while which means there’s plenty of time to really dial in those settings.
When the day is done, I always leave SC feeling like a stronger photographer than when I arrived.
Plus I’ll have a memory card filled with beautiful birds and great memories too.
That’s the kind of experience I enjoy sharing with my guests on every trip!

Check out the links below to book your bird watching tour in South Carolina today!

Birding Tours at Huntington Beach State Park
Birding Tours at Pinckney Island NWR



Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC, Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birding Trips in SC, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

Why are Painted Buntings so colorful?

By Sally Siko

With every color of the rainbow showing in his plumage, the Painted Bunting is truly a stunning bird to photograph and see in real life.


But what makes the male Painted Buntings plumage so vibrant?
 As it turns out, it’s a combination of feather structure and three pigments which contribute to the colorful feathers found on these handsome birds: melanin, carotenoids and porphyrins.



*Melanin-Naturally produced by the birds displays as black, brown, red and pale yellow in feathers.



* Carotenoids- Birds which display the reds, oranges and yellows in their plumage is attributed to carotenoids when they eat specific plants or insects, like spiders or grasshoppers, which eat the carotenoids the birds need for their feather colors.



* Porphyrins- A modified amino acid producing pink, brown, red and green pigmentation.



*Feather structure-That bright blue to violet head color is actually a trick of the light.
When sunlight passes through certain proteins and pockets of air trapped between feather barbules — tiny filaments extending from the barbs of a feather — it refracts, just like light passing through a prism.



Unfortunately since winter is here, most of the Painted Buntings have migrated south.
They will return to North & South Carolina in May and stick around through September-ish.
Look for these guys in our coastal areas in scrubby wet habitats, in the scrub brush just behind the sand dune line, at the edges of woods and flying over open tall-grass fields.

Btw, I’m planning on heading back out later this year to share these beauties with my tour guests so I’ve added new trips in 2024 to find the Painted Bunting in NC & SC.
If you’d like to join me, check out the link in my bio for more info and available group tour dates or feel free to shoot me a DM anytime if ya have any questions 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips in SC, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

A Roseate Spoonbill encounter at Huntington Beach SP

By Sally Siko

One of the most unique looking birds we’ve got flying around the Carolinas is the Roseate Spoonbill.
 With that long flat bill it’s easy to see how these beauties earned their name.
I spotted this one last weekend while birding at the Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC.



Having a “built-in” spoon on its beak can be a big help at mealtime. Spoonbills take advantage of this adaptation with a special feeding style known as “head-swinging.”
 They’ll plunge their bill nearly vertically under water and swing it side to side in wide arcs. In this way, they snag a host of small animals from the lake bottom.
 Their diet is made up of small fish, crustaceans (especially shrimp and crayfish), insects, molluscs (such as slugs and snails), and other small aquatic animals.


Roseate Spoonbills are an occasional, transient visitor to North Carolina during the late summer along our southeastern coast. If you’d like to have an opportunity to see them sooner rather than later, your best bet is to take a short trip down to coastal South Carolina where they are found throughout the year.

By the way, I’ve added 80 new birding tour dates to my 2024 trip schedule so if you’d like to join me out there in South Carolina to see these beautiful birds for yourself, check the link below for details & booking info!


Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips in SC, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

Hooded Mergansers in SC

By Sally Siko

Of of the most striking looking ducks we’ve got swimming around the Carolinas is the Hooded Merganser. With that huge crown of feathers at the top of their heads, these handsome birds are truly kings of the water.
I spotted this small flock yesterday while birding at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC.
My guests and I were able to get relatively close to these guys from our vantage point next to the marsh which allowed some excellent photo opportunities.
The drakes were putting on a territorial display, cruising through the water upright with chests puffed out and bills pointed up to the sky in an effort to prove who’s the biggest badass in the marsh.
You can even hear them making their weird honking grunt-quacking noises while they were trying to impress the hens!



Hooded Mergansers are a species of diving duck with a somewhat unusual diet in that they do not eat much plant material. Instead they prefer to snack on small fish, crawfish, and aquatic insects.In addition, they’ve got long serrated beaks which aid in the capture and consumption of their underwater prey.
The tidal marsh habitat where I photographed these birds serve as the perfect hunting grounds for the Mergansers.


Though many of us associate Mergansers as being a wintertime visitor to the Carolinas, they are known to breed in our eastern counties making them a year round resident of the Carolina’s.
Like Wood Ducks, they are cavity-nesters but unlike Wood Ducks, Mergansers often lay their eggs in other females’ nests. This is behavior is similar to the practice of Brown-headed Cowbirds, except that the ducks only lay eggs in nests of their own species.
Pretty neat, huh?

By the way, I’ve added 80 new birding tour dates to my schedule so if you’d like to join me out there in SC to see these beautiful ducks for yourself check the calendar below for details & booking info!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips in SC, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

Saltmarsh Sparrows in SC

By Sally Siko

Here is a bird I was excited to find last year while birding Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina, a Saltmarsh Sparrow.
I’d never seen one before so it was awesome to finally see and photograph these cute little bird up close while sitting on the jetty.



One of the more interesting things I’ve learned about Saltmarsh Sparrows regards their unusual breeding system. Unlike most songbirds, the males do not defend territories, rather they move around large areas of a marsh, singing to attract females. Both sexes are promiscuous, and no pairs are formed; males take no part in caring for the eggs or young.

The range of a Saltmarsh Sparrow extends from Maine down to Florida on the east coast of the United States.
Here in the Carolinas they are best found in our coastal areas during the winter months.
They can be tough to spot though since they tend to hide in the tallest grass. That being said, they do respond well to pishing techniques and will occasionally pop out of the grass to offer a quick look before diving back down into the grass.
The best time to try and find one of these little feathered gems is during periods of high tide, when they are forced off of the mud flats to perch on the grass itself.



Generally I’m pleased with these first sighting photos but I’m eager to return to Huntington Beach State Park to lead my next tour tomorrow.
Lol I guess I’m never satisfied so I’d like another crack at getting some better shots.

By the way, I’ve added 80 new tour dates to my 2024 birding trip schedule including locations right here in South Carolina.
Check the calendar to view all of my trips!



Birding Trips in SC, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

Mute Swans at Huntington Beach SP in SC

By-Sally Siko

While birding at Huntington Beach State Park last week I spotted a small flock of Mute Swans flying overhead.
They made two runs of an ever descending spiral formation before they dropped down.
Although they were somewhat far away from my vantage point on the dock, it was fun to try to get a few pics of the group as they glided in for a splash landing.



These impressive swans are a familiar sight to many throughout the Carolinas occurring in urban parks, wildlife refuges and in on farms in rural regions.
Though they are year-round residents,
Mute Swans are actually native to Europe and were introduced to the United States in the 1800s as an ornamental species to grace the gardens of estates and parks.
As it often goes, many of them escaped and are now contributing to the growing populations of feral birds.
Today, undomesticated flocks Mute Swans are found in coastal areas from New England all the way south into the mid Atlantic States.



The bane of kayakers, fishermen, farmers and hikers alike, these guys can get quite aggressive, especially during the breeding season when encountered near their nesting sites.
Even during the winter, Mute Swans are very protective of one another and will chase away enemies or rivals at the drop of a hat.
They’ll puff their feathers out to appear larger than life, hiss loudly and then set off after the offender with neck extended, bill open ready to deliver a bite.
Perhaps they aren’t the friendliest of birds but at least they are entertaining to watch lol!

Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Want to go see these beauties for yourself? Book a tour below!

Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

Wintertime Woodstorks in South Carolina

By Sally Siko

Arriving at dawn to my birding tour spot in SC last week, I was excited to see that a flock of Woodstorks had flown in and landed right next to the path which lines the pond at HBSP.
As the sun rose, it illuminated these impressive birds like a spotlight which led to some dramatic photo opportunities.
My client hadn’t arrived yet so I texted him to let him know that I was already there and to hurry along (if possible) to best take advantage of the close up view and incredible lighting conditions.



Happily my client showed up just in time! In the end, we were both able to grab some cool photos of the Woodstorks fighting over fish under a dazzling array of light bouncing off of the water.
It was exciting to share this special bird moment with my guest!
In addition to showing him a new Life bird, I know he captured some incredible shots as well which is the best thing ever IMO.
Mornings like this are why I love being a birding tour photography guide so much.



As our largest species of wader found in the Carolinas, flocks of Wood Storks can be spotted hunting for a meal in swamps, freshwater marshes and in shallow ponds.
They feed on a variety of prey items including fish, frogs, crayfish, large insects, and occasionally even small alligators and mice.
Weirdly enough though, these birds 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, most Wood Storks will wait until low tide before finally coming down from out of the trees in the morning to hunt in the rapidly draining marsh below.

Wood Storks are best found in the eastern counties of the Carolinas from June through September, however a few of them are known to spend the winter here as well.
This means that you’ve plenty of time to see one for yourself before the year is through.
By the way, I’ve got several birding photography tours available for booking here in South Carolina this winter.
If you’d like to join me out there than check the calendar below for my schedule and tour details 🙂

Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

Enjoying Gadwall Ducks in Huntington Beach SC

By Sally Siko

Last week I led a birding tour in south eastern SC and was stoked to show my client this flock of Gadwall ducks.
Normally this species tend to spook easily whenever human are around so it was great to get such a nice close up look at them as they paddled on the water.
Even in mixed flock situations, male Gadwalls are relatively easy to ID thanks to that black feathery butt lol!


When viewing the drakes at a distance one might describe them as dull but taking a closer look, you’ll notice that they are actually quite intricately adorned with an intricate black lacing pattern on their feathers paired with a pleasing pallet of warm colors over-washing it’s gray and brown plumage.
The hens are equally as lovely dressed in a plumage softly toned in shades of warm buff brown.


Though most breed in the north central and western part of the United States, Gadwalls are also a year round resident of the coastal counties of the Carolina’s and are known to nest on Bodie Island and Pea Island during the summer.
In addition, every autumn thousands of Gadwalls arrive from all over the country to spend the cooler months here in the mid Atlantic region. Due to the influx of migrants in the eastern counties, they are much easier to find during the wintertime than any other time of year.
This is why you’re most likely to spot them in here in South Carolina paddling around in wide open fresh and brackish marshes, ponds and lakes from now through early April.
You’ve got plenty of time to see a Gadwall over the next few months so get out there and enjoy them this winter!


By the way, I’ve added a ton of new South Carolina birding tour dates to my schedule.
If you’d like to go bird watching with me this winter to see (and photograph!) Gadwalls and other incredible birds, check calendar for trip info.

Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Biridng Trips and Tours in SC

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker encounter in SC

By Sally Siko

Here’s a bird I was delighted to photograph this past week, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. I spotted him while leading a birding tour at Huntington Beach State Park in coastal South Carolina. It was absolutely awesome to get a good clean look at this striking bird as it searched for a snack.
For some reason every time I’ve tried to photograph this species they always seem to be just a bit too far away or on the wrong side of the tree to grab a decent shot. This time we got lucky so my client and I were able to come away with some good pics.



Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are found scrambling up and down tree trunks
in varying numbers from our mountains to the coastal areas of the Carolinas throughout the year.
Their diets include a wide variety of insects, including ants and beetles plus they regularly feed on berries and fruits.
 But why are they constantly hammering their beaks into the tree trunks?


The clue is actually wrapped up in their name. It’s all about tapping that sweet, sweet sap flow!
 These little guys will move up hastily up and down trees to drill a series of wells in the trunks to drink the sap that oozes forth. Often returning to the same tree on a regular basis, the Yellow -bellied Sapsucker’s elaborate systems of sap wells are maintained daily to ensure sap production.
 Boasting a legit honey-badger-don’t-care attitude, these feisty woodpeckers will defend their wells from all kinds of sap-stealing animals and birds, including other sapsuckers. They also may be found happily raiding both hummingbird and suet feeders alike in our own backyards with the same energy.



Photos by Sally Siko of @bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Want to go see this bird too? Book at trip with me at Huntington Beach State Park.