Huntington Beach State Park (HBSP) hosts some of the best winter birding in South Carolina, and was the destination for our recent youth birding expedition. Eight youth joined guide Allen Boynton and BRDC staff for a whirlwind weekend of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds.
Along the way, our bird-loving executive director, Aaron Floyd, had us take a detour to an area with recent sightings of the red-cockaded woodpecker, a rarity. Sending a message with an exact location ahead to the parent of one of the kids we were picking up en route, we hoped to meet him at the site where this bird had been reportedly seen. Sure enough, Strummer sent word that he had located the bird and had it in his sights…to hurry up and get here before dark. Minding our speed, we made it just in time for the whole gang to see this wonderful bird! A great start to the weekend.
Since our little detour had us a little late, we pulled over in a safe location and had dinner along the way, arriving at HBSP campground after dark. We set up tents by moonlight and headlamps, and crashed for the night while visions of birdies carried us till light.
The morning was met with hot chocolate to warm us and French toast and bacon to fill us. We met the day head-on in search of birds, beginning at the duck ponds and then the marshes and causeways that bring in the wading birds. There were herons, kingfishers, egrets, sparrows, grebes, pelicans, a few ducks, and cormorants. After lunch, we hit the beach and headed toward the jetty. Here, we saw the shore and ocean birds that prefer the sand and sea. Loons, grebes, gulls, and sandpipers filled the lenses while shells and sea creatures filled our hands. We made it back to camp just before dark and ready for supper! I’m not sure the kids know this, but they put in over 8 miles of walking in search of these birds.
After dinner and a dessert by campfire, we ventured out to see if we could get a glimpse of an owl. With the moon so bright, we could definitely see them, but only got to hear one…the call of a great-horned owl. We returned to camp for sleep. Morning brought hopes of finding more species in a different section of the park.
It was another beautiful sunny day, so after breakfast we checked the ponds again for ducks. We had gadwalls, grebes, teals, and buffleheads. A walk through the maritime forest got us a great view of a northern parula, very rare for this time of year, and an orange-crowned warbler too! Several species were added to our growing list before we had to depart for the drive home. The total for the weekend was 77 species and 827 individual birds seen. Amazing!
Many thanks for our guides Aaron and Allen, for the parents who took strange detours and for getting their kids to us, and especially for such a great bunch of kids who love nature as we do! Please enjoy some of the weekends photos!
