Before I get too far, I just wanted to thank Linda for now 32 years of wedded bliss – well, except for the infinitesimally small fraction of time she scolds me because of a “perceived” bad choice on the trail – then she relents, puts me back together again and hops back on the “happy path” hehehe. I did admit she should get an extra year of service for what she has had to put up with these last few weeks. Restricted runners are a notoriously hard lot to deal with. The good news is the stitches are out of the elbow and everything looks really good. A ways to go before it is back to where I need it to be, but optimistic now that a lot of the swelling has dissipated and therapy has started loosening everything up. Unfortunately, photography is out of the question. Decided to take The Beast in and have it refurbished so it is ready when I’m able to lift it gain. In the meantime, we can live vicariously through another of Brad’s Huntington Beach State Park adventures. Take care everyone and thanks for all the well wishing and healing thoughts!
Take it away Brad…
This may have been obvious to many of you long-time readers of Intrigued, but Jan and I just started seeking out and photographing birds while we visit state and national parks on vacations. While we don’t necessarily chase them down, we will certainly take some time to look for what’s available wherever we are.
This is a sort of “greatest hits” post about many of the species we were able to see and photograph on a bird walk at Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina, not far from Myrtle Beach. Now, having said that, please don’t all flock there (pun intended) all at once.
We were visiting the boardwalk overlook for the seaside habitats, when we bumped into a couple that had been birding for decades. He was wearing a Boston Marathon jacket, and since Jan had run the Boston marathon a few times in the past, I went up to him and said, “Hi.” We started talking and I could tell he was a bit anxious to be moving along. He introduced himself as Jack and his wife Janet, and explained they were about to be late for the bird walk that morning. During the off-season, there is one bird walk per week at 10am on Wednesdays. It was 9:58am. Off they went with Jan and I in pursuit. When we arrived, the bird walk had already started. The guide was introducing himself and telling us about the walk for the newbies (us included).
Most people at the walk had binoculars, spotting scopes, checklists or all three. Jan and I had our cameras with intermediate and long-reach zoom lenses. As the guide is talking, there are a dozen types of birds moving about. Some are flying, some are floating, others are wading, and one keeps smacking into the surface of the water, at high speed, hoping for a snack.
Hit the jump to read more about Brad and Jan’s finds at Huntington Beach State Park
It is a Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) and a +1 for me. Sporting only the black “mask” over its eyes, this one is a non-breeding adult. Breeding adults have a completely black cap and mask. This one has a small fish in its beak, but these birds won’t turn down small frogs.
Jan is up front taking photos as fast as the camera will let her. I’m in the back chatting with Jack and others about being newly retired and traveling from a much colder state to enjoy some of South Carolina’s warm weather. Some were from Michigan. Others traveled all the way (their words) from North Carolina (about 30 miles away).
Partway through the talk I asked Jack and Janet about their life list. He told me their life list included over 4,000 birds. He sometimes helps lead the bird walk on Wednesdays. But in a week or two he and Janet were flying (pun intended) off to South America, Africa, and New Zealand (I think) for some birding. And I thought South Carolina was a long way from home.
After about 45 minutes, our guide, Richard, asks if anyone would like to take the walk between the brackish pond and the freshwater pond. Most of us said we would, and off he went with the rest trailing behind.
As we left the boardwalk there were three birds just hanging around the boardwalk looking for something to snack on. This is a bird we have at home, but only from late winter to early fall. I usually hear them long before I see one. The sound takes me back to when I was about 10 years old fishing with my dad, uncle, and grandfather on Charlie’s farm pond. Remember, fishing does not imply catching.
He landed on the railing as soon as the bird walk participants left the area. There’s something about the trill of the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) that cuts right through any ambient noise and immediately transports me back to my bike, baseball, and fishing days.
Just sitting on a dead twig in a tree was this grey bird. It seemed to be making fun of the other birds. Mocking them, get it?
It’s a northern mocking bird (Mimus polyglottos). Another +1. I didn’t know that at the time. I didn’t really even find out until I downloaded the photos from the cameras and spent time looking up possible “grey birds in South Carolina”. That was the exact search phrase I typed into my favorite internet search engine.
And, who doesn’t like to see a little “butterbutt” during their bird walks? This yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata) was lounging in a tree, keeping a very close eye on us birders as we walked by.
At the next location on the bird walk (a short drive from the first spot), Richard gathered us to explain what would be next. We would be on a paved path to the other side of the park, at least ½ mile away. The path split two types of habitats so please keep our eyes open. A little way along the paved path, Richard stopped us so we would see the slightly eroded areas along the narrow path. To our right was the brackish and slightly tidal basin of water. To our left was a freshwater pond. He said the eroded parts were actually alligator “slides”. These were the favorite crossing points for the alligators.
Not ten steps later someone pointed and exclaimed “Alligators!” Wouldn’t you know, these guys were only a few feet away hiding among the reeds to our left in the freshwater.
They may have been first-year American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) based on their size, and the fact that they were still clustered together. That also meant mom may have been somewhere close by. I started identifying the slower tourists. Hehehe The gators were soaking up the midday sunshine. All were three feet or less in length. I wasn’t going to get close enough to measure them any more accurately.
Just after the alligators someone else pointed out this wood stork, just standing in the reeds on the edge of the brackish water.
Its mate was just out of frame behind some branches and reeds. Yes, a rare +1. Wood storks (Mycteria americana) are listed as a threatened species by the Federal Endangered Species Act. We were very lucky to see a pair of them. If they can survive the hazards of living “in a swamp”, wood storks can live up to 22 years in the wild. Wood storks build a fairly large and bulky nest of sticks in a tree that hangs over water. They take care of 1-5 eggs per season. Sadly, an average of only 1.5 chicks per nest survive to adulthood. We saw no evidence whatsoever that any human babies had ever been delivered by this pair.
And finally, I’ll leave you with the bird that everyone made fun of in the 1940s and 1950s B-western movies. I spotted this one near the far end of the bird walk. While everyone was still looking at the baby alligators, and counting them to make sure none doubled back behind the tour group, I saw movement in a tree just off the path. At first, I couldn’t find it, but then I saw the movement in the shadows, just above a broken branch.
I didn’t have any idea what kind of woodpecker it was, only being able to see its head and shoulders for a second or two at a time. Since the bird was so good at hiding, even Richard took a moment or three to find it. Once he saw it in the spotting scope, he said it was a yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius). Cha-ching, another +1. There were more than a few snickers in the group (a few oldsters that remember the westerns I mentioned; being called a yellow-bellied sapsucker used to be a bad thing).
At the very end of the bird walk, when nearly everyone else had left, Richard took us to the nature center boardwalk, where we spotted this critter in the water. I know, I know, it isn’t a bird. It is a raccoon (Procyon lotor). And it’s swimming through the tidal basin.
I’m not sure if it was looking for heron eggs, or trying to get out of the marsh before the water was gone stranding it on a small island of vegetation. First time I’ve ever seen a raccoon swimming.
Thank you for reading. If you want to see more bird photos from our South Carolina winter escape, please visit here.
Credits:
Thanks again to Jan and Allyson for proofreading and editing. Thanks to Jan for some of the photos in this article.
Wildlife Intrigued 
I love the raccoon going beaver on us. Wonderful set of photos. Even alligators in America don’t want to leave home. And you don’t want to mess with mama gator, she’d be pretty grumpy with that lot still hanging around.
Nice to read Brain is still mending, and bending. No lifting his hard. I’ve been in those situations. Congratulations of 32 years of blissful matrimony, Brian and Linda. We’ll celebrate 42 years in 24.
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Thank you Tim. We were fortunate enough to see all of these on a Bird Walk. With the small gators not being very far away, I was glad to have a monopod for potential self defense. Though there were many slower tourists in the group.
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Always good to be on the quicker side of things.
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I find that to be a general rule for life…at least a longer life ha.
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Thank you and Congrats on 41!! I find for, some reason, some of the restrictions are a bit fluid – say for example house cleaning ..right out, where maybe taking a very brisk stroll outside is perfectly acceptable. Funny how that comes about hehehe.
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How wonderful that you were able to join the bird walk at that moment. I’ve found it really helpful to have multiple birders searching the landscape for our avian friends. I love the photo of the wood stork – sharp texture, and great illustration of how a huge white bird can blend into his habitat. Thanks for sharing your discoveries!
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Thank you Sam. Yes, we were very fortunate to able to “sneak” into the Bird Walk. I think we were all with the guide for nearly four hours that day. The group nearly walked right by the wood storks because they blended so well into their background. Thanks for dropping by Sam.
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Sounds like a nice “accidental” find. Like it when things like that happen. Serendipity at its best.
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Absolutely! I like when something unexpected gets in front of my camera. Someone once told me, you miss 100% of the photos you don’t take.
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Huntington Beach State Park is on our wish list, and someday we will get there. Your shots of the birds are amazing, and I never thought about raccoons being swimmers until today – that was super cute to see.
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Thank you very much! At first I thought it might be a gator. We had to wait for it to clear the reeds to know for sure. I know you won’t be disappointed with the variety of furry and feathered wildlife you will find there. Mid-February was certainly nice for birding, but coinciding with a migration time would be even better! Looking forward to reading your posts from your trip there.
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Somehow that comment makes me think of one Yogi Berra would make.
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Not quite. Wayne Gretzky is credited with the original, but about hockey. Easily adaptable to nearly any situation, and since photos are often considered “shots”, well, you know the rest.
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Wow. So many +1s in one location, well done!
Bri- hope you heal quickly!
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Thanks CJ. We were a bit overwhelmed seeing all of these species that day. And then again trying to remember their names later.
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Yeah, I am sure that is why the “boss” at your organization was three/four years behind on posts.😂🤣 My hat is off to anyone who can identify and capture wildlife as I have had tons of adventures over the years trying with just my small camera or my phone.
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I try not to get that far behind. I only recently started writing stories about what we were seeing in the field. Then I realized I had a treasure trove of photos from years gone by, both film and digital. So you may see an “older” story with a new twist in the future.
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Sounds great!
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“I try no to get that far behind”…I wrote that down for posterity and funny banter at future Christmas gatherings.
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If you don’t count the Yellowstone stories (photos from 2008), I’m only a mining photos from a few months ago.
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Give it time…give it time!
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Give him time, Brad will assuredly join us on the backlog wall of shame as he is already starting to ramp up his shots per outing. We at Intrigued wear that as a badge of honor hehehehe.
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Right now my doctors and I have a different definition of time. Their heal clock seams to be moving quicker than they expected, on the other hand I fell like this month has been more like TWO ha.
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I have never seen a raccoon swim either. They are known to wash their food before they eat it at times.
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Maybe it was just dragging it’s food through the water and I couldn’t see it. The guide did mention it wasn’t uncommon to see raccoons swimming before the tide went out. I’d think that was risky knowing alligators were in there somewhere. Thanks for stopping by Sharon.
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I enjoyed this bird walk, Brad, thank you. Enjoyed seeing the red-winged blackbird and how nice that he sang for you. and I agree: that song, no matter how many times I hear it, makes me melt. Enjoyed the baby alligators and other finds, especially the swimming raccoon.
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Thank you Jet. And you are very welcome. I realize it was quite an eclectic collection of critters. It’s what was available that morning. The next time may be completely different, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.
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Your picture of alligators is very clear and impressive. I haven’t seen any wild alligator yet. Their mom possibly was hiding around and taking a nap, while also watching her children😉
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That’s what worried us a little bit. There were about a dozen adolescent alligators all bunched up in that one area. Mom couldn’t have been far away. Though I don’t think Mom has much to do with them once they hatch. Still, best to be wary if there are that many around that close to a walking path. Thanks for stopping by June.
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I really felt like I was “with you” as you enjoyed this South Carolina bird walk.
Although one of our most common birds, the call of a Red-winged Blackbird is so many things for us. It means “home”; if we DIDN’T hear one near the lake we would think something was wrong; like you – it conjures up warm memories of fishing with my Dad. Some field guides say their call is like a “rusty gate”. Gini says they are very clearly calling “per-dee-DA!”.
That coastal venue can be so productive for finding birds, wildlife and even new friends.
Thank you for sharing all of this!
(Careful. I have heard it said that bird-watching can become addictive. Let me know if you need a help-line number.)
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Thanks Wally. I’ve always enjoyed watching our feathered friends at the multiple feeders in our back yard. Brian has challenged me to find them with my camera, and then to actually write about it. So when Jan and I travel, we try to make time to find the local birds. I’ve always described Blue Jay calls as a rusty wheel trying to spin. So far no help-line required . . . yet. Thanks for stopping by Wally.
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Is that line available for all of us!?!
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Operators are standing by.
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Wat een geweldig avontuur, Brad en Jan! Ik kan niet stoppen met lachen om Brad’s gevatte opmerkingen over hun vogelkijkers-beginnersavontuur. Maar hé, we beginnen allemaal ergens, toch? En wat een manier om te beginnen, omringd door doorgewinterde vogelkijkers en wat gevederde vrienden.
Ik moet zeggen, Linda verdient een speciale shoutout voor het omgaan met Brad’s wilde avonturen, vooral die “vermeende” slechte keuzes op het pad. Maar hé, Linda heeft de magische touch, en ze staat altijd klaar om hem weer in elkaar te zetten. Dat is ware liefde, mensen!
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Andreas, I am very glad you were able to find a bit of humor in the story. I try to include a little bit in each one, even if it is at my own expense. Thank you for dropping by. (I hope I have the translation correct)
Andreas, ik ben erg blij dat je een beetje humor in het verhaal hebt kunnen vinden. Ik probeer in elk een klein beetje op te nemen, ook al is het ten koste van mezelf. Bedankt voor het langskomen. (ik hoop dat ik de vertaling goed heb)
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That looks like a great outing, with many photogenic birds, reptiles, and a swimming racoon. I have seen the latter at the water’s edge, but never submerged. The Wood Stork would have likely made my heart skip a beat because of how few there are left.
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Tanja, we were surprised to see the wood storks. The blended so well in their environment that we did not even see them until they were about 20-25 feet away from us. Since it was too early for nesting season, we don’t know if that pair had a chick or not. Thanks for stopping by.
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Let’s hope they had a successful breeding season. It’s wonderful you were able to get that close to them!
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Agreed. The closeness of the gators was cool too, except they can be much more, how do I say it, bitey.
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Well said!
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