South Carolina

We've been in South Carolina for a week now and have discovered some wonderful new birding sites. The first we explored, Huntington Beach State Park, is located in Murrell's Inlet, about 30 miles south of North Myrtle Beach. The tide was heading out and we patiently awaited low tide and for the exposure of the mud flats. As the flats emerged from beneath the bay's waters, they came alive with the sounds of Clapper (see image above) and Virginia rails. Shore birds such as Willets and Yellowlegs came in to sample the buffet as close to a hundred Wood storks watched from the surrounding trees. Back at the Visitors' Center, the feeder was playing host to several pairs of Painted buntings (right above), a "year bird" for us. Later, we travelled across Route 17 to the beautiful Brookgreen Gardens. A close encounter with a Red-shouldered hawk, Brown thrashers, Yellow warblers, Pine and Palm warblers among others made our day complete. We'll head back down this week, so "stay tuned" for more new birds from the southlands.