Day 14: January 14th - Santee National Wildlife Reserve

Calmer winds, temp = 54 degrees, sunny

Santee NWR wood road

          Never says never! Our major target bird as we descend upon Santee National Wildlife Refuge was the Brown-headed nuthatch.  Every time we travel through this part of the state, we stop at the same kayak launch in the Cuddo Unit of the refuge.  It's a sure thing.  "We never miss this bird".  Well, "never" ended today.  We waited and we waited for the nuthatches to appear as they always do.  But not today.  Somewhat of a disappointment in that this is a bird that is difficult to find.  And today is not the day to check this little guy off our year list.  BUT..... as we are waiting to find the nuthatch, Sharon spots two Ruby-crowned kinglets flitting as kinglets do amount the branches of the pines.  They are called "ruby-crowned" because of the striking red crowns these birds display when aroused.  You "Never" see the ruby crown, except for today.  Both kinglets were in full display with their crimson swatches glowing in the midst of the dark green of the pines.   So, you take what you get.  No nuthatch, but a rare sighting of two kinglets in full regalia.

Ruby-crowned kinglet

     The red heads are the color of the day as we also have un unusually fine sighting of a red-bellied woodpecker along one of the wood roads in the preserve.  The lighting was ideal and the bird was well positioned to give me one more decent shot for the day.

Red-bellied woodpecker

 It's time to head south again, and it's off to Hilton Head for at the next week.  Stay tuned and we'll see what the upcoming week has to offer.