Venture to South Carolina:
Huntington Beach State Park, Georgetown and Santee Coastal Reserve
16-18 February, 2007

Overall it was a rather cold and very windy weekend down at the beach, but for many of us this was better than being here in the summer! The temperature was hovering just above freezing, but as usual, many birds were close and very obliging. Watching both Tree Swallows and Yellow-rumped Warblers picking insects off the ice was a little unusual, but thankfully most of the ice had melted by lunchtime The shorebirds in the salt marsh were typically wintry, but offered very close views and we could easily differentiate between both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. A few Short-billed Dowitchers also fed close to us along the causeway. Dabbling ducks were scarce, although a flock of Gadwall was somewhat unusual. Bufflehead and Hooded Merganser were common and a few unusual species were also up at the jetty, including a White-winged Scoter that gave us great views and a single first year male Common Eider that flew by in the now very strong winds. There were also several Red-breasted Mergansers and both Red-throated and Common Loons feeding offshore or in the calmer inshore waters. Northern Gannets were feeding at sea as well, although trying to see anything on the wind-tossed ocean was challenging to say the least. Another highlight was the large number of Bonaparte's Gulls that seemed to be on every patch of water- maybe the strong winds forced then inshore. A female Painted Bunting was a nice bonus, although we did notice that she had an injured eye and it took some time to chase down a somewhat elusive Orange-crowned Warbler, which we did get in the end! 

As always, the seafood in Murrell's Inlet was outstanding and we ate at the same restaurant (Russell's) both evenings. A brief stop at Georgetown WWTP on Sunday morning added a few common species and great views of Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck, but more time at the Santee Coastal Reserve gave us great views of Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and a large flock of Pine Warblers as well as a single Wild Turkey that wandered across the road. We finished the weekend with more food (full again) at the excellent See Wee Restaurant for a plateful of shrimp and grits- see you next year!