Coastal Expeditions Nature Journal

Roseate Spoonbill Ajaia ajaja

2007-09-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

Summer still hangs on here in the lowcountry and nothing remind naturalists more of the tropical feel of our hot season than the flamingo-like wading bird, the Roseate Spoonbill.

Members of the Threskiornithidae family, the Roseate Spoonbills are cousins of other local favorite wading birds, the Ibises.

These birds spend much time feeding in the shallow waters of Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico on shrimp, small fish, snails, and aquatic insects, which they detect by their sense of touch as they rhythmically sweep their "spoon-shaped" bills from side to side. During the hottest part of our summer, the Roseates occasionally head further north into our coastal areas, exhibiting the same feeding behavior in shallow ponds, impoundments and saltwater flats in the lowcountry area.

We have seen them occasionally on Bull Island and as well on the Edisto River near Willtown Bluff. The most regular sightings, however, have been from Dewees Island, a privately-developed island just north of the Isle of Palms. The naturalists and landscape ecologists of the Deedee Paschal Barrier Island Trust have reported a regular group of the birds feeding and relaxing in the island's secluded impoundments. Contact the Trust with questions about Dewees Island programming and join Coastal Expeditions soon to catch the last fleeting glimpses of the Roseate Spoonbills before they head back south.

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

2007-09-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

Our national symbol, the Bald Eagle, has recently been sighted over the last few weeks in the estuaries of the Cape Romaine National Wildlife Refuge behind Bull Island. Admittedly an unusual sighting this time of year, the eagle or eagles have been seen soaring and perching on small channel marker posts along various creeks, potentially keeping an eye out for osprey from who the eagles are fond of stealing fish.

Bald Eagles frequent the lowcountry normally over the winter months, nesting in our coastal plain and fledging their young before the warmth of spring breaks the winter chill.

These sightings have been regular over the last month, but who knows how long this will last. Come and join us on the Bull Island Ferry, the Island Cat, and cross your fingers in hopes of seeing this uncommon visitor.

Attack of the Sirenians!

2007-09-08T10:19:00.002-07:00

This summer paddlers have been surprised and startled by animals rising from the deep... right here in Shem Creek. These sea monsters are fully-aquatic mammals collectively known as sea cows.

The mammalian order Sirenia has just four species, three being different manatees and the fourth the dugong. The Sirenia is thought to have evolved from four legged land mammals over 60 million years ago, with the closest living relatives being the Proboscidea (elephants) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes).
The name manatee comes from the Spanish manatí, which itself comes from a Carib word meaning "breast." Over the summer months our waters play host to the West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus. They regionally migrate to keep up with plant food resources, namely various seaweeds, and have been spotted as far north as Boston and Manhattan harbors.
Half a manatee's day is spent sleeping in the water, surfacing for air regularly at intervals no greater than 20 minutes. They can been seen regularly here on Shem Creek where many dock owners hang garden hoses over the dock edge to give the manatee a much welcomed source of fresh water. Large tankers in the harbor sight bunches of manatee cruising the harbor and the researchers at Fort Johnson often see manatee in their dock basin.
The manatee are an amazing sighting for anyone, even our naturalist guides who have been known to go absolutely crazy when spotting a group of manatee. Join us for a Shem Creek expedition and do the manatee dance ahead of time!

Rookeries Alive!

2007-09-08T10:19:00.001-07:00

Take advantage of the shorebird nesting season to visit one of the three lowcountry area's SC State Heritage Preserve Rookeries: Deveaux Banks, Bird Key and Crab Bank.

Paddle out from our headquarters on Shem Creek and into the Charleston Harbor out to Crab Bank on one of our guided kayak tours or rent yourself a few kayaks and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of a protected bird rookery up close and personal.

The island itself is off limits to foot traffic from March 15th to October 15th, but the low-impact nature of the kayaks and their shallow draft allow you an extremely close view of the birds. Around twelve species of birds nest on the island from spring all the way through early fall. American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, many different species of terns, Eastern Brown Pelican, and a few Laughing Gulls situated in and amongst other species.

Please call our headquarters at 843.884.7684 to make a reservation for your birding adventure!

SCCCL Action Alert: Proposed Santee Cooper coal plant

2007-09-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

DHEC Bureau of Air Quality will soon decide if they will issue a draft air permit to Santee Cooper for their proposed coal plant in southern Florence County.
There is no need for DHEC to make this decision now, before Santee Cooper completes an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will provide the information DHEC needs to make an informed permitting decision. Issuing a draft air permit now will undermine the EIS process.
The health and safety of South Carolina citizens demands a comprehensive process that will assure procedural safeguards and adequate deliberation. Shortcutting this process and issuing a permit today could force a review of the permits at a later date.

The proposed Santee Cooper Kingsbury Plant is planned to be built on the Great Peedee River, just up river from Kingsbury and also near the town of Pamplico.
The water quality of Georgetown, SC, a large and booming population center of coastal South Carolina, as well as that of smaller towns, will be affected directly. The Winyah Bay National Wildlife Refuge also sits downriver of the proposed plant.

Tell DHEC....There is no need to hurry
Don't issue a draft air permit for the proposed Santee Cooper coal plant until the Environmental Impact Statement is completed. Please let the decision makers know your opinion on the situation. Visit the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League's website, http://coastalconservationleague.org and follow the 'Take Action' tab to send out a letter.

Our heritage-rich and historical Peedee River thanks you.

Bull Island... Bursting with Birds!

2007-09-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

As lowcountry locals know, the autumn and spring are the best times of the year to enjoy the outdoors. The temps are fantastic, mosquitos begin to die off and our wildlife never fail to impress.

Bull Island is no exception and is currently abuzz with some wonderful birds in Summerhouse Pond, namely the Wood storks, Roseate Spoonbills and American Avocets.
Over the past month, all three have been spotted roosting and feeding in and around the inland wetland called Summerhouse Pond... offering up some amazing birding and photography experiences.

Bull Island is open to the public and can be accessed by the Bull Island Ferry. The ferry runs on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and departs Garris Landing on the mainland at 9:00 am and 12:30 pm, and leaves the island at 12 noon and 4:00 pm. Please come and enjoy this wonderful opportunity to "catch" some fairly rare birds up close! Questions and details should refer to our website (www.coastalexpeditions.com) or call our headquarters at 843.884.7684.

Mycteria Americana

2007-09-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

Its late summer and the endangered North American Wood Stork, Mycteria Americana, is making its presence known.
The Wood Stork is easily identifiable by its huge size (our largest wading bird), long black trailing edge on underside of the wings (only visible in-flight), long downcurved bill, and when in flight it flies with both its feet and neck fully extended (un-like our herons, egrets, and pelicans), resembling the baby-delivering version from animated cartoon nostalgia. It requires fish filled shallows for working the mud with thier bill and snapping up fish. The speed with which they clamp down on fish is considered to be the fastest in the vertabrate world.
This avian giant was added to the endangered list in 1984 after decades of extreme population decline. The wood stork in considered a good bio-indicator species because its feeding and nesting sites are greatly effected by even subtle climate and habitat changes.
The Wood Stork population has shifted to the north in terms of nesting areas due to habitat alteration and destruction occuring in southern Florida. In 1960 the population was estimated at 20,000 breeding pairs, the current population is estimated at a total of 10,000 adult birds. Not all hope is lost; in many areas, such as South Carolina, their numbers are slowly but steadily climbing as the storks find new habitat.
Currently, wood storks can be seen throughout the lowcountry and we should continue to see them in the coastal region into the late-fall, after which they typically move further south and inland.
Shem Creek continues to offer sightings of wood storks resting on the wooden dock walkways behind shrimp boats. The Folly Beach estuaries and Long Island lagoons play host to scores of wood storks and roosting and feeding habitat. Many neighborhood drainage ponds and small saltwater lagoons provide great feeding shallows for the storks in both Mount Pleasant and James Island communities.
Wood storks also can be spotted in great numbers aboard the Bull Island Ferry in the Cape Romain NWR.
Join us on an expedition to add the wood stork to your life list of birding.

Bottle-Nose Dolphin?!

2007-09-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Our guides have been spotting dolphin exhibiting some wonderful and rarely-seen behavior called strand feeding behind Folly Beach and Morris Island.
Strand feeding, or stranding, occurs when dolphin school baitfish in the shallow water next to a mud bank. One dolphin rushes at the bank, creating a wall of water and carrying herself out of the water and onto the muddy bank. During the beaching, the baitfish wash up and flap around on the bank. The "stranded" dolphin wriggle about the bank to snatch up a quick bite and then return to the water to switch places with another dolphin.
This type of feeding can only be found in the South Carolina Lowcountry and the areas in and around Charleston's barrier islands are alive with this activity.
Please give our office a call to set up a dolphin adventure of your own at 843.884.7684.
Photo courtesy Luke Pope-Corbett