Litchfield Beach Field Trip Schedule and Descriptions

Winter Meeting Planning Notes

The times listed above are when the cars are lined up in the parking lot and leaving. Please be there at least 10 minutes early and identify yourself to the leader. If you decide not to go on a trip, either scratch through your name beforehand on the supplied lists at the registration table, or show up at the meeting place and tell the leader.

All trips depart from the Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort. Look for the placard with your trip number. You will receive a sheet with directions for all your trips in your registration packet. Please bring it on each trip as caravans sometimes break down, and, if so, you'll still be able to get to the birding site. Get the leader's cell number before you leave, just in case.

Food for purchase during field trips may be somewhat limited. Accordingly, plan to take snacks and beverages with you, and be sure to pack a lunch for the all day trips.

We try to take as few vehicles as possible on field trips in order to save fuel, make caravanning easier, and to make better use of the limited parking that exists at some stops. Please plan on carpooling.

Litchfield Beach Meeting Field Trip Descriptions

Trip 1: Bulls Island (All day Fri)

Bulls Island is a full-day boat trip with an additional fee of $45 per participant. The fee will be collected on board, and you may pay with cash, check, or credit card. The pearl of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, Bulls Island offers mud flats, saltwater marshes, beaches, freshwater impoundments, ponds, and upland habitats. This place is on anybody's list of the top five birding spots in South Carolina. We have arranged for the boat to land at the island's north end to reduce the long walk from the regular landing. Here we will look at the massive shorebird roost at high tide, scope the ocean for interesting birds, and then check out Jack's Creek impoundment. Target birds include Canvasback and Redhead, Red-necked Grebe, potentially thousands of shorebirds, Piping Plover, Peregrine Falcon, American White Pelican and more. Prepare for a full day of walking and bring a packed lunch and water.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 90 minutes – Facilities: None – Activity level: Walking all day, boat trip to and from the island – Extra cost: $45 fee for boat transportation

Trips 2 & 17: Huntington Beach State Park with jetty (All day Fri & Sat)

This trip will cover the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park along with nearby tidal creeks and flats, plus the causeway, Mullet Pond, the Education Center, salt marsh boardwalk and Sandpiper Pond. The jetty is one of best places in the state to find wintering Purple Sandpiper, Common Eider, Razorbill, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Gannet, and scoters. Be prepared for a 3-mile walk round-trip along the beach from the north parking lot to the jetty. Bring a packed lunch and water, however some food is available in the park store.
Limit: 16 – Travel Time: 15 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Walking all day – Extra cost: $5 per person state park entrance fee

Trip 3: Santee Coastal Reserve (All day Fri)

Our tour of the Santee Coastal Reserve's mainland area will cover acres of former rice fields, river frontage along the South Santee River, magnificent cypress–tupelo swamp, upland fields, and mixed forest. Expect lots of waterfowl and wading birds, American White Pelican, Wood Stork, sparrows, raptors, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bald Eagle, and if we are lucky, Barn Owl, Golden Eagle, and rails.
Limit: 16 – Travel Time: 90 minutes – Facilities: None – Activity level: Moderate Walking all day

Trips 4 & 16: Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center (All day Fri & Sat)

This area is a SC Heritage Preserve administered by the Department of Natural Resources. Public access can be rather limited, so we are excited to offer two full-day trips to this fantastic birding area just 20 minutes from Georgetown. Target birds include American Avocet, American White Pelican, Tundra Swan, Barn Owl, lots of waterfowl, shorebirds, rails, raptors, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, sparrows and more! Observation towers provide a panoramic view of the south Santee River Delta and surrounding area. This trip seems to be the one to get it all, in one long day! Note that space will be limited, so if you are hoping to go on this trip, register early! We will take a short ferry ride to reach the Center. Bring food and water.
Limit: 13 – Travel Time: 60 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Moderate walking

Trip 5: Gull Workshop or "How to tell the gulls from the buoys." (All day Fri)

After an indoor presentation on gull identification taught and led by Dr. Chris Hill, we will visit local gulling spots that may include the Conway Wastewater Treatment Plant and Horry County Landfill. This will be a great opportunity to learn about gulls! Be prepared to carpool, or possibly van pool, for the field trip. The field portion of this trip is limited to 15 people, and participants must carpool, however the indoor workshop is open to room capacity.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: begins on-site – Facilities: available during the indoor presentation – Activity level: Likely minimal walking. Must carpool.

Trips 6 & 22: Cherry Grove Pier and Marsh (Half day Fri AM & Sat. AM)

We will ocean watch for pelagics, sea ducks, and more from the Cherry Grove Pier, the northernmost publicly accessible pier in the state. We will also visit Heritage Shores Nature Preserve in Cherry Grove for marsh birds and Vereen Memorial Gardens at the state line, just north of Cherry Grove, for winter passerines, Bald Eagle, and marsh birds.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 60 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Moderate walking – Extra cost: $2 pier access fee

Trips 7 & 25: Rocky Point Plantation (Half day Fri & Sat AM)

This trip is to the Nature Conservancy's newest preserve, for which Carolina Bird Club was a major financial contributor. The tract is located on the Great Pee Dee River. This will be one of the first times it has been birded, so we will be starting the bird list for the property.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 45 minutes – Facilities: none – Activity level: moderate walking

Trips 8, 14, & 30: Huntington Beach State Park w/o jetty (Half day Fri AM & PM, Sat PM)

Even if you don't go out to the jetty, a trip to "HBSP" can yield great birding and photography opportunities. This trip will cover the causeway, Mullet Pond, Education Center feeders, salt marsh boardwalk, and an overlook on the marshy end of Sandpiper Pond (good for rails and bitterns). The trip will also briefly visit the beach, but will not make the trek to the jetty. We hope to see ducks, American Bittern, rails, wading birds, wintering passerines, and raptors.
Limit: 16 – Travel Time: 15 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Moderate walking – Extra cost: $5 per person state park entrance fee

Trips 9, 11, 23 and 28: South Tibwin (Half day Fri & Sat AM & PM)

Located in the Francis Marion National Forest, South Tibwin features mature pine forest and waterfowl impoundments. The impoundments are usually closed during mid-winter, but the Forest Service has given us permission to bird here. We hope to find a variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, rails, American Bittern, and wintering passerines. Participants should plan to carpool.
Limit: 15 (Please carpool) – Travel Time: 60 minutes – Facilities: None – Activity level: 3 miles of walking

Trips 10, 24: Myrtle Beach State Park (Half day Fri & Sat, AM & PM)

We begin at the pier to look for loons, cormorants, gannets, Horned Grebe, gulls, terns and hopefully some alcids. The pier offers restrooms, coffee, snacks etc. Next, we will bird the maritime forest and ponds, which may yield Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-throated Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler and other wintering passerines. The pond may have waterfowl including Hooded Merganser and Blue-winged Teal. We will also look for American Bittern, rails, and sparrows.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 20 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Moderate walking – Extra cost: $5 per person state park entrance fee

Trips 12 & 27: Huntington Beach SP Jetty (Half day Fri & Sat PM)

These afternoon trips will walk to the jetty and nearby tidal creeks and flats. The jetty is one of the best places in the state to find wintering Purple Sandpiper and scoters. Rarities are regular here. and with luck we may find species like Common Eider, Razorbill, or Long-tailed Duck.
Limit: 16 – Travel Time: 15 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: 3 miles of walking on beach to jetty – Extra cost: $5 per person state park entrance fee

Trips 13 & 26: Brookgreen Gardens (Half day Fri & Sat PM)

Participants will spend the afternoon exploring beautiful statuary gardens and wonderful open woodland habitat for a variety of birds including ducks, rails, American Bittern, wading birds, wintering passerines, Great Horned Owl, Bald Eagle and more.
Limit: 16 – Travel Time: 15 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Moderate walking – Extra cost: $15 entrance fee to the Gardens

Trips 15 & 29: South Litchfield Beach (Half day Fri & Sat PM)

Due to ongoing beach restoration on South Litchfield Beach, field trips 15 & 29 have been changed to South Pawleys Island Beach. Located near our hotel, this beach is located south of Huntington Beach SP. We will bird the causeway leading to the beach, which is an excellent place to observe Clapper Rails. From the parking lot we will walk along the shore where we may see a variety of shorebirds, Northern Gannet, loons, grebes, sea ducks, cormorants, gulls, terns and more. On the western side of the island we'll search for shorebirds and waders.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 15 minutes – Facilities: None – Activity level: Up to 3 miles of walking on the beach

Trip 18: Santee Coastal Reserve and Santee Delta WMA (All day Sat)

Our tour of the Santee Coastal Reserve's upland area will cover acres of pine, hardwood, mixed pine/hardwood forest, grasslands, planted fields, and the Washo Reserve. Woodpeckers, including Red-cockaded, raptors, and wintering passerines can be found, with chances of some wading birds and waterfowl in the Washo Reserve. The Santee Delta should be good for waterfowl, wading birds, rails, hawks, and wintering passerines.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 90 minutes – Facilities: On Hwy 17 between the reserves. – Activity level: Moderate walking all day

Trip 19: Long-billed Curlew Trip (All day Sat)

This is a full-day boat trip with an additional fee of $45 per participant. The fee will be collected on board, and you may pay with cash, check, or credit card. This trip visits Raccoon Key and Lighthouse Island in a covered boat with windows that lower. The boat holds up to 40 passengers. Our target birds include the curlew along with Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, American Oystercatcher, waterfowl, Peregrine Falcon, and more. We usually see all three maritime sparrows.
Limit: 40 – Travel Time: 75 minutes – Facilities: None – Activity level: All day boat trip may be very cold, wet and windy – Extra cost: $45 fee for boat transportation

Trip 20: Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve (Half day Sat)

This 9,000-acre preserve includes 23 Carolina Bays (shallow, circular lakes). The preserve is classified as an Important Bird Area by Audubon. Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Bald Eagle will be the chief target birds. The state's largest population of Black Bear occurs here, as well as numerous rare plants including the Venus Flytrap.
Limit: 15 – Travel Time: 60 minutes – Facilities: None – Activity level: Moderate walking

Trip 21: New Birder workshop. (Half day Sat)

This trip is for those new to birding or those who just want a refresher! We'll visit Huntington Beach State Park looking and listening for birds in a variety of habitats. Additional focus will be placed on bird behavior and identification techniques.
Limit: 16 – Travel Time:15 minutes – Facilities: yes – Activity level: Moderate walking – Extra cost: $5 per person state park entrance fee

Trip X: Sunday Morning Hotspots

Depending on interest and the location of birds found on Friday and Saturday, we may offer a “hotspot tour” Sunday morning. More information will be provided at the Saturday evening meeting.