Field Trip Schedule and Descriptions

Field Trip Descriptions

Half-day trips

Trip #1 & 19 - Bulls Island (All-day, Friday)

Bulls Island is a full-day boat trip for $40 a head. Minimum = 10 people. The fee will be collected on board the ferry. They take cash, check, or credit card (bring lunch and water). We'll be walking on the island all day. The pearl of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, Bulls Island, offers mud banks, 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 drop-off at the dock, then a hike up to Jack's Creek and the observation deck near the end of Sheepshead Ridge Road, and a hike back to the dock. This will be at least a 5.5 mile walk and is a moderate to heavy exertion effort, not to be taken lightly. The hike will be flat but on soft soil. Target birds include Canvasback and Redhead, Red-necked Grebe, potentially thousands of shorebirds, Piping Plover, Peregrine Falcon, American White Pelican, and more.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 65 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Around 6 miles of moderate to heavy walking over different kinds of mostly flat terrain.

Trip #2, 16, & 18 - Huntington Beach State Park (All-day, Friday & Saturday, $5 per person state park fee)

This trip will cover the jetty at Huntington Beach State Park, together with the nearby tidal creeks and flats, plus the causeway, Mullet Pond, the education center, salt marsh boardwalk and Sandpiper Pond. The jetty is one of the best places in the state to find wintering Purple Sandpipers and Common Eider, Razorbill, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Gannets, and all three North American scoters. The main drawback to visiting the jetty is that it is nearly a 3 mile walk, round-trip, along the beach from the north parking lot. Bring water and lunch. Some food is available in the park store.
Limit: 16
Travel Time: 10 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Walking all day, walking multiple miles on loose sand. Participants should be able to walk more than four miles in a day.

Trip #3 - Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center (All-day, Friday)

This area is a SC Heritage Preserve and administered by the Department of Natural Resources. Public access can be rather limited, so we are excited to offer a full-day trip to this fantastic birding area. Target birds include American Avocet, American White Pelican, Tundra Swan, Barn Owl, lots of waterfowl, shorebirds, rails, raptors, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, sparrows and more! Observation towers provide a panoramic view of the south Santee River Delta and surrounding area. This trip makes for a long day, but what a day it will be there! Note that space will be limited, so if you are hoping to go on this trip, register early! Bring food and water.
Limit: 11
Travel Time: 40 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Ferry over to island

Trip #4 - Cherry Grove Pier and Marsh, Heritage Shores, and Myrtle Beach State Park (All-day, Friday, up to $10 in access fees per person) - 6:30 a.m.

We will ocean watch for pelagics, sea ducks, etc. from the Cherry Grove Pier which is the northernmost publicly accessible pier in the state. We will also visit Heritage Shores Nature Preserve in Cherry Grove for marsh birds, and Myrtle Beach State Park. The order in which we visit each location will be determined by the weather and the tides. That time of year, alcids can often be seen from the piers we'll be visiting, with many coming close enough to shore to be photographed!
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 60 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trip #5 & 26 - Huntington Beach SP Jetty (Half-day, Friday & Saturday, $5 per person state park fee)

This trip will walk to the jetty and the nearby tidal creeks and flats. The jetty is one of the best places in the state to find wintering Purple Sandpipers and scoters. Rarities are regular here and with luck we may find such species as Common Eider, Razorbill, and Long-Tailed Duck.
Limit: 16
Travel Time: 10 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: At least 3 miles of walking on beach to and from jetty

Trip #6 - Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (Half-day, Friday)

This trip visits the Cox Ferry Recreational Area where it's possible to see most of our resident woodland passerines, as well as winter migrants. Target species include sparrows, woodcock, raptors, and waterfowl.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 40 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trip #7 - Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve (Half-day, Friday)

This 9,000 acre preserve includes 23 Carolina Bays. The preserve is classified as an IBA by Audubon. The chief target birds will be Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and other species associated with pine savannas. The state's largest population of Black Bears occurs here as well as numerous rare plants including the Venus Flytrap. The trip will be led by a Coastal Carolina University professor who conducts research at the site.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 45 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Moderate Walking

Trips #8, 12, & 23 - Huntington Beach State Park (Half-day, Friday & Saturday, $5 per person state park fee)

In the wintertime, one of the best ways to see a large variety of birds is to explore the different habitats in close proximity to one another within the southern end of “HBSP.” As the top birding spot along the Grand Strand, and arguably South Carolina, multiple trips will run in the park at the same time. Each leader will discuss with the group where they would like to go, but the leader's decisions must be respected. An example of a trip might begin at Mallard Pond Causeway, moving to the trail behind the visitor's center, connecting to the former carriage trail, observing the mallard pond, moving toward the Atalaya building and its secluded access to the beach, and ending back in the Visitor's Center parking lot. Others might visit the marsh boardwalk and the Sandpiper Trail. Only trips that specifically mention the jetty (and its mile-and-a-third-each-way walk) will visit the jetty.
Limit: 16
Travel Time: 10 minutes
Facilities: Yes, minimal concessions at Park HQ
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trips #9 & 28 - Brookgreen Gardens (Half-day, Friday & Saturday, $18 fee)

Participants will spend the afternoon exploring beautiful statuary gardens and wonderful open woodland habitat for a variety of birds including ducks, rails, bitterns, wading birds, wintering passerines, Great Horned & Barred Owls, Bald Eagles, etc.
Limit: 16
Travel Time: 8 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trip #10 - Conway Wastewater Treatment Ponds and Lake Busbee (Half-day, Friday)

The wastewater treatment ponds by former Lake Busbee is the best “crappy” birding spot in the area. After checking the ponds for a wide range of ducks and shorebirds, we will walk the path around former Lake Busbee for more waterfowl and a good variety of sparrows. Hopefully the Bald Eagles will nest there again as well.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 40 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trip #11 - Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, SC (Half-day, Friday p.m., $18 entrance fee)

This educational trip will visit the Raptor Center in Awendaw, SC that rehabilitates injured raptors and either releases them back into the wild or gives them a permanent home. The visit will include a presentation on the Center's mission, as well as visits to the oiled-bird treatment facility and the medical facility, but, most importantly, you'll see large birds of prey up close, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of each species currently receiving care and to appreciate the critical need for places like this. CBC members are welcome to bird the Center's property as well.
Limit: 30
Travel Time: 70 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Light Walking

Trips #13 & 25 - New-to-Birding workshop. (Half-day, Friday & Saturday, $5 per person state park fee)

This is for those new to birding or those who just want a refresher. You will 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: 10 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trips #14 & 22 - South Litchfield Beach (Half-day, Friday & Saturday p.m.)

Located near our hotel. This beach is located south of Huntington Beach SP. We will search the causeway leading to the beach which is an excellent place to observe rails. From the parking lot, we will walk up to 1.3 miles of the beach where we may see a variety of shorebirds. Gannets, loons, grebes, sea ducks, cormorants, gulls, terns, etc. may be also seen on our walk. On the western side of the island, we may find plovers, skimmers, and sandpipers.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 15 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Walking on beach

Trip #15 - “Not-a-Long-billed-Curlew Trip” (All-day, Saturday only, $45 per person; boats seats up to 40, minimum of 25)

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, Whimbrels, godwits, ducks, plovers, American Oystercatcher, Peregrine Falcon, and more. We usually see Nelson's, Seaside, and Saltmarsh Sparrows. The boat captain has requested that we not call this trip the “Curlew” trip so as not to disappoint participants if we don't find any, so, let's all please manage our expectations accordingly.
Limit: 40
Travel Time: 50 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: All-day boat trip may be very cold, wet, and windy. Individuals subject to seasickness should prepare themselves for winter water conditions.

Trip #17 - Santee Coastal Reserve (All-day, Saturday)

Santee Coastal Reserve has certain portions that are closed by statute during this year's meeting. This trip will include all of the areas accessible to the public during the winter months. Expect lots of waterfowl and wading birds, hawks, American White Pelicans, Wood Storks, probable rails, sparrows, raptors, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Barn Owls if we are lucky, plenty of Bald Eagles, and in 2004, a Golden Eagle was spotted there.
Limit: 16
Travel Time: 45 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Moderate walking all day

Trip #20 - Waties Island (Half-day, Saturday 6:15 a.m.)

Waties Island is one of the last undeveloped barrier islands on the S.C. coast. A true oasis in comparison to the Grand Strand. Saved for generations by one family, Waties is now preserved by a conservation easement and is host to research projects by the faculty and students of Coastal Carolina University. Bring food and water.
Limit: 20
Travel Time: 70 minutes
Facilities: None
Access conditions: Moderate walking, including beach walking

Trip #21 - Hemingway Sewage Treatment Ponds & Johnsonville Sand Pits (Half-day, Saturday)

This trip includes a visit, with permission, to the Hemingway Sewage Treatment Ponds, the top birding spot in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, with 18 different waterfowl species reported during the month of January. Shorebirds and passerines are also expected, but seeing large rafts of different kinds of ducks inland and up close is the highlight of this trip. If time allows, a visit to the seldom-birded Johnsonville Sand Pits is planned. Please note that the aromas surrounding the sewage treatment ponds can be strong, pungent, and at times even piquant.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 60 minutes (please carpool as much as possible)
Facilities: In the town of Hemingway there are a couple of fast food restaurants & a Food Lion
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Trip #24 - Myrtle Beach State Park (Half-day, Saturday, $5 per person state park fee - not per car)

We begin at the pier to look for loons, cormorants, gannets, horned grebes, gulls, terns, and hopefully some alcids, etc. The pier also has 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 some waterfowl. We will also look for bittern, rails, and sparrows.
Limit: 15
Travel Time: 35 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Moderate Walking

Trip #27 - Young Birders HBSP (Half-day, $5 per person state park fee)

This trip is specifically for young birders and their families, though others are welcome if there is room the day of the trip. You will visit Huntington Beach State Park looking and listening for birds in a variety of habitats, choosing destinations according to the trip leader's research (and maybe a hunch or two).
Limit: 16
Travel Time: 10 minutes
Facilities: Yes
Access conditions: Moderate walking

Meeting Notes

All meeting places for field trips are in the parking lot of Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, unless otherwise noted. Please be at the meeting place ten minutes early. Times are departure times from the Litchfield Beach and Golf Resort, and late arrivals will be left. Carpooling is a necessity for all trips and please remember to reimburse drivers for their gasoline expenses.