Field Trip Schedule and Descriptions

Important Notes for Your Trip

• Just in case, bring your warm weather gear (sunscreen, hats, light clothing, etc.) as it can be warm in Beaufort this time of year.
• Be sure to pack lunch and snacks for the all-day trips and due to the tight schedules, you might want to pack a lunch for the half-day trips also. Each trip is noted as to availability of public restrooms.
• All field trips have a participation limit of 12.
• All trips will leave from the hotel. If the trip leader is to meet you at the site, one person will be assigned as the guide to get you to the site. Site directions will be available at registration. If you plan to meet your trip at the site, be sure to let your trip leader know in advance.

Field Trip Descriptions

Trips 1 & 11 Harbor Island

Nestled between St. Helena and Hunting Islands in Beaufort County, Harbor Island is a 1,400-acre private community on the Harbor River & Johnson Creek. Three small ponds on the island provide a roost for egrets and herons and there is a rather large rookery in the spring. The south side of the island is good for shore birds. Some of the target birds are plovers, oystercatchers, skimmers, wading birds, and terns.

Approximate travel time:

25–30 minutes

Facilities:

No Restrooms.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy to light walking.

Trips 2 & 14 Fripp Island

Fripp Island is a gated island and is adjacent to Hunting Island. Pied-billed Grebe, Wood Storks, herons, egrets, ibis, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawks, Caspian & Common Terns, Black Skimmers, and eight warbler species have been seen late September and early October.

Approximate travel time:

45 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms available.

Access conditions:

A guard and gate at the island entrance.

Trip 3 Nemours Plantation

Nemours Wildlife Foundation, located on Nemours Plantation near Yemassee, South Carolina, is a great place for birding, many opportunities to observe various bird species in diverse habitats. The foundation manages tidal impoundments and pine savannas, which attract a variety of birds, and also cultivates habitats for species like the rails and Red-cockaded Woodpecker.

Approximate travel time:

35 minutes

Facilities

Restrooms available.

Access conditions:

Light to moderate walking. Nemours Foundation will provide 2 pick-up trucks for transportation. Be prepared to climb into and out of high bed trucks. Participants should be prepared for possible mosquitoes.

Trips 4 & 15 Pinckney Island NWR & Hilton Head

Pinckney Island NWR is a 4,000-acre refuge that was once an early 19th century plantation. The island consists of salt marsh, forestland, brushland, fallow field and freshwater ponds. The great diversity of habitat makes for some great birding. Some of the target birds are waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, migrants and large concentrations of White Ibis, herons, and egrets. Fish Haul Creek Park is a good place to find shorebirds and terns. The target birds for the 0.3-mile boardwalk are Clapper Rail and Seaside Sparrow.

Approximate travel time:

45–50 minutes

Facilities:

No Restrooms.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve moderate walking.

Trips 5 & 17 Beaufort & Vicinity

Port Royal Boardwalk Park, Broad River, Chechessee River Estuaries (RC) and Cypress Wetlands. Port Royal Boardwalk is 0.2 miles long. It runs through salt-marsh and mud flats and has a tall observation platform. West of Beaufort there is a series of broad tidal estuaries interspersed with salt marshes. Two of these, the Broad and Chechessee Rivers are easily birded from dry land. Some of the target birds are ducks, rails, ibis, gulls, terns, shore birds, herons, egrets, and migrants.

Approximate travel time:

15 minutes

Facilities:

Gas stations between sites, and at Widgeon Point Preserve.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy to moderate walking.

Trips 6 & 16 Hunting Island State Park

This island is over four miles of beach, thousands of acres of marsh, tidal creeks and maritime forest, a saltwater lagoon and ocean inlet. There is a long fishing pier on the south end of the island. The Hunting Island Lighthouse stands 132.5 feet tall, giving breathtaking views of the Lowcountry marshland, the slash pine/cabbage palmetto/live oak forest, and the Atlantic Ocean. There are admission fees. Bring your state park pass if you have one. Some of the target birds are Painted Buntings, Piping Plovers, rails, tanagers, orioles, pelicans, oystercatchers, skimmers, terns, herons, and egrets.

Approximate travel time:

30 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms available, at several locations.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve walking up to 4 miles.

Trips 7 & 13 Spring Island

Spring Island, South Carolina, is a fantastic location for birding, particularly due to its diversity of habitats and commitment to conservation. The island features a mix of maritime forest, pine savannas, saltmarsh, and freshwater wetlands, attracting a wide variety of bird species throughout the year. You can expect to see everything from songbirds and raptors to wading birds and shorebirds.

Approximate travel time:

35 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms available.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve moderate walking.

Trips 8 & 20 Savannah NWR

Savannah NWR consists of over 29,000 acres of freshwater marshes, tidal rivers and creeks and bottomland hardwoods. The refuge provides nesting areas for Wood Ducks, Great Horned Owls, Bald Eagles, Osprey and Swallow-tailed Kites among others. The kites and storks will probably be gone by the end of September. As many as 13 species of duck either live in or migrate through this refuge. Other bird types found here include coots, moorhens, Purple Gallinules, Soras, egrets, herons, and shore birds along with other migrating bird species. This trip basically covers the 5-mile driving tour (Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive) with multiple stops.

Approximate travel time:

50 minutes

Facilities:

No restrooms on Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive. Restrooms are only available at the Visitor Center, which is 4 miles away.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve moderate walking.

Trips 9 & 19 Caw Caw Nature and History Interpretive Center

Located near Ravenel, this Charleston County Park is situated on land that was once historic rice plantations. The park consists of 1,000 acres of diverse coastal habitats including cypress/ tupelo swamps, a tidal saltmarsh, freshwater and brackish water impoundments, and upland and bottomland forests. The property is accessed by six miles of trails and offers easy and quality birding. Over 250 species of birds have been documented in the park, and we hope to find marsh wading birds, rails, owls, vireos, wrens, migrant warblers, and others.
We will visit the Edisto Nature Trail on the way back to the hotel. Located in the town of Jacksonboro on Highway 17, it's swamp with a boardwalk and could have lots of migrating songbirds. Insect repellent is strongly recommended.

Approximate travel time:

60 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms available.

Access conditions:

$5/person fee to enter the County Park. This trip will involve easy to moderate walking.

Trip 10 Edisto Unit, ACE Basin NWR

The ACE Basin NWR lies in the heart of the ACE Basin, "One of the last great places on Earth." We will bird the Grove Plantation area, in which habitat types are mixed hardwood-pine, bottomland hardwood, longleaf pine, and early successional grasslands/field. This Refuge has over 7000 acres and 10 miles of trails. The location hosts a diversity of waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, and passerines. This area is known for Wood Storks, Bald Eagles, other raptors, and the exceptional diversity of migratory land birds.

Approximate travel time:

1 hour

Facilities:

Restrooms at Refuge Office

Access:

Bring sunscreen, insect repellent, snacks, and water as needed. No fee.

Trip 12 Combahee Unit, ACE Basin NWR

Over 2 miles of walking trails through wetlands, old rice fields, canals and estuaries. ACE is an acronym for Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers. The Combahee (pronounced Come-bee) will provide Wood Duck, Mallard, heron, ibis, Osprey, Wood Stork and Bald Eagles.

Approximate travel time:

35 minutes

Facilities:

No restrooms.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve light to moderate walking, on uneven surfaces.

Trip 18 Coosawhatchie

The Coosawhatchie Wildlife Management Area (WMA) opened on Aug. 1, 2024, and combines three properties into one sprawling natural resources treasure trove that includes mature upland pine woods and rare hardwood bluffs. It includes great Bachman's Sparrow habitat, shrike, Red-headed Woodpecker. Robin Carter wrote about this area 40 years ago!

Approximate travel time:

40 minutes

Facilities:

No Restrooms.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve moderate walking.

Trip 21 Webb WMA

Webb Center, a globally recognized Important Bird Area, comprises 5866 acres. Birds to look for include Least Bittern, Mississippi Kite, Purple Gallinule, Red-headed Woodpecker, Redcockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman's Sparrow, and Painted Bunting.

Approximate travel time:

70 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms available.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve moderate walking.

Trip 22 Hunting Island S.P. Lagoon

Kayak Tour SPECIAL – 10 am to 3 pm – Beaufort Kayak will lead this 2 1/2 hour tour of the lagoon & estuaries near Hunting Island State Park. Paddling will be easy. Barrier island geology will be discussed, and a cast net demonstration will be given. Paddles, PFD and single & tandem kayaks will be provided. Their website: https://coastalexpeditions.com. The Cost of this tour will be $60, payable to the outfitter at the site.

Approximate Travel Time:

35 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms available.

Trip 23 Bear Island/Donnelley

Bear Island is a combination of old rice fields and marshes and provides some of the best birding in South Carolina. Some of the target birds are Bald Eagle, Mottled Duck, King Rail, herons, egrets, and shorebirds. If the water levels are low the shorebirds can be in large numbers. This is the only day during this meeting that Bear Island is open to birding. On the drive to Bennett's Point, look for Clapper Rails, Gull-billed, Least and Royal Terns plus Black Skimmers.

Donnelley WMA is 8,000 acres of unique property which is a cross section of the Lowcountry and encompasses a diversity of wetland and upland habitats including: managed rice fields, forested wetland, tidal marsh, agricultural lands and a variety of upland types, including a natural stand of longleaf pine. Some of the target birds here are Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Anhinga, coot, Purple Gallinule, Sora, herons & egrets. Insect repellent is advisable. This is the only day during this meeting that Donnelley is open to birding.

Approximate travel time:

50 minutes

Facilities:

No Restrooms.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve moderate walking.