Date: 2/24/25 12:11 pm From: Nate Dias (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: 2024 McClellanville CBC - 178 species and 75,417 individuals
The 2024 McClellanville Christmas Bird Count tallied 178 species, which should put us in the running for top CBC east of the Mississippi in terms of species count. We should enjoy it while it lasts - with sea level rise, coastal erosion, and managed impoundment challenges - we will probably not be in the running in a decade.
Unlike the 2023 McClellanville CBC, this year we did not have to cancel because of multiple days in a row of gale force winds. Half the count circle is open water / marsh and we cover multiple barrier islands by boat, so we are very boat-dependent.
There was a Small Craft Advisory on count day - yet our intrepid captains and passengers did well despite the conditions. Two boat parties got all three marsh sparrow species despite the winds and a high tide at sunrise - a testament to their abilities, fieldcraft and experience. Captain John Cox, Jeff Click, and Charles Donnelly did a great job, as did Craig and Jen Richard.
Snow Goose numbers continued their recent decline - we used to consistently get 800-1200 Snow Geese, this year we had 415. But a Greater White-fronted Goose was a nice treat.
At multiple times covering my territory on Murphy Island, I had both Snow Geese and Roseate Spoonbills in view at once. Unfortunately I could not arrange a camera shot with both species in the same frame. I think there are not many places away from the Gulf Coast where one can see these species together, but the NC coast may be one such place before long.
Duck numbers on Murphy Island and the Santee Coastal Reserve Cape Unit were very good - they had been ridiculous the week before but a fair number of birds departed or moved elsewhere on count day.
A single Least Bittern was good, though we have gotten one or two on most counts in recent years.
Shorebird numbers in Cape Romain NWR continued their long, slow decline and once again the formerly old reliable Long-billed Curlews were absent. We only tallied 131 American Oystercatchers, which is much lower than the 600-800 we used to tally until recent years.
We only had 1 Red-throated Loon - it has been a very poor year for them along the SC coast this winter in my experience.
We had all-time high counts of Wood Stork (264) and American White Pelican (1034). We also had an all-time high of Bald Eagles with 58 individuals.
We had 57 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers - pretty respectable even if it is a bit lower than the all-time high of 67. 57 may put us in the running for the high count nationally this year.
We only had one Loggerhead Shrike for the CBC - the long, slow decline continues.
Despite parties looking carefully for them, we did not tally any Cave Swallows during an "up" year for them.
The Francis Marion National Forest produced a Bachman's Sparrow - I need to figure out how the Santee Coastal Reserve field parties can start reliably producing them.
Sparrows were difficult on such a windy day - we only had 2 Field, 2 Fox, and 3 Vesper Sparrows.
We only had 33 Eastern Meadowlarks - the high count is 644. But the decline is in part due to habitat changes within the count circle.
We had 38 Rusty Blackbirds - considerably off the pace of the high count of 280.
No Ovenbirds this year, but we did have Yellow-throated Warbler (2) and Prairie Warbler (1).
Painful misses included King Rail, WHIMBREL (not sure how that happened), Woodcock, and Ipswich Sparrows. Ipswich Sparrows are hard to get any more - the high for the count is 32.
"These days I prefer to hunt with a camera. A good photograph demands more skill from the hunter, better nerves and more patience than the rifle shot." -- Bror Blixen
