Keep South Carolina Wild

Category: Birding

SCWF Invites You to Explore with Us!

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The South Carolina Wildlife Federation is known for many things: being the voice of residents who love wildlife, an advocate for our state’s outdoor spaces, and amazing wildlife education programs. There is an incredible line-up of classes we offer including Palmetto Pro-Birder, Naturalist, and Palmetto Outdoor Women’s Retreat events. New for 2025, SCWF is introducing our “Explores” programming. The “Explores” series is a new line of classes designed to introduce the outdoors to folks who may be new to outdoor experiences. BeBe Dalton Harrison, SCWF Director of Education says, “We want to welcome even more people to the outdoors.  These classes and events will be beginner friendly, lower cost, and a great way to step outside in a safe environment.”

The Explores Series will consist of a variety of topics across the state and will change yearly. This inaugural year includes programs to introduce families to fishing and hiking, backyard wildlife habitats, winter wildlife, and more! In addition to being “beginner friendly”, these classes will be offered at a low price point and in some cases will be free for the public. Once each Explores classes is open for registration, it will be listed on our events page at www.scwf.org/events.

SCWF Explores Series

Create a Wildlife Habitat-Anderson County (Tuesday, June 10th)
Families Exploring Nature-Lexington Wildlife Chapter, Lexington (Friday, June 27th)
Water for Wildlife-Sumter (Saturday, July 12th)
EcoLeaders for Youth-Sesquicentennial State Park, Columbia (Monday, July 21st)
Backyard Habitat-North Myrtle Beach (Date TBD)
Fall Backyard Habitat-York County (Date TBD)
Winter Wildlife-Location TBD

 

Banner image credit: Salty Serenity by Stuart Barfield.

Fun Birding Challenge with Birds & Beans Coffee

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Join the challenge! The first person to spot each species below before June 30th and email SCWF at mail@scwf.org wins a free 12 oz. bag of coffee, shipped straight from Birds & Beans. This migratory bird spotting challenge invites guests to try and spot one of the 6 migratory birds that are featured on the Birds & Beans packaging. Each bird is listed below with some tips & tricks about where you can spot them. 

 

 

Scarlet tanagers can be found in mature forests and even park-like settings in places like Saluda Shoals Park, golf courses, and even yards with large native hardwood trees. Listen for their raspy song to help you locate them high in the canopy.

Image Credit: Scarlet Tanager by Ryan Sanderson.

 

Chestnut-sided warblers can often be found in and around trees where the forest meets an opening. They’re usually found in the mid-levels of trees, as well as low shrubs, so you don’t have to look to high to find them (usually)! Park settings can also be good for this bird. 14 Mile Creek and Archers Lake in Lexington county could prove to be a good spot for these birds.

Image Credit: Chesnut-sided warbler by Keenan Yakola.

 

 

Wood thrush like mature healthy forests. Lynch’s Woods in Newberry and Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve should produce some of these birds in the Midlands. Wood thrush are usually on the ground or up to mid-level on trees. Listen for their song, which is one of the most beautiful of our woods during the breeding season!

Image Credit: Wood thrush by Fernando Burgalin Sequeria.

 

 

Baltimore orioles are brilliantly orange birds easily seen from a distance due to the male’s color. Once again, any park-like setting could produce one of these birds for you. Look mid to upper canopy for them. These birds are so beautiful, they can be life changing!

Image Credit: Baltimore oriole by Fernando Burgalin Sequeria.

 

 

American Redstarts are somewhat easy to find because of their erratic feeding behavior and constant movement. Look around the mid-canopy of hardwood trees in almost any setting in SC, besides open fields. Nature parks, city and town parks, and yards filled with native trees and shrubs should produce an abundance of these birds.

Image Credit: American redstart by Evan Lipton.

 

 

 

An open field is where you’ll find Eastern Kingbirds! Look for birds sitting on powerlines and in trees at the edge of a clearing, pond, or field. The dark tail with a bright white tail tip is diagnostic for this bird, but don’t get it confused with an Eastern Phoebe! Lakes, ponds, and any farm field could produce this bird for you!

Image Caption: Eastern kingbird by Frank Lehman.

Turn Out the Lights for the Birds at Night!

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A recent resolution was passed by the S.C. General Assembly that officially declared the nights of March through May and August through October as “Lights Out Nights in South Carolina Season” and urges South Carolina residents to turn out non-essential lights at night during these critical periods in the spring and fall for the protection of birds in South Carolina.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology uses BirdCast to track and forecast bird migration across the U.S., and has reported during peak migration periods, over a billion birds can migrate across the country in a single night! Every year, billions of birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall, the majority of them flying at night, navigating the night sky.

The dark skies allow the migrating birds to avoid predators, take advantage of calmer air, and utilize the moon and stars for navigation. However, as birds pass over communities and cities on their way, they can become disoriented by bright artificial lights and skyglow. Some birds become casualties of nighttime collisions with windows and walls. Others circle in confusion until dawn, when they land exhausted and are subject to other urban threats. This issue impacts hundreds of species, including priority species such as the wood thrush and the seaside sparrow.

Thanks to the work of Audubon South Carolina, in collaboration with SCWF, the passing of this resolution is an important step towards a binding lights out ordinance that will require certain buildings in cities and towns across South Carolina to adopt bird-friendly lighting practices. The Charleston City Council passed a similar “Lights Out” proclamation on March 11th , which will hopefully lead to other cities and towns in South Carolina to follow suit. It was great to see the City of Charleston recognize lights out as a way to protect migratory birds passing through our skies. Special thanks to council member Ross Appel for working on this important initiative for our birds!

Jennifer Tyrrell with Audubon South Carolina stated, “It was great to see the City of Charleston recognize lights out as a way to protect migratory birds passing through our skies. Special thanks to council member Ross Appel for working on this important initiative for our birds!”

Join individuals and businesses across South Carolina to help our feathered friends on their long journeys with Lights Out South Carolina! Through taking collective action, we can help ensure that South Carolina skies provide safe passage.

 

See the full Senate Resolution at the link below:

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/339.htm

Check out this webinar on the dangers that birds face during migration, issues of light pollution for wildlife, and the steps we can all take to protect birds and wildlife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsS2n9yY1DU

Want to monitor bird migration for South Carolina or your city? Check out Cornell’s BirdCast Migration Dashboard.

WAIT Partner Update: Oshkosh Defense

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One of the greatest things we can see on a Wildlife And Industry Together or WAIT partner’s property are signs that wildlife has a place to feed and reproduce in a safe environment. Oshkosh Defense LLC in Spartanburg, SC, has developed such an area on part of its property for birds like red-winged blackbirds, Eastern bluebirds, and even the steeply declining loggerhead shrike, which has been seen in and around the parking lot feeding on the insects or other prey near the native plants that were installed to attract wildlife.

Image Caption: Killdeer on nest at Oshkosh Defense.

In a press release, Trent McJunkin, facilities and maintenance manager said: “Our intent is to turn our greenspace at the facility into a thriving habitat for native wildlife, supporting biodiversity, and a healthy ecosystem. Trent added that: “This effort not only helps wildlife flourish, but also increases efficiencies in groundskeeping, demonstrating that sustainability and operational effectiveness can go hand in hand.”

 

Why WAIT?

SCWF partners with conservation-minded businesses throughout the state who want to help wildlife thrive by enhancing their properties and providing educational opportunities for their employees and communities. Read more about the WAIT Program and how to join here.

Project Prothonotary Workshop

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SCWF recently held a workshop for Project Prothonotary, an ongoing conservation effort to enhance habitat for a declining bird species known as the prothonotary warbler. This project focuses specifically on installing nesting boxes for prothonotary warblers in the Catawba-Wateree watershed of South Carolina. Hosted at the Catawba Nation, workshop participants learned about how to identify nests of certain species, bird breeding biology, and best practices for monitoring bird nests.

Volunteers were trained in nest box monitoring for prothonotary warblers and data collection using NestWatch. Starting in the spring, volunteers will begin checking nest boxes each week for signs of nesting activity! To learn more about Project Prothonotary, visit https://www.scwf.org/projectprothonotary/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to Duke Energy for sponsoring this workshop and for making this project possible!

Volunteer Day at Camp Discovery

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Thank you to the 25 volunteers who showed up on Saturday, February 1st, to help Eastern bluebirds at Camp Discovery in Blythewood, SC! Camp Discovery’s mission is to engage and inspire through discovery in science and nature. On their 116-acre property, Camp Discovery has about 30 nesting boxes for bluebirds.

SCWF staff and volunteers go out each year to clean these boxes, reduce vegetation, and record the data. This is important to do because Eastern bluebirds will not nest in boxes if they contain old nests or debris.

Thank you to the Columbia Star for your article about this volunteer day!