Birding Archives - South Carolina Wildlife Federation

Forks, Knives, & Spoonbills Conservation Dinner at The Willcox in Aiken

This event is SOLD OUT!

Join the South Carolina Wildlife Federation at The Willcox in Aiken from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm for a five-course, wine-paired conservation dinner featuring dishes inspired by imperiled bird species created by Executive Chef Philip Friesen.

This year’s featured species include the Eastern whip-poor-will, golden-winged warbler, green heron, prairie warbler, yellow-billed cuckoo, and of course, the roseate spoonbill, whose conservation story inspired this dinner series. We can’t wait to see the menu inspired by these species! As each course is served, SCWF Industry Habitat Manager Jay Keck will share information about each species and the conservation efforts needed to help them thrive.

This convivial evening will not disappoint! Purchase your tickets early to ensure that you can join us for this deliciously informative conservation dinner. All funds raised will benefit conservation and education programs at SCWF. Vegetarian option available.

Rooms: The Willcox currently has no vacancies, but we can let you know if rooms open up before the dinner if you’d like to stay overnight. Email us at mail@scwf.org to let us know. If you’d prefer to book a room nearby, we have a block of rooms at a group rate of $189 for a queen or $209 for a double or king at the Carriage House Inn, a 12-min. walk or a 4-min. drive from The Willcox. Call 803-644-5888 to book, and let them know that you’re with SCWF to get the special rate.

Presenting Sponsors

SCWF Friends

Dennis & Linda Hiltner

AJ & Jan Jackson

Lynn Lewis & David Hawkins

Heidi Dawn & Rick Chalmers

Jess Holm & Jon Boguski

Philanthropic Sponsorships

Please consider choosing a sponsorship to further support our mission!

For company sponsorships, you’ll receive two dinner tickets at the $525 level, or four tickets at the $1,050 level, and we’ll include your logo on all of this event’s marketing materials sent out to our 40,000+ supporters and followers, press releases, website, and on the printed menu. SOLD OUT

For SCWF Friend sponsorships, you’ll receive two dinner tickets at the $325 level, or four tickets at the $650 level, and will be recognized by name on the same formats. SOLD OUT

Thank you to our sponsors for helping us increase our impact for local wildlife.

FKS dinner refund policy: 90% of ticket price will be refunded for cancellations requested more than one week prior to the event. All refund requests must be made in writing or by email to mail@scwf.org.

Winter Wildlife Workshop

Do you wonder where wildlife wander in winter? Join SCWF for a Winter Wildlife Workshop on Saturday, February 21st! During this workshop, participants will learn what wildlife is up to during the colder months and how to support them not just during winter, but all throughout the year right in your own backyard. Participants will learn how to create and enhance wildlife habitat by planting native plants, providing a water source, adding feeders and nest boxes, and how their own yards can be certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Learn more about how to certify your yard here.

Held from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm at the Wild Birds Unlimited in Columbia, participants will also enjoy creating their own bird feeders to take home and entering for the chance to win door prizes generously donated by the Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop. Bird-friendly coffee and light refreshments will also be served as part of the experience. Don’t miss your chance to connect with nature this winter!

Image credit: Shy squirrel by Scott Harris.

Palmetto Pro Birders: Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center

This class is full! Please add yourself to the waiting list here.

Spend the day birding and exploring one of South Carolina’s most important coastal conservation areas at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center for our ducks & birding day. This immersive field experience highlights the role of managed wetlands, brackish marshes, and longleaf pine forests in supporting waterfowl, migratory birds, and diverse wildlife communities.

This class will be led by Jamie Dozier, wildlife biologist at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center. Jamie received a BS and MS in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from Clemson University and is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for the past 26 years. He currently serves as Project Leader at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center near Georgetown and prior to that he worked as a wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the South Carolina Heritage Trust Program. Jamie also serves on the Clemson University College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences Alumni Advisory Board, the Career and Technology Advisory Board for the Georgetown County School District, and on the Board of Directors for Georgetown County Farm Bureau.

Participants will travel by pontoon boat across the Intracoastal Waterway and board a bus to visit multiple habitats selected based on seasonal bird activity. Species observed may include ducks, herons, egrets, shorebirds, and woodland birds, depending on conditions and timing.

The trip includes several short walks on a relatively level ground. Please bring binoculars, a bag lunch, and a drink. If you have a scope or camera, feel free to bring those as well. The program runs from 9:45 am to approximately 2:00 pm. Early arrival is encouraged for anyone interested in birding the parking area and adjacent marsh habitats prior to departure.

Where: Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center.

Who: This training is open to the public. No prior knowledge is required. Minimum age is 16. This training will count for one day toward Palmetto Pro Birder certification (8 days needed total). For SC Master Naturalists, this event can count as Advanced Training and towards your statewide certification. If you are not a Pro Birder or Master Naturalist, just come have fun with us.

Other Important Notes:

If available, please bring binoculars & your favorite field guide to Eastern birds.
Restrooms are available, and pink and blue bushes are along the trail…
After registering, you will receive important correspondence via email. If you change your email between now and then, make sure to notify us.

Cost: The cost is $75.00 per person and limited to the first 12 people that register.

IMPORTANT: Participants should be in good physical shape. Birding involves a lot of standing, and we may cover some distance in our field work.

PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN YOU CAN HANDLE THESE CONDITIONS.

SCWF reserves the right to cancel any event, due to unforeseen circumstances, extreme weather, low registration, or guidance from local/state officials. Any cancellation by SCWF will result in a full refund for all registrants.

Banner image credit: Redheads flying by Vance Solseth.

Featured image credit: Northern Shovelers (male and female) by Charles Rucinski.

Forks, Knives, & Spoonbills Art Contest

Calling all local artists! The South Carolina Wildlife Federation is launching our sixth statewide art contest to design the menu art for our 2026 Forks, Knives, & Spoonbills conservation dinner series. For these events, SCWF partners with local chefs throughout the state to create culinary dining experiences themed around imperiled wildlife species. The winner of the art contest will have their art featured on each menu of the dinner series. The first dinner is scheduled for March.

Local artists are encouraged to submit an image file of their design that includes all six of the wildlife species that will be featured in the 2026 dinner series (see below).

Please see below for this year’s featured species.

Please note that all of the species below, except for the roseate spoonbill, are listed in the SC Department of Natural Resources’ State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), which identifies species of concern for South Carolina.

1. Roseate spoonbill

South Carolina’s only pink bird, some people confuse it with a flamingo at first sight. The color comes from the foods they eat, which include crustaceans, and other aquatic invertebrates, though they’ll also eat fish. The bill is long and flat and wide at the end, similar to a wooden spoon one would use in the kitchen while cooking. It’s a coastal bird that has increased its population in SC after almost being hunted to extinction in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Conservation status: increasing after almost disappearing from the US in the early 1900’s.

2. Golden-winged warbler

This light gray warbler is about 5 inches tall and has a striking yellow head and a lovely yellow wing. Interestingly, the female builds a nest on the ground, sometimes in the base of a plant. Females will abandon a nest if they feel like it has been disturbed. Golden-winged warblers like shrubby areas but also rely on the protection of forests to avoid predators. These neo-tropical migrants can be seen in South Carolina during fall and spring migration.

Conservation status: this species has undergone a large decline in North America over the past 40 years, which has gotten even more dramatic in the past 15 years.

3. Green heron

These dark colored wading birds are year-round residents in South Carolina. They are about 16 to 22 inches high and can be found near lakes, ponds, and marshes, where they hunt for fish and other aquatic species with their dagger-like bill. These fairly solitary birds are considered ambush predators.

Conservation status: this species is in a mild decline, although they are still fairly common.

4. Yellow-billed cuckoo

This gorgeous bird has a slender body with a long tail that has spots underneath the tailfeathers. They winter in South America but come up to South Carolina in the spring. They live in deciduous woodlands and are able to stay very still so they can be hard to spot. They do have a distinctive call and are sometimes called “thunder crows” because they often call when there is thunderstorm. An interesting fact is that they have one of the shortest nesting cycles of any bird species, and it can be as short as 17 days.

Conservation status: this species is in decline. Studies suggest that the North American population has declined by 7% over the past 10 years.

5. Eastern whip-poor-will

More likely to be heard than seen, this member of the nightjar family is named for their recognizable “whip-poor-will” song. If you are in the forest at dusk or dawn, you’ve probably heard their song before. Eastern whip-poor-wills prefer forests that are open rather than dense, so you might find them in deciduous forests, mixed forests, or open pine forests. Their beautiful brindled feathers provide good camouflage and make them hard to spot. During the day, they will rest on the ground or a log, and actually also nest on the ground. Like other members of the nightjar family, they are insectivores, and feast on insects that they catch while flying with their mouths open.

Conservation status: this species is in decline but recent studies suggest that the populations are becoming more stable.

6. Prairie warbler

These small songbirds are about 5 inches tall, and you might think that these yellow and black warblers live on prairies. However, they actually live in regenerated forests that have been cleared at some stage and are growing back. Prairie warblers are often found at forest edges and in scrubby areas that provide cover.

Conservation status: this species is in significant decline. Short-term studies suggest the population has declined by 15% over the past decade.

Eligibility
Artists must be residents of South Carolina; there is no age restriction or registration fee. Artwork must contain all of the species represented in the 2026 dinner series. SCWF employees or board members or their immediate family members are not eligible.

Sizing: Artwork submitted can be vertically or horizontally oriented. The design will be printed on a card that is 5.5” wide x 8.5” long.

Judging
The judges are made up of the SCWF staff. Decisions of the judges are final. Notification will be sent by e-mail after judging is complete.

Prizes
The winner’s art will be featured on the menus of the 2026 Spoonbills dinner events. They will also have a choice of accepting a $100 cash prize or two tickets to one of the dinner events ($300 value).

Dates
Entries must be postmarked or emailed no later than 11:59 pm on February 18th. Winners will be notified by February 25th. All art submitted will be posted online.

Questions:
Send via email to: mail@scwf.org. Questions? Contact SCWF at (803) 256-0670.

Banner image credit: Roseate Spoonbill at HBSP by Gretchen Locy.

Palmetto Pro Birder Basics

This class is full! Please add yourself to the waiting list here.

Join us for Pro Birder Basics, a one-day birding workshop at Camp Discovery on Friday, February 13th, from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. This hands-on class is perfect for beginners and those looking to sharpen their birding skills. Participants will learn how to identify birds by sight and sound, use field guides and eBird, practice proper birding etiquette, and explore backyard wildlife habitat techniques. The class includes both morning classroom instruction and afternoon field practice. This class is capped at 15 participants to ensure a quality experience.

This class will be taught by Allison Bugarin, SCWF’s Education & Outreach Manager. In this role, she manages education and outreach programs, including Palmetto Outdoor Women’s Retreat and the Midlands Master Naturalist program. Allison has been a passionate nature lover since her childhood. She fell in love with birds when she got the chance to monitor red-cockaded woodpeckers on a military base.

She earned her Bachelors in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences through Oregon State University. She lives in Eastover, SC, and has enjoyed observing birds throughout South Carolina. Allison has participated in bird monitoring, citizen science projects, and conservation work, and has viewed birds in multiple U.S. states and abroad. Even when she’s hiking, gardening, or exploring, she’s always watching and listening for birds.

Featured Image Credit: Red-shouldered hawk by Allison Bugarin.

Bluebird Volunteer Workday!

Are you looking for an opportunity to help our beautiful bluebirds? If so, please join us at Camp Discovery in Blythewood, SC, to help give these birds a better chance at being successful parents during the next breeding season. We’ll reduce the amount of vegetation around the boxes, clean out each one, and make any additional adjustments to improve their breeding habitat. We hope to see you there! Please use the button below to sign up to volunteer for this event.

Check out pictures from last year’s volunteer day here!

Palmetto Pro Birders: Winter Waterfowl

This class is full! Please add yourself to the waiting list here.

Join us for a Palmetto Pro Birder in search of winter waterfowl right here in the South Carolina Midlands!

Blue bills, red heads, yellow eyes, and webbed feet, ducks are fascinating and beautiful birds that offer us warm and vibrant colors in an otherwise cold and drab time of year. If you would like to learn more about our wintering and resident waterfowl, come join Industry Habitat Manager, Jay Keck, in search of these beautiful birds at local duck “hotspots” right here in the Midlands. January is peak wintering season for ducks in South Carolina, giving us strong chances to observe species such as ruddy ducks, hooded mergansers, wood ducks, mallards, lesser scaup, and buffleheads. Less common birds seen are canvasbacks, American wigeons, and redheads. We hope to see you there!

Image Credit: Ruddy duck by Cameron Foster.

Featured Image Credit: Male and Female Buffleheads by Vance Solseth.

Banner Image Credit: Redheads flying by Vance Solseth.

Where: Meet at the North End of the Lake Murray dam at 7:30 am, and then we will visit Archer’s Lake and a couple other local hot spots for waterfowl, until about 11:00 am.

Who: This training is open to the public. No prior knowledge is required. Minimum age is 16. This training will count towards the Palmetto Pro Birder certification (8 days needed total).

Cost: The cost is $75.00 per person and limited to the first 10 people that register.

This class will be led by Jay Keck, SCWF Industry Habitat Manager.

Jay has been a passionate nature and bird lover since his early teens. He lives in Chapin, SC with his wife and two boys, and has identified 95 bird species in his yard in three years, as well as 160 species in Lexington county since moving back in September of 2013. He has viewed birds in Spain, Chile, Honduras, and Costa Rica, as well as many areas in SC from the mountains to the coast. Being inspired by SCWF’s mission, he earned his Palmetto Pro Birder certification, and has led bird walks for SCWF as well as Saluda Shoals park, Columbia Audubon, and private organizations. Even when he is golfing, hunting, or fishing, he is secretly birding. At SCWF, Jay coordinates the Wildlife And Industry Together (WAIT) program as well as leading birding classes for the Palmetto Pro Birder & Midlands Master Naturalist programs.

Other Important Notes:

If available, please bring binoculars & your favorite field guide to Eastern birds.
After registering, you will receive important correspondence via email. If you change your email between now and then, make sure to notify us.

IMPORTANT: Participants should be in good physical shape. Birding involves a lot of standing, and we may cover some distance in our field work.

PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN YOU CAN HANDLE THESE CONDITIONS.

Palmetto Pro Birders: Huntington Beach State Park

This class is full! Please add yourself to the waiting list here.

Join us for a day of birding at Huntington Beach State Park, rated as the top eBird hotspot in South Carolina. We will sample the many habitats of the park, including salt marsh, tidal creeks and flats, maritime woods, brackish ponds, and the beach. If tides and conditions permit, we will hike to the jetty (a three-mile round trip). Over the years, a significant number of rarities have been reported at the jetty, including common eider, long-tailed duck, purple sandpiper, black guillemot and others. Our focus will be on wintering birds and we hope to see waterfowl, including scoters, rails, piping plover and other shorebirds, gulls, terns, horned grebe, common loon, red-throated loon, northern gannet and others. We will also seek the park’s many songbirds, placing a special focus on wintering sparrows. In addition, we will discuss the various conservation measures the park has taken and how they impact these coastal birds.

This module will require a significant amount of walking and participants should bring water and a packed lunch. Snack food is available in the park store. A park entrance fee is required.

Where: Huntington Beach State Park. Meet in the state park office parking lot.

This class will be led by Irvin Pitts, SCWF Outdoor Academy Instructor, and Jay Keck, SCWF Industry Habitat Manager.

Irvin retired from a career with the South Carolina State Park Service where he served as Parks Biologist and Chief of Resource Management. Prior to that, he worked at Table Rock and Caesars Head State Parks as park naturalist. Irvin retired from a career with the South Carolina State Park Service where he served as Parks Biologist and Chief of Resource Management. Prior to that, he worked at Table Rock and Caesars Head State Parks as park naturalist.

Other Important Notes:

If available, please bring binoculars & your favorite field guide to Eastern birds.
Restrooms are available, and pink and blue bushes are along the trail…
The rain date for this event is Friday, December 5th.
After registering, you will receive important correspondence via email. If you change your email between now and then, make sure to notify us.

Cost: The cost is $100.00 per person and limited to the first 15 people that register.

IMPORTANT: Participants should be in good physical shape. Birding involves a lot of standing, and we may cover some distance in our field work.

PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN YOU CAN HANDLE THESE CONDITIONS.

23rd Annual Wildlife Photography Contest

Calling all amateur photographers!

South Carolina Wildlife Federation is sponsoring our 23rd Annual Wildlife Photography Contest. Send us your best photographs that capture the natural beauty of South Carolina’s wildlife and their habitats – in your own backyard or anywhere in the state. You can check out the blog about last year’s contest here.

CONTEST CATEGORIES:

Carolina Critters

This category is intended for photos of wildlife that you see in South Carolina, whether it is in your backyard, on a hike, or in an urban setting! Have you captured the moment when a painted bunting comes to your feeder? Did you photograph a bird sifting through the Upstate snow to find its meal? How about the shy deer venturing out in the Pee Dee field to graze? Or that great blue heron wading through the swamps of the Lowcountry? These types of photos that are perfect for this category.

Image Credit: “Looking for Home” By Jennifer Brown.

Image Credit: “Peekaboo” by Stephanie Radford

Image Credit: “Relaxation” by Elaine Mathis.

Note: We do not accept photos of exotic (non-native), captive, or domestic animals since this category is intended to show SC wildlife in their natural settings rather than in a zoo or wildlife sanctuary.

Scenes of South Carolina

From the mountains to midlands to the coast, we know that South Carolina’s landscapes are beautiful and ecologically diverse. Whether you enjoy photographing sunsets on the ocean, sunrises in the mountains, rocks in a stream, or early morning dew in a field, we love seeing all the many ways your photographs depict the beauty of our state.

Image Credit: “Salt Serenity” by Stuart Barfield.

Image Credit: “Red Knot Sunset Arrival” by Jenn Clementoni.

Image Credit: “Mission Lake” by Bradley Wicker.

Note: These photos may include wildlife but it’s not necessary.

People in Nature

We know that you love being outdoors as much as we do! That is why we added this category to the photo contest. This category is intended for you to share your photos of people enjoying outdoor activities in our beautiful state. Whether you are an angler, birder, hiker, hunter, kayaker, rock climber, shell collector, or enjoy some other outdoor activity, this is your chance to submit photos of people enjoying outdoor activities.

Image Caption: “A River Runs Through It by Kenny Himes.”

Image Caption: “I Spy Bird Bands” by Reggie Fairchild.

Image Credit: “Catch n’ Release” by Lyric Littlejohn.

Note: Be sure your photos illustrate safe and ethical practices. Action shots are preferred over posed photos.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Two easy steps! 1. Pay your entry fee. 2. Submit your photos! Your emailed receipt will contain instructions about how to submit your photographs.

Submitting Photos: After you pay your entry fee, your emailed receipt will contain instructions about how to submit your photographs. You may enter up to three photographs in each category per person in color or black and white. We also ask that you do not include a personal watermark on your photos. SCWF reserves the right to add a watermark when publishing online. Digital images are preferred.

File Types – jpg, gif, and png file types (minimum of at least 72 pixels per inch, or minimum of 250 KB-sized image in jpg format).

Entry Fee
Each photographer must submit a one-time entry fee of $15.00 – this fee covers entrance of up to 9 photos (3 per category) in the contest. You may pay the entry fee online through the button below, or you may mail in a check with your photos – make check payable to SCWF.

By paying this fee, I certify that my photographs are eligible for this contest according to the rules below.

Contest Rules

Eligibility
Entries must be images taken in nature in South Carolina. Photos of captive, domestic, and exotic (non-native) species will be disqualified. SCWF employees or board members or their immediate family members are not eligible.

The SCWF photo contest is limited to amateur photographers – defined as those who do not receive more than 10% of their annual income from selling their photographs, or not more than $5,000 annually if retired or unemployed.

*Note: Contestants, by their entry, agree that the South Carolina Wildlife Federation may publish their images in SCWF publications and on the SCWF website and social media platforms. The winning images may be reproduced by SCWF for sale. Photographer name credit will be given when images are used.

Digital Alteration Guidelines
All photographs should accurately reflect the subject matter and the scene as it appeared. Photos that have been digitally altered beyond standard optimization will be disqualified. Acceptable are adjustments to color, contrast, brightness and sharpness; removal of dust and scratches; cropping; black and white conversions, and background blurring. Not acceptable are photo composites (combinations of two or more photos, not of the same scene); background removal, the addition, duplication, deletion, or moving of objects in the photos; or the use of artistic digital filters and effects, such as watercolor, neon glow, posterizing, stained glass, and others which do not depict the scene in its natural way. If you have any questions, please email us at photo@scwf.org.

We also ask that you do not include a personal watermark on your photos, and SCWF reserves the right to add a watermark.

Judging
The judges panel is made up of SCWF staff and board of directors. Carolina Critters entries are reviewed by a biologist for identification purposes. Decisions of the judges are final. Notification will be sent by e-mail after judging is complete.

Prizes
The First Place Winner in each category will receive a $100 cash prize, and the category runner up and second runner up will also be recognized on our blog.

Dates
Entries must be received by the October 31st deadline. We aim to notify the winners by December 31st. Only First, Second, and Third places will be awarded. Contest winners will be published online.

Now that we’ve got all that straight…get out there and take some great photos! Good luck!
Questions? Contact SCWF at (803) 256-0670 or photo@scwf.org. This project is managed by a small team. We kindly ask for your patience in waiting for a reply. We will respond to all questions!

Banner Image Credit: “Afterglow” by Jorge Rodriguez.

Palmetto Pro Birders: Lake Murray Paddle

Join Jay Keck, SCWF’s Industry Habitat Manager, for a Pro Birder Paddle on a beautiful, secluded cove on the northwest side of Lake Murray! We will be on the lookout for species such as the belted kingfisher, red-headed woodpecker, yellow-billed cuckoo, black-throated blue warbler, Tennessee warbler. This paddle is limited to six guests, so register early to secure your spot.

Image Credit: Tennessee warbler by Rusty Wilson.

Where: Prosperity (Crayne’s Landing)

When: Thursday, October 2nd from 7 am -11 am. (Rain Date – October 3rd.)

Who: This training is open to the public. No prior knowledge is required. Minimum age is 16. This training will count for one day toward Palmetto Pro Birder certification (8 days needed total).

Other Important Notes:

• If available, please bring binoculars & your favorite field guide to Eastern birds.

• After registering, you will receive important correspondence via email. If you change your email between now and then, make sure to notify us.

Cost: The cost is $100.00 per person and limited to the first 6 people that register.

IMPORTANT: Participants should be in good physical shape for this paddle.

Featured Image Credit: Black-throated blue warbler by Graham Norman.

Category: Birding

Forks, Knives, & Spoonbills Conservation Dinner at The Willcox in Aiken

This event is SOLD OUT!

Menu

Presenting Sponsors

Sponsors

SCWF Friends

Dennis & Linda Hiltner

AJ & Jan Jackson

Lynn Lewis & David Hawkins

Heidi Dawn & Rick Chalmers

Jess Holm & Jon Boguski

Philanthropic Sponsorships

Winter Wildlife Workshop

Palmetto Pro Birders: Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center

Forks, Knives, & Spoonbills Art Contest

Palmetto Pro Birder Basics

Bluebird Volunteer Workday!

Palmetto Pro Birders: Winter Waterfowl

Palmetto Pro Birders: Huntington Beach State Park

23rd Annual Wildlife Photography Contest

Palmetto Pro Birders: Lake Murray Paddle