Santee Delta WMA - West, SC - 05 Mar 2026
This morning Jack, Janet, Ken and I drove south of Georgetown to the Santee Delta Wildlife Managment Area (West). Our plan was to walk the dikes and look for an American Black Duck among the (mostly) Mottled Ducks that call the marsh their home. The challenge with ABDU and Mottled Duck is that the former is rare (but regular) here while the latter is very similar in appearance but not as dark, slightly smaller, and have speculum w/o white borders. Skies were clear, but temps were a bit cool (50F); it would heat up by late morning (75F). We arrived about 8:30 am and found the entrance gate to the WMA closed, so we parked and walked the trail next to the highway until we reached the woods where birds could start to be heard. Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren , and Yellow-rumped Warblers kept us busy until we could reach the dikes. Our first marsh birds came in the form of scattered flocks of White Ibis (both adult and browner juveniles). They were...