Huntington Beach, SC - 11 Mar 2023


Archer Milton Huntington (1870 – 1955), philanthropist and scholar, and primarily known for his contributions to the field of Hispanic studies was the son of the great railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington (1821 – 1900), one of the big four industrialists responsible for the growth of the US transcontinental railroad. During the Great Depression, Huntington and his wife, sculpture Anna Hyatt Huntington, donated major portions of property for philanthropic and public purposes, helping establish museums, parks, and facilities to support research and education. They had an estate called Atalaya Castle in coastal South Carolina, near Georgetown, that is now part of Huntington State Park (donated to the State after his death in 1960). Huntington hired locals to help build the castle and thus keep them employed during the Great Depression.

Archer and Anna used their wealth to buy up four plantations and combined them into one massive property that subsequently became Brookgreen Gardens on the west side of Highway 17 and Huntington Beach State Park on the east side. Natives of New York City, the Huntingtons spent much of their winters in Atalaya, the Moorish styled demi-castle that was specifically designed as a sculpture studio for the acclaimed and talented Anna. She was no amateur pretending to be an artist, but one of America’s foremost sculptors. We would visit Brookgreen Gardens in the afternoon...

I was up and out the door at 6:30 am w/ Jack. We headed back north along Hwy 17 and to Huntington Beach State Park with plans to to walk the jetty at the north end of the park. Our first stop, however, was the small pier at the south end of Mullet Pond; this is a good spot to find rails (Jack photographed a Black Rail here in January).


The Sun was still below the treeline when we walked out onto the pier. Last week the pond was thick with migrating ducks but today was largely absent save for a few Bufflehead and Hooded Mergansers. The shoreline was lined with cattail and sedges, so we stopped and listened for birdlife. The "tick-tick-tick" of a Virginia Rail got our attention and soon a tiny orange and blue rail poked its head out from the cattails for a nervous forage. We would get a few photographs of it and a Swamp Sparrow but would dip on King and/or Clapper Rail. A pair of Sora called from nearby but failed to show. 





As the Sun poked over the treetops behind us several small groups of Snowy Egrets flew by. 




A short stop later took us to the nearby Mallard Pond where we had nice looks at a small group of Hooded Mergansers, Bufflehead, Gadwall, and a sunning Wood Stork. At the entrance to the dock a Carolina Chickadee was scolding us for being close to a hidden nest. A Northern Mockingbird sunned itself and didn't make a peep. Just before leaving we spotted a Tricolored Heron poking its head out from the shadows.







Parking at the North Beach we headed to the ocean shoreline and walked approximately 1.2 mi toward the Jetty at the north end of the State Park. Only a handful of beach combers were out along with a single surf fisherman. Skies were clear and a chilly ocean breeze felt more refreshing than cold. A few Sanderlings danced in the surf and picked at jellyfish that had washed up overnight. 






Higher up on the beach small sand dunes marked the transition into salt marsh. A few Black-bellied Plovers roosted quietly in the sand before running and flying off.




As we approached the jetty small flocks of Brown Pelicans floated over the surf to our right.

Finally reaching the jetty we scanned the inlet and quickly found a pair of Horned Grebes. One individual appeared larger than the other and had a more-pronounced white cheek patch that temporarily confused me for a Red-necked Grebe. Being severely backlit we had to walk until we had better lighting to confirm both birds to be Horned Grebes.






Halfway out on the jetty a Common Loon swam by close to the rocks.



Another couple Horned Grebes swam by and garnered some attention.





A Least Sandpiper was the only occupant at the tip of the jetty. Out on the buoys several Double-crested Cormorants were roosting. With a stiff breeze coming in off the ocean we set up scopes to scan the horizon and quickly picked up a pair of Red-throated Loons and several Northern Gannets flying out too far to photograph.

As I was scoping a Northern Gannet flying toward us several hundred yards out a second unidentified, long-winged tern appeared below it. It had impressions of a frigatebird, but when it banked toward the beach it showed flashes of white primaries and a white tail that was suggestive of a white-winged tern. The bird flew over the beach and disappeared over the salt marsh. I thought nothing more of it until we ran into a pair of other birders a few minutes later who saw the same bird. No clue what it was, but I had hoped to maybe re-spot it when we headed back that way. No luck.

As we walked back Jack spotted a pair of American Oystercatchers resting on the jetty ahead of us. I took the opportunity to get a few digiscoped images before photographing them w/ the a1 and 200-600.







My hopes of getting closer were dashed when a Mink appeared on the rock beyond the oystercatchers and began to run down the jetty toward them (and us). The oystercatchers flew off and we turned our attention to the Mink that continued trottings toward us until it ran up to us and ambled by us just a foot away!









Heading to the other end of the jetty we stopped to scope the salt marsh. The tide was high but we failed to see any sparrows (Seaside, Saltmarsh, Nelson's). The sandy shore on the opposite of the inlet did hold a number of shorebirds including Black-bellied Plovers, dozens of Semipalmated Plovers, Westerns Sandpipers, and Dunlin.

We walked the edge of dunes on the way back to the car and managed to scare up a pair of Savannah Sparrows.




We'd head toward the parking lot and pause just long enough to grab a couple photos of an Eastern Cottontail. This area is also home to Marsh Rabbits that are smaller and have tiny ears.



Returning to the car we headed out. Along the way we spotted small flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers and a single Yellow-throated Warbler. The plan was to drive back to Debordieu, pick up Janet and Robin, and return to Brookgreen Gardens for lunch and an afternoon walk.

Huntington Beach SP--Jetty, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 11, 2023 9:50 AM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments:     Sunny breezy
27 species (+1 other taxa)

Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  1
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  6
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)  4
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  7
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  45
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  1
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  10
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  6
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  1
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)  13
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  6
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  12
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  36
tern sp. (Sterninae sp.)  1     While scoping a Northern Gannet from the jetty it was being followed by a smaller, dark, long-winged tern. It veered off for the salt marsh beyond the beach and flashed white wings and rump/tail area. Met another pair of birders and they had seen the same bird from the jetty next to the marsh. Unable to verify species but White-winged Tern came to mind. Unable to relocate.
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)  2
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  2
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)  7
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  65
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)  30
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  70
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  4
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)  3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S130652272

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)