Santee Delta, SC - 12 Mar 2023

 

After leaving Samworth WMA Jack and I drove south to the north branch of the Santee River and the Santee Delta WMA. Only one car was in the parking lot as the rain began to fall lightly on us. 



We headed out onto the dike that had seen some heavy construction equipment recently. The creek to our right was orange with clay from runoff while the larger Santee River on our left appeared to be slightly overflowing its banks. Mosquitos made their presence known and we quickly bundled up.

The farther we walked the harder the rain began to fall. White-throated Sparrows were appearing along the river's edge, but too elusive to photograph. A pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers appeared and I managed a few pics as the rain fell around us and mosquitos bore in. Overhead a Red-shouldered Hawk flew from a snag. 



Once we reached the construction zone the road rose up about 3 feet ahead of us w/ fresh paved mud. We turned right and continued around the work zone to try to at least see some of the natural delta. Song Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows were flying in and out of view while we played tapes with the hopes of raising a Saltmarsh, Seaside or Nelson's Sparrow. No luck.


We got caught in a downpour as we returned to the car, and the muddy dike below our feet was wet and slippery. After spending some time in the parking lot trying to get mud off our shoes we hopped in the jeep and headed back to Debordieu to pick up Janet and Robin and get some dinner at Gio's Restaurant!

Of note was our drive back through Debordieu. The heavy rain seemed to have instantly cause the grass to green and the trees to start popping leaves!


After dinner we stopped by Jack and Janet's friend's house. Lawton Rogers has a beautiful home on the salt marsh side of the road in Debordieu and has a spectacular view of the salt marsh from his upstairs balcony. We visited and played with his American Lab "Dude", one of the most beautiful, black labs I had ever seen, and perhaps the best trained at retrieving. 

Santee Delta WMA--East (fall and winter restricted access), Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 12, 2023 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Jack Volker. Rainy, mosquitos, construction on dikes.
24 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  3
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  6
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)  2
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  4
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  6
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  6
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  1
Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)  6
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S130842065

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