Shorebirds in a Sandstorm - 05 Dec 2024

It was now 10 am. With high tide arriving at 10:30 am Jack and I headed to the north end of Huntington State Park and headed to the beach. We'd walk 2.5 miles north to the jetty to look for Seaside Sparrows and Purple Sandpipers. Winds had picked up and was now gusting to 30 mph. Luckily it was at our back, and at almost 60F was not overly uncomfortable.

Arriving at the jetty we turned left and walked the beach at the edge of the salt marsh. A sparrow darted out of the salt marsh vegetation (cordgrass, glasswort and needlerushes) and I was hoping it was a Saltmarsh Sparrow or Seaside Sparrow. It was a handsome Savannah Sparrow.

Out on the jetty itself we came upon a Least Sandpiper that was hunkered down to avoid the wind. 

To our right a pair of Common Loons were swimming in the inlet. We'd see several more as we walked toward the beach to look for shorebirds. 

Among the loons was a single Surf Scoter.

We were now in Wilson Plover and Least Tern nesting habitat so the area was roped off. As long as we stayed near the waterline we could avoid walking on the sensitive nesting dunes. A lone Black-bellied Plover was walking the beach ahead of us so we followed it to edge of the dunes where we found dozens of shorebirds hunkered down to avoid the windblown sand.

The shorebirds consisted of dozens of Dunlin with another half-dozen Semipalmated Plovers scattered among them.

A few Ruddy Turnstones were also found in the flock. 

Winds continued to pick up and were now pushing 40 mph. A mini sandstorm was pelting us as we attempted to photograph and identify the huddled shorebirds. As we continued along the inlet we found hundreds more shorebirds scattered all over the beach.

Sanderlings and Red Knots were now apart of the mix of shorebirds huddling behind dunes.

We would then run into dozens of Short-billed Dowitchers. 

In flight the Short-billed Dowitchers show chevrons along the axillaries (arm pits) whereas Long-billed Dowitchers would show a white patch or "headlight". The image below shows an open wing of a Short-billed Dowitcher and its scalloped armpit.

The sand blasting us and the shorebirds made for some nice images despite the pain it was delivering.

After getting a count of the shorebird flock we headed back toward the jetty just in time to catch a dozen Black Skimmers fly in from across the inlet.

A single large gull was resting at the water's edge. We initially thought Lesser Black-backed Gull but the overall brown coloration of the young bird suggests American Herring Gull.

Unable to find any sparrows in the saltmarsh vegetation we turned our attention to the Common Loons now swimming closer to shore. They didn't seem to concerned with our presence.

The resident Mink made an appearance up ahead. This year I was prepared for it to show up. We watched as it worked its way toward us while ducking in and out of the rocky shoreline lining the jetty.

The Mink ran past us and disappeared into the rocks.

We then headed out to the end of the jetty to look for pelagic birds and Purple Sandpipers. We'd have to contend with the high winds and salt spray hoping to not get washed into the ocean.

We spotted some shorebirds along the rocks and for a moment were excited to find Purple Sandpipers. They would turn out to be Least Sandpipers. No worries, though since they gave wonderful photo opps.

It was now after 1 pm and we needed to head back. So we walked the jetty back to the salt marsh dunes, stopping only to photograph the loons one last time.

We failed to see any sparrows. Walking the dunes we kicked up a couple more Savannah Sparrows, and even flushed a Cooper's Hawk while heading back to the car. Winds were still blowing and the sand was biting. A couple of Western Willets were foraging along the surf but backlit enough to discourage any decent photographs.

We'd return to the car and head back to the house so that Janet could make a run to the market for groceries. I'd give Robin a call and spend some time transferring files from camera to computer, and snack on cheese and crackers. 

The three of us would then head to the north end of Pawleys Island later this afternoon before taking me to dinner for my birthday! Stay tuned...

Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet US-SC 33.51357, -79.07335, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Dec 5, 2024 8:02 AM - 1:16 PM
Protocol: Traveling
13.222 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Cloudy to pt sunny, cool, 50F, winds S at 40 mph.
62 species (+2 other taxa)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  35
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)  4
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)  1
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)  8
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  30
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  174
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  150
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)  15
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  12
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)  12
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  180
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  450     One in breeding plumage still
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  25
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  15
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  67
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  12
gull sp. (Larinae sp.)  110
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)  220
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  36
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  2
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  7
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)  4
Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)  6
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  6
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)  8
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)  15
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)  4
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  8
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  16
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  16
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  36
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)  12
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)  8
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  1
swallow sp. (Hirundinidae sp.)  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  2
Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla)  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  2
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  3
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  2
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  1
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)  1
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  1
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  2
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  8
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  4
Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata)  1
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)  6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  46
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  24

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S204535271

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