The Jetty at Huntington Beach State Park in SC - 04 Mar 2026

After a decent first night's sleep at the Legasea (house where Jack and Janet Volker are staying in Debordieu, Georgetown Co., SC) I was up and having cereal and coffee while J&J took Cocoa for her morning walk. Today's outing would be a trip to Huntington State Park and a hike along the North Beach to the Jetty to look for Saltmarsh Sparrows. The plan was to arrive at approx. 8:30 am when high tide would push the sparrows out onto the rocks from the adjacent tidal marsh.

Skies were clear but cool (50ºF), which created a sea fog on the ocean. As we drove out of Debordieu the haze barely illuminated the local flock of American Wigeon in the pond to our right. A single Gadwall was among them. 

The local Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Brown Pelican, Tricolored Heron and Little Blue Heron were seen foraging in the tidal canal to our left.

We drove north to Huntington Beach State Park where I started the day's checklist. The causeway was hazy as we drove east and the rising Sun made everything backlit so only the obvious Pied-billed Grebes, Bufflehead, egrets and herons were identifiable. At the east end of the causeway we did see some close Green-winged Teal that I could photograph from inside the car.

We headed straight to the north end of the park and met Ken Davis in the parking lot (currently Jack, Janet and Ken are the top listers in Georgetown Co. for 2026). Grabbing our gear we headed to the North Beach and the Jetty about 2 miles away.

The sea fog and the morning's full moon produced some impressive wave action along the shoreline and the rising Sun started to burn off the mist. Still, it was difficult to see past the waves.

Ken was able to make out small flocks of Laughing Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants flying beyond the crashing waves. 

As we walked the shoreline a Red-throated Loon appeared close enough to photograph with the Sony a1+200-600mm lens.

A dolphin (note pointy dorsal fin) surfaced occasionally as we approached the jetty and I managed some poor shots from a distance.

We were so engrossed in the dolphin that we almost stepped on the first Wilson's Plovers of the nesting season. Four birds were quietly sitting in the sand just a few feet away from us. I was able to get pics showing the large black bill and gray-red tinge on the ears and back of head. Legs are also pinkish to flesh-colored.

A non-breeding Wilson's Plover lacks the black neck band and rufous tinge to the back of the head, but retains the large black bill and fleshy-pink legs.

Janet and Jack Volker and Ken Davis.

As we reached the jetty more Laughing Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants and Bonaparte's Gulls made fly-by appearances.

Jack and I headed off to look for Saltmarsh Sparrows along the dune-side of the jetty. Several Common Loons were swimming nearby in the channel.

Janet and Ken lagged a bit behind while Ken scanned the beach across the channel where Laughing Gulls, Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls were roosting. He'd also find a single Lesser Black-backed Gull. In the channel near the mouth he also found all 3 scoter spp.: Black Scoters (male and female), a male Surf Scoter, and a female White-winged Scoter. We'd see them again when we later headed to the tip of the jetty.

Though we looked we could not find any Saltmarsh Sparrows. The tide was high and the saltmarsh was flooded, but there was no movement on the rocks or along the dunes. I'd dip once again... But, there were shorebirds to be seen farther west along the tip of the roped-off nesting dunes.

A flock of mostly Greater Yellowlegs with a couple Lesser Yellowlegs mixed in.

Up on the dunes a massive (1000+) roost of mostly Dunlin and Semipalmated Plovers were tightly huddled together. A handful of Western Sandpipers were mixed in but difficult to photograph.

To their right and closer to the water's edge another flock of roosting Black-bellied Plovers and Short-billed Dowitchers were clustered together.

In the debris at the top of the beach several Ruddy Turnstones were quietly sleeping. They moved off as we approached.

As we rounded the corner we found even more shorebirds in the form of a roosting colony of Sanderlings. A few dowitchers were mixed in.

I was determined to ID the dowitchers. Initially thinking they were mostly Long-billed Dowitchers they turned out to be mostly Short-billed Dowitchers. I caught them in flight and managed to get photos of their black-and-white tail band thickness (black band > white band on LBDO and black band ~= white band on SBDO).

These are suspected Long-billed Dowitchers based on the black tail bands being thicker than the white.

In this pic the leftmost two dowitchers show more white than black (or equal) relative to the dowitcher on the right.

More importantly, I was hoping to get open-wing shots of the dowitchers. In the images below these Short-billed Dowitchers show barred axillary feathers (armpit and forewing) whereas Long-billed Dowitchers would have white feathers at the armpit (I describe this in detail in a blog post from fall 2021). 

I couldn't get pics of the suspected LBDO open wings as they were farther off. So I turned my attention to the Western Willets that were roosting near the shoreline.

A pair of American Oystercatchers were hiding among the Ruddy Turnstones and willets. They stretched as we approached and soon took off across the channel when the shorebird flock decided to retreat farther inland.

We got a call from Janet of some movement in the saltmarsh but it turned out to be a small flock of female Red-winged Blackbirds. No worries, we were on our way back to the jetty to check out the tip. As Jack and I walked to catch up with Janet and Ken an oncoming photographer was pointing his camera toward the marsh. Hoping it was a sparrow I was satisfied to see the resident Mink coming out to look for a free meal.

It made its way onto the jetty then headed back toward the sandy beach where it surveyed its surroundings, took a sand bath, and headed back into a hole.

At the tip of the jetty we found another Common Loon, 

and watched a Willet dart/fly among the waves to our right.

A fly-by Forster's Tern.

Another cormorant.

We scoped the rough waters next to the rock wall in the mouth of the channel and refound the scoters and some Red-breasted Mergansers. I then spotted a pair of Long-tailed Ducks (females) that popped up at the tip of the jetty. Unfortunately, they didn't stick around and headed out into the ocean. But, we all got looks and ID pics.

Returning to the beach we found a Ruddy Turnstone picking at the remains of a shrimp that a fisherman was using as bait.

Another shrimp was hitching a ride in the bill of a Common Loon swimming in the channel.

We'd make another pass at Saltmarsh Sparrows (and dip) but got more pics of the Mink poking its head out of the rocks to our right.

Walking the top of the dunes back to the car took us through scrub land that hosted Song Sparrows 

and Savannah Sparrows, but no Saltmarsh Sparrows.

We got talking about Red Knot sightings along the shoreline and suddenly found ourselves among a pair of Western Willets,

a single Sanderling, 

and five Red Knots!

This one is starting to molt into its alternate, peach-orange feathering.

Jack getting a few pics of the birds, as well,

while Ken was helping this lady ID the willet, knots and sanderling.

I'd been picking up tiny shells to give to Robin as we walked the shoreline to the jetty, but found myself too sore to bend over to pick this one up. 

I found an intact Sand Dollar, but idiot me put it in my pocket where it promptly turned to dust by the time we got back to the house. Lesson learned: these things are made of sand...

We returned to the cars and headed to the feeders but found them empty and inactive. A few House Finches were singing in the trees and the only visible birds were this pair of Mourning Doves.

A Purple Finch had been seen near the south end of the state park so we drove over to Mullet Pond and walked out to the dock where we had seen rails in the past. Everything was quiet so we continued hiking through the pines to the road leading to the Huntington mansion and listened for the Purple Finch. We managed to see some Carolina Chickadees,

and suddenly heard the "Chick-burrio-Chick" of a White-eyed Vireo!

We'd fail to find the Purple Finch (spotted later in the same area) but walked by the freshwater pond and got pics of Black-crowned Night Heron, 

Common Gallinule, 

American Coot, 

and an Anhinga.

It was now noon. We were hungry and needed to go back to the house to get Robin and go to lunch in Georgetown at the Blue Bayou, and to get ice cream at Sweeties. 

Huntington Beach SP--North Beach/Jetty/Dunes Trail, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 4, 2026 7:45 AM - 12:02 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.641 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Sunny, clear, 65-70F, sea fog along ocean. Jack and Janet Volker, Ken Davis.
63 species

Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  2
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  6
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)  1
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi)  1
Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)  6
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)  2     Tip of jetty. Two female, blue billed, white cheek patch, lack of pink on bill. See pics.  ID was easy since I had just posted a detailed blog on ID'ing LTDU: https://birdingthroughglass.blogspot.com/2026/02/back-to-port-huron-11-feb-2026.html
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)  4
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)  4
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  8
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)  6
American Coot (Fulica americana)  40
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus)  2
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  36
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)  400
Wilson's Plover (Anarhynchus wilsonia)  4     Beach
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)  26     Base of jetty in tern nesting area. Spotted flanks and barred axillary feathers (armpits) and black-n-white barring on tail (equal thickness) diagnostic. Pics.
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)  20     Barring on flanks and white axillary feathers help differentiate from nearby SBDO. Black tail bands also thicker than white bands.
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  4
Willet (Tringa semipalmata)  18
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  36
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)  8
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)  6
Sanderling (Calidris alba)  60
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)  1000     Jetty-side beach. Count by 10’s and among 400 SEPL
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri)  36
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  4
Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  12
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
American Herring Gull (Larus smithsonianus)  2
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)  1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  2
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  1
Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)  2
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  2
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)  1
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)  1
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  60
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)  1
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  2
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)  1
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  4
Great Egret (Ardea alba)  72
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  6
Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)  18
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)  1
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  4
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)  2
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  1
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  2
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  4
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  2
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  10
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S305917999

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

DeBordieu Complex, SC, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 4, 2026 12:15 PM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments:     Incidental sightings in the am and pm driving out and into the complex. Jack and Janet Volker.
7 species

American Wigeon (Mareca americana)  14
Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula)  2
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  1
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S305922465

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

The lunch drive to Georgetown got me a few local birds, including the only Canada Geese in the county.

Waukemaw Methodist Church, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 4, 2026 12:11 PM
Protocol: Incidental
Checklist Comments:     Drive by
1 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S305920738

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

401 Church St, Georgetown US-SC 33.36758, -79.27459, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 4, 2026 1:21 PM - 1:46 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Incidental while driving thru Georgetown. Jack and Janet Volker.
9 species

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  24
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  2
Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)  17
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  6
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  7
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  1
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)  2
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S305956198

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

After lunch we took a short drive through Craven's Grant to look for Eastern Meadowlarks and Cattle Egrets. The meadowlarks (as many as 40+) were gone after the grass was cut but we did see a couple of Cattle Egrets. An American Kestrel was also a nice find.

Craven's Grant (Vermilion Flycatcher stakeout historical), Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 4, 2026 2:45 PM - 2:47 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.418 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Sunny, 72F; Jack and Janet Volker.
4 species

Western Cattle-Egret (Ardea ibis)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  1
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S305959937

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

A quick drive through East Park netted us a Loggerhead Shrike and Boat-tailed Grackles. I had literally asked if Boat-tailed Grackles were found this far north...

East Bay Park, Georgetown, South Carolina, US
Mar 4, 2026 2:57 PM - 2:59 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.422 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Sunny, 75F. Jack and Janet Volker.
2 species

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)  1
Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S305962715

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

We then returned to Debordieu, took a short nap, then went to dinner at The Raw Bar (grouper tacos!). Tomorrow we plan to drive to the Santee Delta with Ken to look for American Black Ducks.