At the leading edge of dawn, when the air hangs suspended in absolute silence, the most exquisite moment of the day is set to occur. Off in the distance and deep in the woods it starts with a single chant of pidaro, pidaro, pidaro! A few moments later and closer by that call is answered by TWEE pudo TWEE pudo TWEEP. Within minutes, from here and there and all around, the sounds of tweeooip, prEErrr-prdrdrrr, chicadeedeedeedee and many others burst onto the morning air and build into cascading choruses of song birds. This is how we awaken each morning to another great day of bird watching in Sea Pines.

We are very fortunate to have a wide variety habitat and ecological zones that benefit birds of all types throughout the year. Depending on the season and where you look, you’ll find giant flocks of arctic seabirds wintering offshore, Clapper Rails in the tall spartina grasses, Wood Storks fishing the lagoons by Lawton Stables and rookeries of Great and Snowy Egrets in the frenzy of nesting and plumage display. If you can name the bird we probably have it or seen it pass through. At least 160 species call our Island home during the winter. A favorite tradition on Hilton Head each year is to be the first person to spot a Painted Bunting. It’s always front page news in our local paper, the Island Packet, and is our true harbinger of spring.

Our community is a special place in that it is a state designated wild life refuge and more importantly to Birders it is also home to the 605 acre Sea Pines Forest Preserve that has been designated as an Important Birding Area in South Carolina. Our local Audubon Society says this of the designation, “If it were a restaurant, it would rank five stars on the Michelin scale”. For a site to receive the designation of becoming an Important Bird Area it must, during at least some part of the year, contain critical habitat that supports one of the following:

•  A significant population of an endangered or threatened species such as the Piping Plover.
• A significant population of a Watch List species, such as the Black Rail or Cerulean Warbler.
• A significant population of a species with a limited range, such as the Tricolored Blackbird, Yellow-Billed Magpie or Brown Capped Rosy Finch.
• A significantly large concentration of breeding, migrating or wintering birds, including waterfowl, seabirds, wading birds, raptors or land birds.

Hilton Head Island Audubon Society

To learn more about our local Audubon Society please visit the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society.

Other resources you may want to check out:

• Audubon South Carolina
• American Bird Conservancy

For a truly special bird watching adventure, we highly recommend an outing with Captain Howard Costa. He is a real birding specialist with intimate knowledge of our local waters and seasonal hot spots. He can take up to six people on a chartered tour that departs from Shelter Cove Marina. Please visit Skimmer Nature Charters.