Spring is the most exciting time of year for birding in the Lowcountry because it’s when many species of neotropical songbirds make this their home for a few months. They sport beautiful breeding plumage and sing musical mating songs. Among our summer residents are the Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo, and a large variety of warblers, including the Yellow Throated, the Black and White, and the Northern Parula. Probably the most sought after one is the Painted Bunting, especially the male with his distinct blue head, red breast and green back. (Tip: they love millet seed in a tube feeder.)
You can’t miss all the nesting taking place on Four Post Lake, called a ‘rookery’. The large white birds are Great Egrets and the slightly smaller ones are Snowy Egrets, with their distinctive bright yellow feet. (Yellow ‘snow’ boots are how I remember them.) Hiding in the shrubs are nesting Black Crowned Night Herons.
Duck Pond has had two Great Blue Heron nests and the fledglings are now the size of the parents. Another permanent resident there are our Common Gallinules with their bright orange bills, who also have babies. Our flashy Black Bellied whistling ducks have bright orange bills and brown mohawks. They are usually seen in the lagoon between holes 10 and 11.
Now is the time to put out your hummingbird feeders. The ruby throated hummers are here feasting on the bottlebrush shrubs. In the right light, the males have deep red iridescent throat feathers, while the slightly larger females have a white breast. May 9th was the Global Big Day where birders all around the world record their bird sightings. I recorded 54 species in just a few hours. As spring moves into summer, take a few minutes to listen and look for these beautiful birds, who just like us, have chosen Oldfield as their home.
