EVENT IS FREE BUT PLEASE REGISTER

Patty Kappmeyer will provide practical advice, captivating images and tips on where and when to find our Lowcountry Birds.  Birders of ALL levels are welcome.

EVENT IS FREE BUT PLEASE RSVP!

Join Joy Mock and Charlotte Rios, HHAudubon Youth Chair at Jarvis Park on Hilton Head at noon for a walk around Jarvis Creek lake looking at birds. 

Bring binoculars if you have them. Basic beginner binoculars will be available to borrow if needed. Dress for “standing around in the weather”. We will probably walk up to 1 1/2 miles, and spend about 2 hours. Meet at the fishing pier, near the restrooms. If the weather is cooperative, you might wish to bring a picnic lunch. There are several pavilions with picnic tables. If the weather is really awful, our rain date is March 1.

Directions:  If coming from off-island, stay on William Hilton Parkway (Rte 278 Business). Pass GumTree Rd, then turn right at the next traffic light. If you are on the island coming from the south end via Cross-Island Expy, right on Gum Tree then right at next light. If coming from south on 278, Jarvis Rd is the next left after Pembroke (Wendy’s).  

Member registration opens 2/1; Nonmembers on 2/8)

Join Master Birder and Mindful Birding advocate Kathy Byrd for a slow walk around the park, immersing ourselves in the natural world.

The scientific data is in! Relief from the daily pressures we face in life is critical to our mental and physical wellbeing. What better way is there to get away from it all than to spend a couple of hours on a woodland amble with the birds? Unlike our usual bird walks which focus on identification, counts and an Ebird list, this “Mindful Bird Walk” will instead encourage us to use all our senses to fully experience the wonder of nature. We will walk slowly and stop often.

Please join us at Jarvis Creek Park to explore and unwind. We will meet near the parking lot. Restrooms available there.

(Member tickets are $12.00; Nonmembers $14.00)

(Event is Free but please RSVP!)

South Carolina Shorebirds have some of the longest migrations in the world, and many use Hilton Head Island as their resting spot during their travels. Learn about the species that migrate through the area and how you can help them rest and feed by sharing the shore with them. Presented by Wendy Dickes.

(Member registration opens 2/1; Nonmembers 2/8)

Aaron Palmieri, Outreach & Education Manager for the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy, will lead us on a two-and-a-half-hour stroll through River Road Preserve located in Palmetto Bluff. We will explore roughly 3 miles of trails in the Preserve in search of residential and seasonal songbirds.

Meet at the Conservancy Classroom located in Moreland Village (655 Old Moreland Road). Parking available along the edge of the facility and in a small parking lot located past the classroom.

Located in Palmetto Bluff, River Road Preserve is a 133-acre tract of land that is owned and managed by the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy. 5.2 miles of trails weave through this maritime forest ecosystem nestled between saltmarsh and the freshwater Inland Waterway. Restrooms are located at the northern end of the Preserve and near the Conservancy classroom where people are encouraged to park.

Member tickets $12.00; Nonmember $14.00

(Member registration opens 2/1; Nonmember 2/8)

Do all birds migrate? This class will discuss the basics (when, where, why) of migration and introduce the technologies contributing to our increasing knowledge base. Learn how to follow our Lowcountry bird migration activity each spring and fall. Our field trip will focus on finding migrating birds who use Hilton Head as a stop-over during their flight.

Followup field trip Saturday, April 4, 9:30-Noon, Jarvis Creek Park

Member ticket $32.00; Nonmember $49.00)

(Member registration opens 2/1; Nonmembers 2/8)

Nemours Wildlife Foundation is an action-focused conservation organization. They conduct scientific research, carry out sound land management, provide experiential education, and empower conservationists throughout our region and beyond. Please join Nemours’ Education Coordinator Heather Krauss for a tour of the woods and impoundments of this former rice plantation now under conservation management. After a brief introduction, we will all pile into their open-air trailer with cushioned bench seats, which allows for many eyes looking in all directions and allows us to keep spotting scopes at the ready.  We will stop to look and listen in key locations. Please do not wander around on your own before or after the tour. But also ask Heather lots of questions!

Bring the usual: binoculars, water, snack. Dress in layers as it may be chilly on the trailer and will be exposed to the wind.

Directions:  Take I-95 North to exit 33 Charleston/Beaufort, onto Rte 17 east.  OR, take Rte 170 east from Bluffton and Rte 21 north from Beaufort then exit onto Rte 17 at Gardens Corner.   Nemours will be on your right about 5.5 – 6 miles east of Gardens Corner intersection of 17 & 21.

Special note:  If you register for this Hilton Head Audubon field trip to Nemours, you must ALSO register yourself (no additional charge) on the Nemours site. That url will be provided upon your HHA registration.

(Member registration opens 3/1; Nonmembers 3/8)

The South Carolina Lowcountry has a rich diversity of habitats that provide unique resources to an equally rich diversity of bird life. Aaron Palmieri, Outreach and Education Manager for the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy, will give an overview of the major habitats found in the Lowcountry, what makes them unique, and what these habitats mean for avian diversity. Following the lecture, we will walk through a protected, 133 acres of maritime forest habitat and see what species are present.

Member ticket $20.00; Nonmember $35.00

A donation to Palmetto Bluff Conservancy would be appreciated.

(Member registration opens 3/1; nonmembers 3/8)

Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge is a “Happening place” in the birding spring. Many of our waders (herons, egrets, night-herons, ibis) as well as anhingas, grackles, and smaller songbirds breed here. 

Join Master Birder Stephen Dickson in the parking lot, near the trail to Ibis Pond. We will stroll to the pond to view the action. Walking areas around the ponds are mowed for easy (and safe) viewing. Along the way, we will pick up some recent arriving songbirds, such as painted buntings and blue-gray gnatcatchers. We usually continue to Starr Pond, so that our total mileage is about 2 l/2 miles, most of it on a gravel/dirt road or mowed grass. Woodland birds, winter residents, common gallinules, wintering ducks, etc. make this visit a joy any time of year. But it is a really “happening place” for breeding birds from about mid-April through May.

 Optional:  Depending on interest, weather, etc., some of the group may continue through the woods behind Starr to visit Osprey Pond, adding about a mile.

Directions: Pinckney is located between Hilton Head and Bluffton, SC, with entrance on Rte 278 on the Bluffton side of the bridge. This is a dangerous, fast road, so be alert.  There are no restrooms at Pinckney, just convenient woods. Be sure to bring a snack, water, sunblock, bug repellent; dress for the weather (hat, sunglasses?). Remember there are alligators in the ponds (so keep your distance) and ticks in the woods.

Member tickets $12.00; nonmembers $14.00

Participation capped at 15.

(Member registration opens 3/1; Nonmembers 3/8)

Start your spring birding with Coastal Discovery Museum naturalist, Carlos Chacon. He will lead a slow meander around the newly established Mid-Island Community Park, which is being converted from many years as a golf course. At present, there is a small parking lot, some port-o-potties, and plenty of old, uneven, but mowed golf cart paths and fairways.

Bordering pines and oaks are very popular with many resident bird species. Some are common, but others are not often seen elsewhere on Hilton Head. The very tall dead standing pines host the only red-headed woodpecker colony we know of on the island.

Join Hilton Head Audubon for a meander along the paths, around the lagoons, for about 2 or 3 hours, 2 or 3 miles. Except for occasional overflying aircraft, this place feels very wild but is in the heart of the island. 

Directions: The parking lot is about 100 yds off of Rte 278, on Union Cemetery Rd, Hilton Head, SC. If coming from the north (from Bluffton or the Cross Island Expressway), take 278 Business east. Go past Mathews Rd, then past the Dillon Rd intersection (McDonald's) -- both of which have traffic lights. The next left (no traffic light) is Union Cemetery Rd.    If coming from the south on Rte 278 Business (e.g. from Sea Pines), go past Port Royal Plantation entrance, and take the next right onto Union Cemetery Rd. 

If you make the turn onto Union Cemetery Rd, but miss the parking lot, you will soon see the Union Cemetery itself, and need to turn around.

Member ticket $12.00; Nonmember $14.00.

(Member registration opens 3/1; Nonmembers 3/8)

Join Wendy Dickes, member of  the shorebird survey team, to work on Shorebird ID. This field trip is best for beginning and intermediate birders wishing to hone basic shorebird identification skills. We will look at bills and feet, observe postures, watch behaviors, discuss plumage changes and migration, etc. We will have at least one spotting scope available, to help everyone see the key features. 

Note the unusual time, to allow the tide to ebb from high:  Tide tables indicate a high tide around  6:40 a.m. We will set up on the beach, to start searching near the high tide line. Then we will follow the tide out, possibly getting our feet wet and sandy, as do the birds. Afterward, those interested can walk over to the boardwalk toward Barker Field, and the extension over the marsh. 

Fish Haul Beach Park (120 Mitchellville Rd, Hilton Head) has restrooms in the parking lot.  We will walk in sand as well as hard surfaces, for about l l/2 miles total. Prepare for the weather – it feels cooler than you might expect if it is windy. If the weather is fine, you might elect to bring lunch and picnic on the beach or in the park. Maybe bring a trash bag, since we like to leave a place cleaner than we find it.

Directions: From Rte 278, take Beach City Road. At the intersection with Dillon Rd, turn left. Then look for the first road right, Mitchellville Rd (currently dirt, but the town plans to pave someday…).  This will lead you to the Fish Haul Beach Park, on the right.

Member ticket $12.00; Nonmember $14.00

(Member registration opens 3/1; Nonmembers 3/8)

Artist Karen Richards leads a hands-on workshop at the SOBA Art School on how to use painting to explore conservation and nature themes. Each participant will create a work of art to take home.

Member ticket $15; Nonmember $25.

(Member registration opens 4/5; Nonmembers 4/12)

Join Coastal Discovery Museum naturalist Carlos Chacon at the Cypress Wetlands in Port Royal, SC, for an hour or so birding from the boardwalk, which offers close-up views of waterfowl, wading birds, alligators, turtles, and occasional surprises. The walk continues on a trail around the other side of the pond, including a viewing platform with views of the “backsides” of the islands visible from the boardwalk.  While there are a few roots to avoid on the trail part, this is a flat, easy walk of about a mile. The Boardwalk is open to the sun & weather, but the trail part is shaded. Dress for the weather, and expect bugs. 

Directions: From Hilton Head / Bluffton, take Rte 170 toward Beaufort, across the Broad River bridge, then right on SC128 / Savannah Highway. Turn Right onto US 21 Route / Parris Island Gateway which becomes Ribaut Rd. Turn Right onto West Paris Avenue, then left onto Paris Avenue. The entrance is across from the Parkers gas station (also the nearest restrooms), and next to the Police Station. Park along Paris Ave, and walk back to the Wetlands boardwalk. We recommend you plan to stay for lunch at one of several small restaurants near the Wetlands or the Fishcamp Restaurant on 11^th St.

(Member registration opens 4/5; nonmembers 4/12)

Join expert birder Chip Walker for a day-long exploration of the various ecosystems of this extraordinary conservation area. We will meet along the entrance road (Webb Ave), within sight of its intersection with Augusta Stage Coach Rd. This entrance road passes through a tunnel of live oaks beside grassland habitat, and is superb habitat for Bachmann’s sparrows, red-cockaded and red-headed woodpeckers.Webb Wildlife Management Area covers about 81,000 acres of mixed habitats along the Savannah River. Clearly, we can only scratch the surface. We will do a driving tour, with several stops for birding in hardwood forests, longleaf pine communities, near bald cypress swamps, and at a freshwater rookery. There is a nature trail leading into the Savannah River backwaters, which we will try out; but it is often flooded in spring. Swallow-tailed kites, Prothonotary, Chestnut-sided and Hooded warblers, Blue grosbeaks, Summer tanagers, Yellow-billed cuckoos, Indigo and Painted buntings all live here.

Directions from Hilton Head: Put the address in your navigation device, AND print out the directions, since we sometimes lose service once inside Webb.  From HH, take Rte 278 north, across I-95, go left at the next light – Whyte Hardee Blvd.(= Rte 17). In town, take a right on Deerfield Rd (= Rte 321 north). Stick with 321 through a couple of name changes. You will eventually come to a funky and confusing intersection where 3 roads come together. Clyo Rd comes in from the south (don’t take that!). Head due west, crossing the railroad tracks on Augusta Stagecoach Rd. Look for the brown binocular signs. Go through Brighton, SC (blink and you will miss it), then look for Webb Ave on the left. Webb is about an hour and a half from Hilton Head. 

There is a small restroom near the sign-in kiosk. FYI: Offices there are open only on weekdays. Bring lunch or snacks, plenty of water, sunblock, insect repellant, and a keen sense of adventure.

Member tickets $12.00; nonmembers $14.00 Capacity is 15 people.