(Member registration opens 3/2; nonmembers on 3/9.)
Join expert birders Jim Asmuth and 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.
Note the early start time – 8:00 a.m. This is so we can listen and look for the endangered Bachmann’s sparrows, which frequently quiet down later in the morning and become hard to find.
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 you navigation device, AND print out the directions, since we sometimes lose service once near 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 rr 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 only open on weekdays. Bring lunch or snacks, plenty of water, sunblock, insect repellant, and a keen sense of adventure.
Tickets for Members and nonmembers are $12.00.
