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Birding the serene James Island County Park

Charles Donnelly
Sep 7, 2023
3 min read

I spent a pleasant September morning birding the James Island County Park. I began the day exploring the new fishing dock which offers wonderful long views of the beautiful salt marsh. I then walked the entirety of the green and orange trails. It was a peaceful walk and nearly every park-goer I passed smiled and said good morning. James Island County Park is eBird Hotspot #20 with 210 bird species recorded!

As I headed to the fishing dock I immediately heard several songbirds including Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice. I looked for the happy singers and caught a flash of bright yellow. I followed the colorful bird and a moment later it briefly emerged from the thick maritime habitat. It was a bright yellow Prairie Warbler searching for insects.

I continued to the fishing dock and enjoyed the amazing views across the bright green cordgrass and tidal creeks. It was a lower tide revealing muddy banks and a great opportunity to find foraging birds. There were several wading birds including Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Green Herons, and a Tri-colored Heron. I also heard a few low tup calls from nearby Seaside Sparrows hidden in the marsh grass. Clapper Rails were calling form every direction with their distinctive kek kek kek calls. I was lucky enough to see 3 Clapper Rails along the muddy banks of the tidal creek.

Great Egret, Tri-colored Heron, Snowy Egret

After the salt marsh exploration I headed along the green trail to explore the shady wooded areas. I encountered several year round residents including Carolina Wrens and Northern Cardinals. I made it to the orange trail near the dog park and noticed a small songbird fly across the road into a nearby tree canopy. I quickly and safely crossed the road to get a closer look. The beautiful bird fluttered from branch to branch like a butterfly. It was an American Redstart fanning its long tail feathers showing bright yellow patches.

I headed to the lake near the dog park and rolled up on a family of Canada Geese.

Walking the perimeter of the lake I watched countless Mullet jumping completely out of the water and sometimes leaping 3 times in row like skipping a flat stone. I did my best to capture the action shot but only captured blurry images of these active fish. In the distance I could see a few Eastern Kingbirds and a Belted Kingfisher. I also found a female Anhinga perched on a branch over the water keeping a cautious eye on my presence.

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Passing the kayak dock I could hear the rapid trill of a Pine Warbler and more Carolina Chickadees in the nearby Pine trees. Walking through the wooded areas I noticed many Banana Spider webs with one web lower and close to the trail allowing a good look at this large colorful spider.

I rejoined the green trail to cover the final leg of my exploration. This section of trail is close to the marsh and I could see many Fiddler Crabs scurrying across the ground back to their muddy holes.

Along the last stretch of trail a mixed flock of songbirds appeared right beside me! A Common Yellowthroat posed on a low branch showing its yellow throat.

A Downy Woodpecker searched for food along a very close Palm Tree and then an Oak branch.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a799b3_038854d283da4b3bab00532f4441fe6e/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Carolina Chickadees quickly moved through the vegetation and continued out of sight.

It was a pleasant and peaceful morning walking the beautiful trails of this Charleston County Park. The kind park-goers made the day extra enjoyable. If you haven’t explored this wonderful park I would recommend a visit to walk along the numerous paved trails and fishing dock. The day yielded 35 species of birds while covering 3.14 miles. eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S149192389

Happy Birding,

Charles