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I explored a beautiful small park in the heart of Mount Pleasant called the Marsh View Trail. This lovely park offers a short wooded trail that leads into a maritime habitat and a vast open salt marsh. There is also a dog park and a beautiful pollinator garden that was being cared for by a group of super nice ladies during my visit. The Marsh View Trail has moved into eBird Hotspot #50 with 157 bird species recorded!
The first leg of the trail has a variety of thick vegetation which can be good for a variety of birds that prefer these tangles to hide and forage. This area was somewhat quiet however I did encounter several Northern Cardinals and a few loud singing Carolina Wrens.
The thickets transitioned into some Live Oaks and a Pine Tree forest. Then leading to a dog park and the colorful, thriving Pollinator Garden.
As I passed the hard working and sweet Keepers of the Pollinator Garden I began to hear Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice high in the Oak Tree Canopy. There are wonderful mature Live Oaks that line one side of the trail and a thick stand of Pine Trees with low thickets on the opposite side.
I have previously found mixed flocks of songbirds foraging along the picturesque branches of the Live Oak tree canopies. Today I did not find the elusive mixed warbler flock but I heard continuous Blue Jay calls and several woodpeckers including Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. As this part of the trail made a turn I exited the pathway and explored an open corner that has a shallow creek where the Pine trees and Oak trees meet with dense thicket. I could hear a variety of birds including warbler chips. I could see two American redstarts fluttering atop the lower thickets. A Prairie Warbler and a Yellow Warbler were gleaning for insects along the leaves and branches of the Live Oak tree above me.
In the Pine Trees I could hear the rapid trill song of several Pine Warblers and the squeaky dog toy like call of the nearby Brown-headed Nuthatches. Taking in the peaceful sounds of nature I closed my eyes for a moment and just listened.
After enjoying this mixed flock I decided to continue further along the trail. I encountered the harsh chip notes of a Common Yellowthroat and the high pitched notes of several Northern Cardinals.
Continuing further down the trail the vegetation begins to change into more maritime growth and the larger trees disappear. A loud Belted Kingfisher rattled above and flew past. Hundreds of Fidler Crabs scattered away from my steps to the nearest mud hole.
The “marsh view” at the end of this trail is breathtaking! Vast Charleston salt marsh views filled with the sounds of nature. There is also a nice bench to sit and enjoy the scenery! If you stay here long enough you can see a variety of birds fly by in close proximity and in the long picteresque distance.
It was an enjoyable morning walking this hidden gem of a park. This Town of Mount Pleasant Park may be small but has a lot to explore and an impressive reward at the end of the trail!
The day yielded 37 species of birds while covering .69 miles.
eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S150855451
Happy Birding,
Charles
