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White-winged Dove at Bear Island WMA



Hi C-Birders,

I was down at Bear Island Wildlife Management Area  (Colleton County,
SC)early this morning for a bit of birding and sound recording and I got a
great look at a White-winged Dove there. The white-wing was with a Eurasian
Collared-Dove near the maintenance sheds along Johnny Hiers Drive, the main
sand road through the area.   i watched it for about three minutes until it
flew off over the marshes to the north. Unfortunately it was silent, so I
did not get a recording of White-winged Dove calls in South Carolina.

It was a great day for terns at Bear Island. I saw lots of Least and Black
Terns, as well as a few Royal, Caspian, and Forster's Terns, and a Black
Skimmer or two.

There is little or no shorebird habitat at Bear Island. Today I just found
Black-necked Stilts, Killdeer, and Greater Yellowlegs. There is just too
much rain for a good draw down of any of the impoundments.

Not to be outdone by all the other folks enjoying Swallow-tailed Kites I
went over to West Bank Landing (just south of Jacksonboro; turn south onto
Hope Plantation Road from US 17, right by Toomers Restaurant). After about
an hours' wait I got a good look at a Swallow-tailed Kite skimming the tree
tops over on the Charleston County side of the Edisto River. West Bank
Landing is one of my favorite spots to look for kites since it is close to
Bear Island and it has a nice deck where you can sit in comfort and enjoy
the fly by of herons, egrets, ibis, storks, hawks, vultures, anhingas, and
kites. Also there are few if any biting insects at the West Bank Landing
deck, so you do not have to pay the blood toll that is necessary to see
kites at the Santee Delta.

All in all a great day (and I got some great recordings of Marsh Wren songs,
as well as some nice Seaside Sparrow songs).

Robin Carter
Columbia, SC
rcarter@sc.rr.com