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Wilson's Warbler + sad event at Patriot's Pt.



Today at about 5:30pm at Patriot's Point in Mt. Pleasant, SC Ed Blitch, Mimi Dias and I had good looks at a nice male Wilson's Warbler.  I got some video of the Wilson's; not great footage but good enough to tell what the bird is.

The bird was foraging 5-10 feet high in the shrubs and vines 3/4 the way down the powerline right-of-way behind the pumphouse.  

Now for the sad news:  the new road they're putting in had a spur cut off it this morning.  The spur runs right behind the pumphouse.  This morning they bulldozed one of the most productive acres of trees (migrant-wise) in South Carolina. Just yesterday Craig Watson, David Chamberlain and I watched an Empid, a Tennessee Warbler, BT Green Warbler and lots of other migrants in that very spot.  Now it's a denuded patch of earth.  

I'm not sure why this new road is needed - there is already a road (been there 20 years) that reaches everywhere.

I'm afraid before long there will only be a few small scattered groves of trees at Patriot's Point.  Tomorrow I'm going to start writing letters to the editor, contacting local Audubon, Sierra and Nature Conservancy Chapters, the SC Coastal Conservation League and others.  Anyone who has enjoyed birding at Patriot's Point should write a letter or an email to the Patriot's Point Development Authority, Mt. Pleasant town council, make a phone call to a congressperson, or something.  Folks should also try and light fires under their favorite SC conservation organizations to save some forest before it's too late.

Patriot's Point is the last resting/feeding spot for migrants before they hit the expanse of Charleston Harbor on their way south to James Island or Folly Beach.  The forests of Mulberry, Hackberry, Privet, Yaupon, Wax Myrtle and myriad vines and other plants hold a lot of insects, berries and nectar for tired and hungry migrants.  Besides providing birders a place to get good looks at rare migrants, the woods at Patriot's Point save the lives of migrants on their hazardous journey. 

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC