Hilton Head Shorebirds...

William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, silhouette on island beach. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach on the Intracoastal waterway. The salt marsh, tidal creeks, salt pannes, ponds, Saw Palmetto, and forests are habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, neo-tropical migrants, with large concentrations of white ibis, herons, and egrets.

​Saturday, 8:03 AM - On the morning of my wife’s birthday, we took a Sunrise stroll through Fish Haul Creek Park and out onto Mitchelville Beach on Hilton Head Island. The park was just a quick, 2-mile drive from our hotel.

​From the parking area, a wide dirt pathway marked with lines of fresh raccoon tracks lead through a patch of Maritime Forest that was heavily populated by mosquitoes this time of year. Walking quickly to avoid the blood suckers, we came out onto the salt flats. The morning smell of exposed marsh and mud permeated the still air.
 
The mud seemed in motion as hundreds of fiddler crabs crawled in waves in response to our movement. Tiny holes beside small mounds of mud balls dotted the flats. A short wooden dock ending at a gazebo provided a nice sunrise observation point.

Willet, Tringa semipalmata, on beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach

American Oystercatcher shorebird, Haematopus palliatus, in beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach

Walking a bit further on we came to Mitchelville Beach. I had read it was a great place for birding since it was far less frequented by tourists, being a “less clean” beach than the other Island beaches. And it was a true assessment. Instead of umbrellas and blankets lining the beach, there were piles of wood and washed up grasses along the shore. It was actually nice to see on this island that is heavily slanted toward tourists, a beach that is still “more wild” and kept as a refuge for the faunal inhabitants of Hilton Head.

Great Egrets and Little Blue Herons on the beach. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach on the Intracoastal waterway.

Tricolored Heron, Egretta tricolor. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach on the Intracoastal waterway. The salt marsh, tidal creeks, salt pannes, ponds, Saw Palmetto, and forests are habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, neo-tropical migrants, with large concentrations of white ibis, herons, and egrets.

Royal Tern, Thalasseus maximus, on beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach on the Intracoastal waterway.

Black Skimmer bird, Rynchops niger, on beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach

​Out on the beach, the sun was rising from off-shore. Not the best for photography, but provided some backlit silhouette shots that were usable after some Photoshop processing. Groups of gulls and shorebirds sat a bit further out on the exposed sandbars. I tried hopping from rock to rock to get closer, but would have to get wet if I really wanted a shot. 
 
As we walked westward on the beach, the sun shifted a bit more over my shoulder, producing some better shots. We followed groups of shorebirds down the water’s edge. One of the most interesting sights to watch was a Black Skimmer doing what he was named to do: skimming his peculiarly shaped, large red and black bill back and forth through the surf, hoping to catch small fish.

Sanderling bird, Calidris alba, on beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach on the Intracoastal waterway. The salt marsh, tidal creeks, salt pannes, ponds, Saw Palmetto, and forests are habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, neo-tropical migrants, with large concentrations of white ibis, herons, and egrets.

Laughing Gull on beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach

Being ignorant of shorebird identification, I just kept firing away and planned to ID later. At least I knew I would be getting new birds for my photography life list. Reviewing the take later, several newbies (for me) were added to the list: Royal Tern, American Oystercatcher, Willet, Black Skimmer and Sanderlings.  ​

Snowy Egret

Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, silhouette on island beach. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach

Laughing Gull on beach surf. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. Fish Haul Park and Mitchelville Beach