Nine teams composed of twenty-nine volunteers were treated to a pleasant, albeit chilly day of counting birds in Beidler Forest and surrounding areas. It was so wonderful having more volunteers participating this year – thanks to those that were able to join us for the count!

Our count day started out with cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-30s; it warmed up a little from there and reached the mid-40s for our high temperature in the afternoon hours. Overall themes for this year’s count that stuck out to me were 1) the relatively low water levels in Four Holes Swamp and surrounding areas, and 2) the large blackbird flocks present in our count area this year.

Overall, the bird census data seemed positive this year, with several high counts and only a few low counts. We ended the count with 103 species, which is an average total for us. However, as mentioned, a few very large flocks of blackbirds helped boost our total number of individuals to 28,722, which is over 11,000 higher than our previous total (17,386 back in 2010)! We also added two new species to the count circle: Marsh Wren and Black-crowned Night-Heron.

In addition, we had a few other species we seldom find on the count, including Sandhill Crane, Virginia Rail, Lesser Yellowlegs, Merlin, Eastern Screech-Owl and Great Horned Owl. Notable high counts this year include Hooded Merganser (204; previous high of 103), Great Egret (58; previous high of 24), Bald Eagle (34; previous high of 19), and Red-winged Blackbird (12,764; previous high of 3,320). Interestingly, one field party found a Ring-necked Pheasant in their territory, which unfortunately is presumed to be an escaped bird and thus not part of our official list this year.

We also had a few notable misses this year. Species we failed to record on this year’s count include American Coot, Anhinga, and any of the winter finches. The only notable low count was American Robin (63; previous low 136).

On behalf of all of us with Audubon South Carolina, thank you so much for your help with the Four Holes Swamp Christmas Bird Count. We simply could not do it without you! In looking ahead, next year’s Christmas Bird Count will take place on Monday, December 19th, 2022. We hope you’ll join us again!