News
Nature lovers gathered at the Hopelands Gardens guest cottage on Friday morning for a lecture on identifying birds by their sounds…… “There’s a language of birds, and they’ll tell you a lot,” said Keck about the benefits of learning to recognize bird calls. “When you hear certain birds, it can tell you things about the landscape.” Keck’s lecture emphasized birds that are in decline and what people can do to help them thrive.
Last fall, SCWF's Habitat Education Manager, Jay Keck, was interviewed by Michael Falero, a contributor to the popular national nature podcast, BirdNote. They chose to talk about the prothonotary warbler, a declining species, and SCWF's efforts to help save it by installing and monitoring nesting boxes on public land at the Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve in Lexington county, SC.
Ninety percent of a bird's diet consists of insects, even those birds that you see at your feeders. In the winter, the insect population (important source of protein) is low and the availability of berries (important source of fat) is limited. In the spring, birds need lots of energy to build nests and families. You can help by making homemade suet, which birds prefer to the bought kind. Lard can be purchased at many local grocery stores - call ahead to make sure that they have it. If you hang the suet near your other feeders, the birds will discover it quickly!
Hurricane season is here, and the 1st Congressional District has a lot to be grateful for. Stretching from about Awendaw to the Savannah River, the district is fortunate to have numerous permanently protected shoreline properties, and due to their intact geomorphology, they are better equipped to handle the wrath of hurricanes than their more developed neighbors.
SCWF is one of many organizations supporting a new SCDNR S.C. Coastal Bird Conservation Program to protect and restore rapidly disappearing coastal bird habitat. The pilot project is to raise approximately $2 million for the cost share needed for the restoration of Crab Bank with dredged material from the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project. Crab Bank, an island created in Charleston Harbor with dredged material and former home to thousands of nesting coastal birds, has eroded to the point that it is unsuitable for bird use.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is this weekend, and YOU can participate in collecting data on current bird populations right from your own backyard! For at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, February 16-19, 2018, simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see. You can count from any location, anywhere in the world, for as long as you wish!
Click here to learn more about birds you might see in your backyard in the winter in South Carolina!
Ninety percent of a bird's diet consists of insects, even those birds that you see at your feeders. In the winter, the insect population (important source of protein) is low and the availability of berries (important source of fat) is limited. In the spring, birds need lots of energy to build nests and families. You can help by making homemade suet, which birds prefer to the bought kind. Lard can be purchased at many local grocery stores - call ahead to make sure that they have it. If you hang the suet near your other feeders, the birds will discover it quickly!
