Tag Archives: Baby Pelican Cruise

Oystercatchers in Nesting Habitat

June 26, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

They may not have been nesting, but this is the type of terrain American Oystercatchers make their nests, as seen from a boat on my recent excursion into Charleston Harbor.

This section of Shutes Folly, an island in Charleston harbor, is mostly shells, with a depression in the middle where some grass has managed to grow.

Their nests are difficult to spot, just a divot in the ground, which is one of the many reasons nesting grounds are closed to humans during breeding season.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Brown Pelican Dropping In

June 26, 2023 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

In one of the passes we made on the boat tour past Castle Pinkney I noticed this pair of adult Brown Pelicans resting in a Palm Tree. There didn’t seem room for a third, but he made it work.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Pair of Brown Pelican Chicks

June 25, 2023 Ellen Jennings 7 Comments

This structure is part of Castle Pinkney in Charleston Harbor. Brown Pelicans are using the land around the castle as well as the castle itself for nesting.

Adult Brown Pelican, Laughing Gull Flying In, Pair of Brown Pelican Chicks, ANother Adult on nest to the right

The guide on this trip thought these two chicks had probably hatched within the proceeding 24 hours.

As we slowly went by I captured the pair with different backgrounds.

I researched Castle Pinkney when I got home wondering how thick that wall is. I did not get a definitive answer, but it is likely 2 to 3 feet (1 Meter) so these two young birds weren’t in immediate danger of falling backward. Forward of course looks like a huge risk.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Castle Pinkney, Charleston

June 25, 2023 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

I went on the Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions on Friday, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Shutes Folly is a small island in the Charleston harbor channel, easily seen from the Charleston Waterfront Park and from Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. The island has been various things over the years with the first fort constructed in 1810. The island is slowly being washed away by storms and the existing brick structure, Castle Pinckney, is falling apart.

Birds are very adaptive, several of the lookout windows were occupied by Snowy Egrets.

Snowy Egret Nesting in Castle Pinckney, Charleston Harbor

The mature adult Brown Pelicans have white heads, the all white youngster in the middle of the next image is this year’s chick. The parents and other adults in the community keep a close watch on the chicks that do not fly until they are at least nine weeks old.

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Shore Birds

American Oystercatcher Trio Flying By

June 23, 2023 Ellen Jennings 12 Comments

This American Oystercatcher trio was circling around looking to land. The racket they were making made it easier for me to follow them.

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Water Birds

Brown Pelican Chicks

June 4, 2022 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Ted and I went on the same guided boat adventure as last year to see the juvenile Pelicans at Bird Key Stono Seabird Sanctuary. This trip was much earlier in the young birds’ lives as they are still in the nests.

These pictures are taken from a bobbing boat; I did learn from last year and upped my shutter speed to 1/1600.

There are thousands of birds on this island right now, and as you might expect there were always some in flight. The parents have to go for food, and swoop in and out constantly.

The chicks are still in the nests, which are collections of sticks/reeds, with the young being protected by an adult from the sun. As you can see in the center top a few are starting to move around.

Laughing Gulls are also nesting here and were flying all over, constantly chattering.

June 1, 2022

Bird Key, not much more than a sandbar, is a barrier island that sits in the mouth of the Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.