Coming back from seeing the baby Brown Pelicans we spotted several small pods of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Kiawah River. They are just plain fun to watch.
Kiawah River, SC
June 1, 2022
Bottlenose Dolphins, Kiawah River
Tag Archives: Coastal Expeditions
Brown Pelican Chicks
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.
Cave Swallows
I recently went on a boat trip that passed under this bridge that was hosting swallow nests.
The Merlin Bird ID By Cornell Lab app identifies them as Cliff Swallows, an uncommon bird in SC.
There wasn’t enough light to really see the colors, these were taken with my short lens, and these little guys were speedy!
The nests were pretty fascinating, too, more of an engineering marvel than the bridge.
Santee Delta By Boat, Reflections
We took a winding “short cut” from the North Santee River to the South Santee River.
Trees crowded and overhung the river bank, with golden reflections all around.
November 8, 2021
Santee Delta By Boat, Wood Ducks
Our guide on the Santee Delta trip was an excellent bird spotter, and saw this small flock of Wood Ducks coming in for a landing.
Taking pictures of a small moving bird from a small moving boat gives so-so results, but it was fun to see them.
The ducks, or at least one of them, seemed to think they’d better fly right back out.
And of course the rest followed along.
This section of the river was lined with grass and reeds, a perfect spot for Wood Ducks to hang out.
Santee River Trip with Coastal Expeditions
November 8, 2021
View my other Santee Delta trip posts
Santee Delta By Boat, 1
The first week of November we took a boat trip in South Carolina’s Santee Delta, about half way between Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
We starting at a public boat landing where US Route 17 crosses the North Santee River and headed up river. These images were from the first stretch of the river.
Once we passed a few docks with moored boats it was easy to imagine our boat of ten folks as the only humans for miles.
A variety of trees line the river bank, and were in various stages of color and leaf loss.
Santee River Trip with Coastal Expeditions
November 8, 2021
Bird Chaos at Bird Key
Hundreds of birds nested on Bird Key this summer and the land and sky were full of activity on this July day.
Most of the birds on land seen here are Brown Pelicans, the smaller white ones are chicks. The chicks were awkwardly walking, but not yet flying.  There were lots of Laughing Gulls that provided constant noise, and a few White Ibis mixed in.
On the outer edge of the island, the open Atlantic Ocean beyond, a sand bar has formed that was popular spot for preening.
Taken from a boat at Bird Key Stono Heritage Preserve
Between Kiawah Island and Folly Beach, SC
July 12, 2021
Brown Pelicans Off Duty
On our way out to Bird Key to see the Brown Pelican chicks we spotted several small groups of adults flying to sand bars.
According to our guide the adults assign a baby-sitter Pelican at the rookery then find a place to rest.
They certainly picked a beautiful, if sparse, location.
From a boat, Kiawah River, Charleston County, SC
July 12, 2021
Bottlenose Dolphins Mating
Like nature shows on tv, our nature boat trip to Bird Key to see the Brown Pelican chicks included some mating. This time is was not birds, but Dolphins.
Our boat captain and guide spotted a pod of Dolphins on our return trip up the Kiawah River. He was quick to say he thought we’d also see some mating based on his interpretation of what we were seeing.
From our distance on a bobbing boat it was hard to say for sure, but scenes frozen by the camera tell the story. Before you scroll on I’ll tell you that even at a distance they are graphic. And amazing.
The gestation period for Bottlenose Dolphins is twelve months. Tune in a year from now and we may see a calf.
Kiawah River, SC
July 12, 2021
Red-headed Woodpecker In a Snag
A snag at the edge of a swamp was the perfect spot for this Red-headed Woodpecker to survey his territory.
