3rd day is a charm...

I know you're wondering what the heck Im talking about lol...so it was Friday morning I got up and that was the 3rd day of a rare bird being reported in the exact same spot...I had slept in and having coffee when I read it on the ebird rare sightings for SC.  Only 2hrs and 15 mins drive..hmmmm by the time I arrived it was 1 PM! BUT sunny breezy the prefect day to go on a Twitch.  

In the Eastern corner of Charleston County is where the Santee River empties into the Atlantic Ocean...there's several places here I've been hoping to go check out but just never have gotten around to doing so this summer was SO HOT.  As  you can see it is chock full of mature old growth trees, since it was once part of 2 plantations! Eldorado, and Ormond Hall.  The Nature Conservancy acquired the land in 1974, its 24,000 acres of Coastal plain, flood plain, and contains Carolina Bays, odd small depressions filled with water!

I arrived so late in the day I only explored one area and not very thoroughly either! There's a boardwalk I really wanted to explore, but I was dead tired when I finished walking around about 5 pm sat down to eat my sandwich and began my drive home...if the weather was not going to turn sour I would have stayed over they have a Fabulous campground FREE!

each site is huge and nestled under the moss covered live oaks! All primitive so you're on your own if you stay here..beware of generators in hot weather.  MY Interest was in the 3 large impounds East of the visitors center and museum.  

Right away there was heron to greet me Little, Tri Color,  and Great Blue...all busy hunting for a meal some having success.  










And there's reptiles...

check out those golden eyes...

The Golden Rod and other plants still in full bloom was a treat 

Monarch butterfly

Double Crested Coromorant

Pied Billed Grebe 

The Big Well Trail was where the rare bird had been showing up so I took the trail.  It circles around the 3 impoundments.  

Parking is close to the trail so I drove over and parked by the boat launch area..right away small birds were darting in and out of the sedge and rushes.

If you're familiar with the Sharp Tailed Sparrow "Nelson's" you will recognize this guy...he didn't come out fully in the open I got 3 shots and each one filled in a piece of the puzzle.  It's been so long since I am seeing sparrows that it's like starting over!  We also had the Swamp, and Field come out for photo opts.

One of my fellow birders felt this could be a clay colored sparrow but no black outlines of the check patch so I called it Field Sparrow but then ebird reviewer saw it and said it's an Immature White Crowned...a state bird for me so yeah! 

                                                                     Gr Yellow Legs

We had Gr and Lesser Yellow Legs, Dunlins, Stilt Sandpiper, Least and Western Sandpiper, Short Billed Dowitchers,

Maybe some long thrown in too...couldn't tell you the difference!

Egrets, Night Herons, Semi-P Plovers,

Black Bellied Plovers,

Had Prairie and Palm Warblers peeking in and out of the tall flora along the trail edges...

Prairie Warbler 

Palm Warbler 

Wilson's Snipe

Fly Over Wood Storks 

I hoped for a Sedge Wren...couldn't nail one down but found my favorite the Marsh Wren 

And although we found our target right away I saved it for last wish my photos could have been better but he stayed just out of good range,

Hudsonian Godwit!  
That link takes you to the range map so you can see how far out of his normal range he was!

I had the place to my self for a while but then these other nice people joined in the search, everyone went home happy! 

The 2 people with their back to us in this photo run an Adventure Guide Service.  They will soon be taking a group to Costa Rica.  That's Paul on the left and his lovely wife Amanda on the right.  We spent a couple hours birding together and what a pleasant meeting it was.  If you want to check them out look for them here..

Epic Nature Tours 

... these young people give me HOPE.


  

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Vega...

With my library pass hanging on the rear view I made my way toward Vega State Park, ( A Spanish word meaning....a large plain or valley, typically a fertile and grassy one) I went there last year for a look around and really wanted to camp there.  My sis made the suggestion I take the lesser traveled Collbran/Silt road and so happy that she did that it was such a highlight!! 

On the way there CR 331 takes me through some pretty ranch and farm lands and that means (my favorite) fence post birding and that is never disappointing!  

rare to get a snipe right out in the open like this

And just 4 posts down...

                                                     a tail fanning western meadowlark

Then I take the turn onto 330 East.  It's a dirt road that travels 40 miles through the White River National Forest, I saw quite a few wildflowers finally starting to show...I love dandelions and so do bees.  

FS 330 East Gulch Road

                         had a warbling vireo singing and hiding in one of these white blossom shrubs

                                              Big Chiming Bells,,,,so appropriately named.

And  Tall Larkspur 

Which is said to be poisonous to cattle...

And this unlucky soul is memorialized here...follow the link on her name to read the sad story. 

Courtni Bieser 1986-2010

Stopped here at the almost halfway point to let Casey out for a stretch and had one myself...

A who knows the name of this lovely yellow flower, some kind of sunflower?

  I arrive at Vega State Park to find the lake level is down compared to my visit here last year. 

...and not as many birds around either...saw a few tho and enjoyed every single one...like this what I originally called a Mottled duck I just stopped looking once I saw the black at the gape of the bill, I should have not taken that for granted as the reviewer on ebird pointed me to the rear of the bird and the white and black which makes this a Mallard/Mexican Hybrid...okay even better! 

And a fine looking duck he is too!  Had him a summer fling going on...

There was plenty of open sites in all except the Electric Loop so I tried out a few and settled on this spot on up on the hill where the wind was not hitting directly it had picked up considerably...white caps even.  When I took my afternoon siesta it was so relaxing with the awesome lake view and the peace and quiet. 

Across the lake the Aspen Trees are really leafing out..and it sure makes the hillside nice...

That Osprey nest is occupied, glad to say.  

Before we called it a day we took a few more photos of the lake..and a little drive around...

I picked up the Dusky Flycatcher here a horrid record shot didn't matter!  Why does my camera always not focus when it's so important?

  That was my 2nd lifer since my arrival in CO this spring, (with the 3 Baird's Sandpipers a couple weeks ago)...had lots of Mountain Bluebird and White Crowned Sparrows in the trees.  (a quick edit here...this is the dark lore sub species of the white crowned, and the beak is a more maroon color than yellow I have only recently learned this as I am not so much into the "science" of birds but since I came west more and more on the Colorado Ebird Rare list this one makes the list.  So I guess it matters)   

in the woods edge, some mule eared deer...

one in a hurry crosses the road...while this Marmot has taken up an outpost position on the top of an abandoned and collapsed shack... 

How's the view from there?

Red-Tailed Hawk

Then this stream ran right across the road so I turned back....a 4 x 4 like my old 1984 Bronco II would have come in handy here...if I had't traded it back in 1997.  Somethings we really should hold onto never know when you will wish you had it!

We rolled into our spot  for good, we had a great view.. 

 That was about the end of our day....

In the morning we had a really pretty sunrise

Breakfast done and we were ready to explore...Casey is getting old he can't go on hikes any more... so after his walk I put him in the cool shade, and he took his after breakfast nap while I took a hike on the lake trail.   

SO many Yellow Warblers, Yellow-Rumped Warblers of Audubon and Myrtle subs and more White Crowned Sparrows and lots of Broad Tailed Hummers trrrrrrrrrillllling and zooming around.  Had one trying to feed off my red plaid shirt too close for a photo...then looking up at this wire I spotted a Black Chinned.

Puffed up against the morning chill...

the filtered light was so pretty...

HELLO...I think he was warming up 

 a woods serenade...

 a solo performed by the Green Tailed Towhee! Enjoy.

after lunch we headed to The Grand Mesa over 10,000 ft...up next. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.