Trainings
A focus on coastal ISS protocols in GA and SC, but also includes information about shorebird identification, data entry, eBird, and survey logistics.
2023 Shorebird Steward volunteer training for Audubon SC's Coastal Bird Program
Webinars
Join Manomet's Abby Sterling to learn more about the secret lives of the beach nesting shorebirds that depend on our backyards, and simple steps that we can take to help them succeed
Listen as SCDNR Biologist Janet Thibault shares some natural history, geology, and adaptation of these fascinating seabirds and learn how SCDNR is at the forefront of the protection and conservation of nesting Skimmers in South Carolina.
Overview of Least Terns habit and activity in South Carolina.
Fletcher Smith is a shorebird biologist who has worked with migrating birds for over 17 years. Red Knots have greatly declined in the last 50 years, but what is being done to understand more about why? He will share interesting findings from a long-term Red Knot project of counting, surveying, trapping, and banding them. He will also share what’s been learned about the Knots from this past season. Learn how Kiawah and Seabrook are critical to the survival of this species!
If you missed it late this spring The Kiawah Conservancy, along with SCDNR, The Town of Kiawah Island, South Carolina Audubon, Manomet, US Fish & Wildlife, and Seabrook Island Birders, successfully organized the first annual Sea Islands Shorebird Festival. One of the many festival events was the Red Knot Reception hosted by the Kiawah Conservancy at the Sandcastle. The night included drinks, a presentation led by coastal bird biologists, and a sneak preview of an upcoming red knot film by Benjamin Clock. For those who were unable to attend or are intrigued about one of Kiawah's most beloved birds, we have now uploaded a recording of the event.
The following presentations are comprised of four different speaking portions, each unveiling a different aspect of the importance of Captain Sams Spit Inlet and surroundings for coastal birds.
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1. Topography: Captain Sams Inlet and KSI-Deveaux complex by Janet Thibault
2. Overwintering Piping Plovers by Melissa Chaplin
3. American Oystercatchers by Abby Sterling
4. Whimbrel Discovery: Tracking Protected Roost and Foraging Marshes by Maina Handmaker
Documentaries
Discovery at Deveaux! This short film follows a team of shorebird biologists as they confirm the first census of a newly discovered Whimbrel roost in 2019. The final counts amount to nearly 20,000 individuals, representing half of the entire Atlantic Flyway population of this declining species using a single barrier island in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources established seabird sanctuaries in 2006 to protect highly vulnerable coastal bird species such as shorebirds and seabirds. SCDNR owns and manages several seabird sanctuaries along the coast, including Crab Bank, Deveaux Bank, and Bird Key-Stono. These ephemeral islands support over 20 species of nesting water birds and many other migrating and wintering species. Shorebirds and seabirds species have declined by 70% in the last 40 years. These places are an invaluable conservation tool to protect highly vulnerable species by providing safe habitat to rest, feed, and raise their young.