World Migratory Bird Day is today! Here are the birds to watch for in SC and how to find them
Saturday is World Migratory Bird Day. Celebrate in South Carolina this year by knowing as much as you can about which birds to look out for.
Spring in South Carolina is a busy time of year for local birdwatchers as it’s when many species of neotropical songbirds begin their emigration and travel throughout the Palmetto State on their journey north.
Whether you’re an avid birder or just curious about the abundance of birds in South Carolina, here are the migratory birds anyone can be on the look out for this weekend.
Migratory birds in South Carolina
Common migratory bird species in the state of South Carolina are the rose-breasted grosbeak, indigo bunting, scarlet tanager, red-eyed vireo, Swainson’s thrush, and a large variety of migrant wood warblers, according to Bird Watcher’s Digest.
The best viewing places for these migratory birds, as stated by the digest, include:
Various types of hardwood forest habitats in the upstate region
The Catawba and Saluda rivers near Columbia for birding in the spring
Along the coast, maritime forests and scrub habitats that border salt marshes and dune fields
The riparian woodlands along piedmont river courses that serve as migration corridors for transient songbirds
The mountains in the spring (especially in mixed cove forests near streams)
World Migratory Bird Day 2022
In the United States and Canada, World Migratory Bird Day is officially celebrated on the second Saturday of May. This year, the day lands on May 14. In Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean, the world birding holiday is celebrated on the second Saturday of October. This year that will be October 8.
A LOT of birds migrate
There are a lot of migratory birds in North America. Break this up by species and population and that equals a magnitude of birds that will make their migration each year.
“We’ve discovered that each autumn, an average of 4 billion birds move south from Canada into the U.S. At the same time, another 4.7 billion birds leave the U.S. over the southern border, heading to the tropics.,” noted lead author Adriaan Dokter, an Edward W. Rose postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab, as written in the Cornell Chronicle from Cornell University. “In the spring, 3.5 billion birds cross back into the U.S. from points south, and 2.6 billion birds return to Canada across the northern U.S. border.”
Dim your lights
Just like coastal South Carolina’s sea turtle laws, dimming your lights at night can help avoid any perilous events for these birds.
Light pollution has the ability to attract or disorient many nocturnally migrating birds. This, in turn, makes them more likely to land in at-risk areas where they are more vulnerable to collisions and other potential dangers.
At least 100 million birds die every year from colliding with buildings in the United States alone.
“Artificial light also impacts birds in the breeding and winter seasons, disrupting feeding and other vital behaviors. Because artificial light affects birds in so many ways, it is impossible to know just how many birds are impacted by light pollution every year around the globe,” according to World Migratory Bird Day.
Take this weekend or this month to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day by looking for migratory bird species in your area or by pursuing a passion in birdwatching.
Resources for birding in South Carolina:
This story was originally published May 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "World Migratory Bird Day is today! Here are the birds to watch for in SC and how to find them."
