Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2023

fun and interesting,” Donnelly said.
The first thing to know about birding is
that it’s a modest and observant activity; it
requires stillness and observation where you
use both your eyes and your ears. It’s quite
a marvel to see different behavior patterns
and behavior of bird species as they scour
for food—coastal shorebirds like egrets and
herons look for their breakfast (fish, bugs and
insects) in the flats of the river so still they
are like statues, and then moving with very
deliberate, slow steps typical of wading birds
that hunt on the edge of the water.
Other birds are more frantic, bobbing
back and forth, beak-first, throwing all caution
to the wind.
The latter—and a species that has already
arrived for the winter—include small
songbirds called a palm warbler.
“They like to forage on the ground and
in lower vegetation. They have yellow coloring
to them and a brown strip. If you go to a
park and you see a little bird on the ground,
it's probably going to be a palm warbler. They
like to pump their tails, so they're easy to pick
out due to that tail behavior,” said Donnelly.
Useful tools for birders around the world
are top-of-the-line binoculars and a birding
spotting scope. Donnelly’s scope is 35 times
the magnification of human eyesight. Observing
the birds through the scope brings
these creatures inches from your eyes with
intricate, high-definition details—feathers
(Opposite): Belted Kingfisher, Pitt Street Bridge;
(Clockwise): American White Pelican, Bulls Island,
Cape Romain NWR; American Avocet, Santee
Coastal Reserve WMA; Dunlin, Lighthouse Inlet
Heritage Preserve; Least Sandpiper, Lighthouse
Island, Caper Romain NWR
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