Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2023

ackyard. Using the right birdseed in bird feeders
is a great way to bring these colorful animals
to your back door.
“Our area can get a purple finch, which will
come to people's feeders, but we don't always get
them every year,” Donnelly explains. “They’re
reliant on how good the food sources are further
north of us and they're seed eaters, so if the food
sources are not great, they'll head further south to
try and find the food sources during the winter.
There are certain winters where we get a bunch
of them and they come to feeders and it’s always
exciting to see a purple finch.”
Sunflower seeds are good bird attracters
and a favorite of purple finches, although certain
types of sparrows are not equipped to open
the shell, Donnelly said. Shelled sunflower
seeds or a mill feed like Nyger is the best for
those species.
“And if we're really lucky, we get a bird
that is here that maybe shouldn't be here or not
typically here during the winter,” Donnelly said.
“For instance, folks put out jelly feeders to attract
orioles, which are a beautiful orangey bird
that spends the winter here. Once in a while,
the jelly feeder will attract something different.
We’ve had people attract Western tanagers,
which is clearly a Western bird. It’s exciting
when a rare bird pops up.”
Types of Birds to See in Winter
Ducks deck the ponds in the winter in the
Lowcountry.
While wood ducks—the bright green and
yellow swimming birds—are plentiful yearround,
Charleston's winter visitors are Bafflehead
ducks, blue-winged teals and dabbler ducks.
“They ‘dabble,’ so their tails are in the
air and they're under the water looking for
aquatic food. They’re typically more in the
freshwater habitat and then we have sea ducks
(like the black scoter), which will clearly be
in the ocean. You can see ducks all throughout
Charleston,” Donnelley said. “Almost all
species of ducks that we have at the United
States will visit us, with the exception of few
that are solely on the West Coast.”
Ducks are plentiful at the Santee Coastal
Reserve (SCR) Wildlife Management Area in
Mclellanville.
“(The area) is growing aquatic plants that
the ducks eat and they're making sure it’s the right
level of water to attract the ducks,” Donnelley said.
Wildlife management areas are the best
bet for seeing the most variety of winter birds.
“You can go to a place like the Santee
Coastal Reserve or Botany Bay Heritage
Preserve and you could count a hundred different
species of birds if you spend enough
time there,” Donnelley said. “Winter is one
of my favorite times to go birding because
you can see so much variety. Charleston is
full of great birding places. You can go birding
almost anywhere and have success.”
For information on Caw Caw Interpretive
Center bird walks, visit www.ccprc.com. For information
about Holy City Birding, visit www.
birdingcharleston.com. •
Palm Warbler, Fort Moultrie
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