125th Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Bald Head Island

By Dr. Beth Darrow, Director of Science

Bald Head Island Conservancy’s Director of Science Beth Darrow and Coastal Scientist Allison Polinski joined volunteers Jamie Adams and Bob Cowan to assist with the Audubon Society’s 125th Annual Christmas Bird Count on January 5, 2025. Sixty-six bird species were identified in Bald Head Island’s diverse habitats.

Sunrise at the Shoals. Photo by Dr. Beth Darrow.

We started with the sunrise at the Shoals, where the shorebirds were already busy fishing, despite the freezing temperatures. Jamie identified a flock of Black Scoters by their flight pattern, and on South Beach there were hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls mixed in with Great and Lesser Black-backed, Herring, and Laughing Gulls.

Once the sun started getting higher in the sky, rooftops were the place to spot imposing raptors, such as Cooper’s, Red-tailed, and Red-shouldered Hawks; and sparrows, such as Ipswitch and Savannah Sparrows (pictured here). Bald Head Island is home to a variety of marsh sparrow species that are threatened by sea level rise, so it is important to document their presence. 

Savannah Sparrows. Photo by Jamie Adams.

After not seeing many warblers or woodpeckers yet, we sought some out on the Fort Holmes Trail, which is a little-known pond and golf course overlook on Federal Road. We were very patient and were rewarded for our efforts when we heard Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers, among many other birds who like the forest edge, and a beautiful Black-crowned Night Heron roosting by the pond. If you would like to learn more about bird calls and use them to help you identify birds, please try the Merlin app. We would use it to alert us to the possible presence of a bird, which we would then search for with our ears and binoculars. 

Black-crowned Night Heron. Photo by Jamie Adams.

At Beach Access 1, we identified a mixed flock of shorebirds including Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers (which, confusingly, don’t have black bellies in their non-breeding plumage), Western Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Dunlin. The highlight of Access 1 was a solitary Piping Plover foraging in the wrack. Piping Plovers have been heavily affected by human activity on beaches and are now an endangered or threatened species, depending on where they nest. North Carolina is the only state where Piping Plovers are found as both nesting and overwintering birds. As far as we know, Piping Plovers overwinter on BHI but do not nest here.

Orange-crowned Warbler. Photo by Jamie Adams.

We continued our search throughout the golf course, Chapel/Lighthouse, Kent Mitchell Trail, and Middle Island. Time spent staring into bushes by the side of the road was rewarded with sightings of secretive warblers.

Bald Head Island is a part of the Southport Circle, which includes Southport, part of Oak Island, the Bald Head Island Natural Area, Fort Fisher, and Sunny Point. We feel it is important to continue participating in this survey each year to keep track of the number of species in the face of environmental disruptions. The Christmas Bird Count has run since 1900, making it the nation’s longest-running community science bird count. 

Prairie Warbler. Photo by Jamie Adams.

Next year, the Southport count will be held on January 4. If you are interested in assisting with the Christmas Bird Count next year from wherever you are over the holidays, check out https://www.carolinabirdclub.org/christmas/ for dates and contact information in North Carolina, or take a look at https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count/join-christmas-bird-count for bird counts elsewhere. 

If you’d like to join another Bird Count before next year, you can participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count February 14-17.

If you would like to go birding with our naturalists, e-mail us at programs@bhic.org to book a private birding tour!

Full List of Bald Head Island Christmas Bird Count Species, January 5, 2025