roost in colonies or rookeries in the upper branches
of trees. Nests are built anywhere from three feet
high in mangrove swamps to 100 feet in cypress
trees and are about three to four feet in width. While
wood storks feed on Kiawah, there are no rookeries
here. This is probably because their tree of choice is
cypress. There is a rookery at Dungannon Plantation
Heritage Preserve which is managed by the South
Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR)
and is open to the public. It has a boardwalk and is
located about 17 miles south of Kiawah Island.
The Dungannon Preserve is one of the
top nesting colonies for the wood stork in South
Carolina. According to SCDNR, the first nest in South
Carolina was seen in 1981. Since then, at least eight
other colonies have been discovered and over 1,000
nesting pairs counted. Wood storks were listed as
an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) when the breeding population of
20,000 in 1930 dropped to 2,500 by 1978.
Given the declining numbers for wood storks,
protecting nests and sources of food to sustain their
young is critical. Wood stork eggs are bigger than
tennis balls. A wood stork usually lays three to five
eggs per nest between March and May, with fledging
from July to August. Chicks have white feathers all
over, including their heads, and they have yellow bills.
Storks are seasonally monogamous and usually return
to the same nesting site each year. They take turns
feeding the young, sometimes as much as 15 times a
day. The fact that these are gentle birds with strong
family ties has no doubt been behind the myth that they
deliver babies.
Why some birds, like the wood stork, prefer
to nest in colonies is the subject of debate, but it is
believed that colonies communicate information or
protect against predators. Wood storks have been
observed feeding in both small and large groups.
Pamela Cohen, a professional wildlife photographer
whose photos accompany this article and who is a
Photographs courtesy of Pamela Cohen
Kiawah property owner said, “I observed and recorded images
of nearly 50 wood storks flying and group feeding in a shallow
marsh opposite Bass Pond. It was such a thrill to capture
a sighting of such a large group of endangered species on
Kiawah Island.”
The lifespan of the wood stork is thought to be
around 11 to 18 years. Causes of death can include alligators,
bobcats, disease, collisions with power lines and being struck
by automobiles while taking off across a road. The latter cause
is important information for us to know while driving on and
around Kiawah. I have never hit a wading bird while driving,
but have had a couple of close calls.
According to the National Audubon Society, the
primary reason for bird loss is reduction of bird habitat due
to human population growth and landscape alteration. The
presence of wood storks here on Kiawah is one measure of
the underlying health of the Island. However, we must remain
vigilant in protecting habitat on Kiawah, since an environment
that is healthy for wood storks is ultimately the best
environment for all of us. n
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