In the Next Issue …
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To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of years, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”— Rachel Carson
Who does not love a shorebird? We are Kiawah people. We walk our beaches, and as we do, we see little brown birds working the ocean’ s edge all day, every day. We may not know their names, but we admire their work ethic. We watch pelicans flying in formation, and we stop to be sure to see the capture of a fish as they swoop down. We have learned about the amazing journey of the red knots and are grateful every spring when they return. Their story is compelling to us because the place we call home or love to visit is important to these birds who fly almost 18,000 miles every year. We are privileged to host piping plovers who are declining in numbers but choose to visit Kiawah Island every spring and fall. We can tell a skimmer from an American oystercatcher and are happy to point each of them out to our families and visitors.
We may have come from places where we cannot tell a robin from a crow, but when we arrive on Kiawah’ s shoreline, we succumb to the fascination of the feathered population that works there all day long.
In our next issue we take a long and enthusiastic look at the“ Shorebirds of Kiawah Island.” Undoubtedly we will include information about the habitats that support them, and we will also feature a few of our feathered Island neighbors who frequently visit the edges of our ocean. Not coincidentally, we are also planning our next symposium for the fall of 2017. The topic:“ The Shorebirds of Kiawah Island.” Join us for Naturally Kiawah in September and our symposium in the fall. We hear the call of our shorebirds! NK
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