The wood stork (Mycteria americana) is a threatened bird
that is making a significant comeback here in South Carolina.
A large nesting colony is nearby at the Dungannon Plantation
Heritage Preserve, just outside Hollywood. (This is definitely
worth a visit, but lately, it has been closed during stork
nesting season.)
The wood stork is about 40 inches tall and has a distinctive
bald head (like the vulture, to whom it is related). Its wings
are white with distinctive black tips and a span of about 60
inches.
You can see storks in small groups in the spring or into the
summer on Kiawah golf courses. Or go to the Preserve and
watch them fish in the shallow lake. They patter the bottom
to stir things up and sometimes extend a wing to shade the
water surface to see their prey better.
Wood storks are not the only wading birds that visit here.
You will also see herons of several kinds (great blue, little
blue, tricolored, and green), four species of egrets (great,
snowy, reddish, and cattle), bitterns, ibis (white and glossy),
and roseate spoonbill.
The largest threatened animal that visits Kiawah is the
loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). Beginning in mid-May,
several hundred loggerheads come ashore to lay their eggs on
our island. The perception is that the loggerhead has made a
significant comeback, a fact that may be owing to the use of
the TED (turtle extrusion device) by shrimp boats.
Many Kiawah residents are on the turtle patrol, and so they
know that loggerheads can be up to three feet long and weigh
up to 300 pounds. They reproduce between the ages of 17 and
33 and can lay several nests in a given year, each nest having
100-150 eggs. Interestingly, a female may mate with several
males in a season, and a single clutch can have eggs resulting
from up to seven males.
Finally, two animals you may not have seen, but are here,
are the manatee (threatened) and the leatherback turtle
(endangered). At least one leatherback nested on Kiawah a
few years ago. Two other endangered turtles that may be in
our waters are the green sea turtle and the Kemp’s ridley
sea turtle.
Wood storks foraging in the pond in the Preserve on Kiawah.
24
Naturally Kiawah