Governor McMaster declared a
mandatory evacuation of SC’s coastal
communities, including Kiawah, on
Monday, September 2. Having both
evacuated and remained on Kiawah
for previous storms, my husband and I
were undecided about whether to stay
or go. We had a generator that would
carry us through any power outages,
plenty of food, water, and ice, and were
able to cook on our grill as well as our
gas stovetop. As the storm drew closer,
its strength diminished, and it seemed
unlikely that Kiawah would suffer a
direct hit. Several of our friends and
neighbors had chosen to stay, and,
considering everything, we decided to
join them and remain in place.
On the day before the storm was due,
I went out for some “Before” photos
of Kiawah. I found the behavior of the
birds quite different from their norm,
which I’d also noticed during previous
storms. First, they congregated in much
larger groups than usual—literally
dozens of wood storks clustered high
in a single tree, for example. Further,
multiple species seemed to forget their
differences and mix together without
their usual reluctance to commingle.
Egrets, herons, ospreys, gulls, and wood
storks gathered together, all happy to
feast on the unfortunate fish victimized
by the lowered water volumes in the
island’s ponds.
After a beautiful, slightly breezy,
sunny day, Dorian arrived on Kiawah
in the overnight hours and unleashed
her wrath throughout the night and
into the following afternoon. It was well
beyond anything we’d expected or had
experienced in the past. Once power
was lost later that night, it became
so dark you literally couldn’t tell if
your eyes were open or closed. When
lightning lit the sky, you could see the
trees blowing so furiously that it was
hard to understand why they weren’t
simply flying out of their roots into the
maelstrom. The roar of the winds made
WINTER/SPRING 2020 • VOLUME 42
Above: The birds
gather.
Left: On alert.
Below: Fishing,
bird-style.
Opposite page:
The calm before
the storm.
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