(Clockwise from top left) Nearly a quarter of the population of prothonotary warblers breed in the state; Red-cockaded woodpeckers nest communally in old-growth longleaf pines; Painted buntings (the female is on the left) may visit a yard planted with native grasses and shrubs, especially if millet seed is in the feeder; A red-shouldered hawk, ready to pounce.
Tree dwellers suffer as more woodlands are cleared for development
Call it high maintenance, but when a prothonotary warbler is looking to nest, it’s partial to the cozy confines of knee cavities in dead cypress trees, found in bottomland hardwood forests. In fact, nearly a quarter of the global population of the bright yellow migratory bird breeds in the swampy woodlands of South Carolina. But the warbler has some serious competition for those riverfront cribs. While much of the once-vast bottomland hardwood forests was cleared for agriculture in the last century, today’s culprits are sea-level rise—which can wreak havoc in the fragile ecosystem by increasing the salinity of the swamplands—and Homo sapiens, who’ve been developing low-lying forests along Lowcountry tributaries to keep up with the demand for housing.
The same holds true for other types of woodlands. Once sprawling some 90 million acres across the Southeast, longleaf pine forests have dwindled to three percent of their original range due to clear-cutting. The remaining old-growth stands are critical habitat for the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, which prefers to nest in mature trees. Last year, developers of a 9,000-acre, mixed-use development on the Cainhoy peninsula obtained a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to displace more than 100 of the rare woodpeckers as they clear nearly 3,000 acres of longleaf pine (and 200 acres of wetlands) that the birds depend on for their survival.
Local environmental groups, including the Coastal Conservation League, have taken the developers to court, but perhaps more hopeful are the efforts to conserve and acquire more woodlands, such as an initiative to restore 230 acres of longleaf for red-cockaded woodpecker habitat at the Audubon Francis Beidler Forest near Harleyville. And more good news: the Audubon sanctuary has already had success protecting its 18,000 acres of tupelo gum and old-growth cypress, providing much needed cover for the prothonotary warbler population and others.
Some birds that depend on forests are easier to see than others
Prothonotary warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Status: Declining
The bright yellow “swamp warbler” likes to build its nest in old woodpecker or chickadee holes in the standing dead trees of flooded bottomland forests. Look for the migratory bird in spring and early summer in Audubon’s Francis Beidler Forest.
Painted bunting
Passerina ciris
Status: Low concern
While this dazzler nests in dense foliage, it can be spotted foraging for seeds in weedy fields and may visit a bird feeder in a yard with low vegetation. Find them from April to October at Audubon’s Francis Beidler Forest.
Red-cockaded woodpecker
Dryobates borealis
Status: Declining/federally endangered
Not as flashy as the pileated woodpecker that visit our neighborhood trees, this red-cockaded cousin is so named for a barely visible red streak on the side of the male’s head. Look for them in Francis Marion National Forest.
Red-tailed hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Status: Low concern
The most common of hawks has actually thrived because development has created more of its favored habitat—the edges of woodlands. The majestic bird, more numerous in winter, can be seen soaring above open fields, eyes peeled for prey.
