The sweet slurred voice of Yellow-throated Warbler is a characteristic sound of southern forests. Photo: Giff Beaton
The next five years will be marked almost continuously by commemorations of a significant and painful period in US history, the American Civil War, 1861-1865. The old colonial towns of Savannah and Charleston, two of the most beautiful and historic cities in the Old South, figured prominently in the war, and both preserve important sites associated with the outbreak of conflict.
And both towns have excellent birding close by. Our April visit is timed to coincide with the peak period of song for resident species and with the arrival of spring migrants and breeders. The wide variety of species we should see includes the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker and the scarce and declining Bachman’s Sparrow. The trees and wildflowers should be in full bloom, and April temperatures are ideal for birding and exploring the birds and history of the Old South on the eve of the Civil War sesquicentennial.
This new tour is the first in a series with Jon Dunn exploring the history and natural history of the sites associated with the American Civil War. Join Jon in 2011 in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6:00 pm in Savannah, Georgia. Night in Savannah.
Day 2: Today we’ll visit Tybee Island on the Georgia coast, where we should see a wide variety of waterbirds. Among the numerous shorebirds we’ll be looking for specialties like American Oystercatcher and maybe some wintering Purple Sandpiper. Gulls and terms should also be numerous, and we stand a fair chance of finding a lingering Lesser Black-backed Gull. We’ll search nearby marshes for Clapper Rails and sparrows, including Seaside and wintering Salt-marsh and Nelson’s Sparrows.
Later we’ll visit Fort Pulaski, the site in January 1861 of the first offensive move by the Confederate army—a move carried out without firing a shot. Night in Savannah’s historic district.
Day 3: This morning we’ll cross into South Carolina to bird the famous Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. Here we should see a wide variety of herons (possibly including American Bittern), Glossy and White Ibis, Virginia and possibly King Rails, and Sora; if conditions are right, we might also encounter a good variety of shorebirds.
Savannah was the location for John Barendt’s famous book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was made into a film staring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. Historically, the city played an especially prominent role towards the end of the Civil War. Unlike many of the other towns in the swath of Sherman’s infamous “March to the Sea,” Savannah was surrendered peacefully after the surrender of Fort McAllister in mid-December 1864, a historic event often known as Sherman’s Christmas present to Lincoln. Because Savannah avoided being burned and plundered, parts of the old town still preserve their pre-war charm. We’ll take a walking tour of the downtown district, where we’ll pass a number of famous houses, some of which belonged to some of the South’s best-known generals; we’ll spend the afternoon seeing some of these old homes, then dine in one of the many celebrated restaurants here in the city’s old section. Night in Savannah’s historic district.
Day 4: This morning we’ll start at the Webb Center in South Carolina, where we’ll search carefully for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, the declining Bachman’s Sparrow, and Brown-headed Nuthatch, along with many other woodland species. Later in the morning we’ll visit the Ace Basin National Estuaries Research Reserve, where we should see a variety of ducks and possibly rails and Marsh Wren. In the afternoon we’ll continue to Charleston, where we’ll spend the next three nights in the historic district of Charleston.
Day 5: This morning we’ll visit the famous I’On Swamp, another location where we might find Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Bachman’s Sparrow, in addition to other woodland species. The spectacular Swallow-tailed Kite should be on territory by this date. I’On Swamp is also an evocative locale in which to contemplate the disappearance of Bachman’s Warbler, which was best known from this region; the last credible records of this species came from the Charleston area nearly half a century ago.
Later in the afternoon, we’ll take the short boat trip to Fort Sumter. The American Civil War began here, on April 12, 1861, when Confederate batteries around the bay battered the fort into rubble. Ironically, the only casualty came when Robert Anderson’s men fired a final salute before surrendering the fort. Night in Charleston.
Day 6: There are many fine birding areas in close proximity to Charleston; we’ll select one depending on our ornithological needs, then take a late-morning walking tour of Charleston.
We’ll also visit Fort Moultree, a fort that figured prominently in the Revolutionary War: the British sent a fleet to seize Charleston, but the fort’s defenders stymied the attack, and the British would not gain possession of the city until nearly the end of the war. Charleston, steeped in American history from colonial days to the Civil War, offers plenty to see, and we’ll top the day off by dining in one of the finer restaurants located in the older, restored part of the city. Night in Charleston.
Day 7: The tour concludes at 9:00am this morning at the Charleston airport .
Updated: 27 January 2010
Prices
- 2010 price about $2,190
- Single Occupancy Supplement $370
Notes
Maximum group size 14 with two leaders.