Charleston Natural History Society

05/18/2026

Jenny McCarthey Tyrrell with Audubon South Carolina is looking for help monitoring Painted Buntings and Eastern Bluebirds this spring for the Climate Watch survey!!!

Go to Audubon.org/community-science/climate-watch to learn how to participate!

https://vimeo.com/268020183

This is "Audubon: Climate Watch 2018" by Audubon.org on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

05/12/2026

Still a few spaces left in our May monthly walk!

On Saturday, May 16 Nicole Marie Pettinelli will lead us on a birding walk at the Edisto Nature Trail in Jacksonboro, SC. This is a 1.5-mile, easy loop on property that is owned and managed by Smurfit Westrock. The trail winds through areas of mature pine, mixed hardwoods, and cypress/tupelo forest. Several interesting historic landmarks are identified along the trail, including the King’s Highway, an old railroad tram and the site of a phosphate mining operation. There is also a short spur trail, the Pon Pon Spur, which takes visitors to an overlook on the Edisto River.

Spring migration should be well underway by the time of our trip. The Edisto Nature Trail is one of the best places in the Lowcountry to see and hear Kentucky and Swainson’s Warblers, and if we’re lucky, we may observe one or
both species. We should also see (and hear) a variety of other songbirds, including Veery and Hooded, Northern Parula, Prothonotary, Worm-Eating, and Yellow-throated Warblers. There is a chance we may see White Ibis, Wood
Storks or even a Swallow-tailed or Mississippi Kite circling overhead. Broad-winged Hawks are sometimes seen or heard here, too.

This trip is limited to 20 participants. If you feel unwell, or are experiencing symptoms such as coughing, loss of smell or taste, or fever, PLEASE STAY HOME! Bring food and water, your birding gear, and dress for
the weather (insect repellant is also recommended). The trail has numerous board walks to assist in traversing potentially wet areas. Footwear appropriate for wet locale hiking is recommended.

For those who wish to carpool, we’ll meet at 7:30 AM in the Food Lion parking lot at the intersection of US Hwy 17 South and SC 165 in Ravenel, SC (6323 Savannah Hwy, Ravenel SC 29470). Otherwise, you are welcome to meet
the group at 8:00 AM at the trailhead parking lot (17038 Ace Basin Pkwy, Jacksonboro SC 29452).
This will probably be a half day trip, but participants are welcome to stay longer if they wish. If you plan to attend, please register with Nicole Marie prior to May 16 at [email protected] .

04/06/2026

TONIGHT!! 🐬
6pm James Island Town Hall

03/20/2026

🔔 April Lecture 🔔

South Carolina Aquarium’s Dolphin Research Project 🐬

April 6th, Monday, 6pm-8pm

James Island City Hall
1122 Dills Bluff Rd.
James Island, SC, 29412

Lecture Overview:
Caroline Heape will dive into South Carolina Aquarium’s ongoing Dolphin Research Project. Starting almost 10 years ago, during the dredging project in the Charleston Harbor, a group of marine mammal researchers decided to see how the estuarine bottlenose dolphins were impacted by dredging activity. Now this project is in its final stage of collecting data after dredging is over. Caroline will go over dolphin behaviors, the project’s preliminary findings, how the team collects data, and some fun surprises discovered along the way!

Lecturer Bio:
Caroline grew up in the upstate of South Carolina where she became curious about the ocean, but specifically marine mammals. As she pursued her undergraduate degree at Clemson University, she took many marine sciences courses which furthered her interest in marine biology. One summer during college, she was a marine mammal intern at Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park where she learned about behavior and care for bottlenose dolphins, California sea lions, harbor seals, and Asian small clawed otters. She also took a weeklong course in the Florida Keys that covered bottlenose dolphin veterinary care and anatomy and physiology. After graduating, she pursued a career in interpretation at Mississippi Aquarium where she took the knowledge she gained about marine mammals and applied it through teaching others about them. Wanting to be closer to home, she moved to Charleston where she worked at South Carolina Aquarium for 3 years as an interpreter. During her time at the aquarium, she was introduced to Pat Fair and began working on the Charleston Harbor dolphin project- sorting and labeling photos of dolphin dorsal fins. She eventually was able to go on boat trips where she collected data and took photos and now, she is the co-investigator for this project and is the main photographer and data collector.

See you there!

03/14/2026

Time to axe Bradford a question.

It's blooming season for Bradford pear trees, one of the most invasive plants in the area that smell like rotting fish.

READ MORE:
https://bit.ly/4brj83H

03/12/2026

🎈 We’ve received an overwhelming amount of support for H. 3047, and we truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to learn more and speak up. We know some of you may feel like you’ve been hearing about it a lot, but we want to clear up a few important points:

1. Calling H. 3047 a ban isn't quite accurate. It does not create a new prohibition. The bill simply clarifies that intentionally releasing balloons is considered littering under South Carolina law. Littering is already illegal, with fines ranging from $25 to $1,000.

2. Balloon releases already meet the definition of littering. The difference is that current law does not explicitly mention balloons. H. 3047 would make that clear in statute.

3. The focus is on large-scale, organized releases. Some events center around releasing dozens or even hundreds of balloons at once. These large releases are the ones most likely to create significant litter and environmental harm.

4. This bill is not about telling people how to celebrate or grieve. We understand that balloon releases are often meant to honor or remember someone special. Our goal is to encourage meaningful alternatives that don’t create litter or harm wildlife — such as planting a tree, lighting candles, sharing memories, or organizing a community service project in someone’s honor.

5. We are not in the business of shaming people. Balloon releases are almost never intended to be harmful or malicious. However, once released, those balloons do come back down — often as litter that can harm wildlife and natural spaces. Our goal is simply to raise awareness and encourage better choices moving forward.

The goal of this bill is simple: prevent unnecessary litter before it happens. That's it. We want to thank Rep. Patrick Haddon for co-sponsoring H. 3047 last week! This is a great sign that momentum is growing and lawmakers are taking notice.

➡️ Contact the House Judiciary Committee at [email protected] or reach out to your representative and voice your support.

03/09/2026

It’s officially Shorebird Week!
Lots of FREE opportunities for the community to participate and learn more about the shorebirds that are stopping over here on the way to their breeding grounds or find out if they are year-long residents with us!! 🐦❤️

PLUS!
Trivia is tomorrow and last year was too much fun! 🤩

Lots of events are free, but do you require registration. Please click on the link below for registration!!

Happy shorebird week!!!!!

Join us throughout the South Carolina coast to learn, celebrate, and ultimately protect our shorebirds! Various kinds of events, programs, celebrations, and outreach initiatives are taking place over the span of the week and across a mutltitude of venues. Whether you are a passionate birder or new t...

03/01/2026

Join us tomorrow for Audubon South Carolina's Abby Burke to learn about the nesting and migratory shorebirds that will be moving through the area and beginning to nest very soon! Charleston Bird Club

02/21/2026

Our Oyster Roast is tomorrow!!!
Come on out for a fun day!!

02/20/2026

It passed!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Congratulations to the Prothonotary Warbler!

Many thanks to Matt Johnson and Jenny McCarthey Tyrrell (and Petey) for their contributions and helping move this bill forward to pass.

The Prothonotary Warbler is an emblem of our swamps and wetlands. Now it’s also our state's official migratory bird.