Bird lovers across the state of Palmetto have the opportunity this weekend to go out and help the SC Department of Natural Resources take an inventory of the Baltimore orioles that roam the area.
The Baltimore oriole’s annual winter survey runs through February 15, but the agency said anyone can participate after the counting period ends.
Lex Glover, a wildlife technician, leads the research for the state DNR. The objective is to make the common citizen disseminate information about the species so that the organ has a better idea of its distribution in the state during the winter.
Glover said the agency knows that residents are seeing the species, but they don’t have much data.
“So it gave us what we call baseline data, and we can learn the trends from those numbers and possibly link them to the severity of winter or weather-related problems and things like that,” said Glover.
Baltimore orioles typically spend the winter in southern Florida, the Caribbean and in Central and South America, said the DNR. But in recent decades, large numbers have spent the winter along the east and southeast coast, including South Carolina.
Glover said the species is extremely common on the state’s coastal plains. He said that male orioles are so brightly colored that they are not easily deceived. Their heads, back and wings are often black, and their chest and bottom are bright orange. Females are generally not as colorful as males, said Glover.
Participants reported 401 orioles during the survey last year. Most of them were seen in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties.
Glover said that participants this year should take care of their feeders for at least 30 minutes during times of increased bird activity.
“This is usually early in the morning,” said Glover. “These orioles are entering the feeders because they know they can get good food resources in the morning.”
If interested participants are not at home during designated counting dates, Glover said the DNR would still like to know if they had any orioles in their feeders this winter.
“Even if we don’t add those numbers to the counting period data, they still show us the distribution,” said Glover.
People wishing to participate in this year’s survey should contact Glover at [email protected] to receive survey instructions and a bird photo guide. All data can be sent back to him. E-bird users can report their data online.
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