Twitcher’s Patch: the Birding Blog of Hilton Head Island and Beyond
Welcome to Twitcher’s Patch—a blog where passionate birders (“twitchers”) and nature lovers can discover the magic of their favorite birdwatching spots (“patches”) across Hilton Head Island, the Lowcountry and beyond.
Twitcher’s Patch is where I share stories and observations from time spent watching birds on Hilton Head Island, throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry, and in places farther afield. A patch is more than a birding location—it is a place returned to often enough to recognize its birds, habitats, seasons, and changing rhythms.
Here you will find articles about bird behavior, migration, and breeding; photography techniques, creative practice, and ethics; habitat, weather, and conservation; birding places and journeys; and practical guides for spending more rewarding time in the field. Each story grows from firsthand observation and a commitment to respectful birding and wildlife photography.
Whether you are hoping to better understand what birds are doing, strengthen your photography, prepare for a birding outing, or experience a landscape through its wildlife, Twitcher’s Patch invites you to look more closely—one place, one bird, and one story at a time.
White Ibis at Ibis Pond: Breeding Season at Pinckney Island
During breeding season, White Ibis gather in large nesting colonies across the South Carolina Lowcountry. In this post, I visit Ibis Pond at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, where hundreds of White Ibis filled the palm hammock and understory beneath the palmettos. Alongside Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, and Boat-tailed Grackles, the rookery was alive with movement, vocalizations, territorial behavior, and nesting activity. This post explores the experience of photographing and observing a Lowcountry rookery during peak breeding season.
Read the Bird: Don't Fight the Flock. How to Compose Bird Photos That Tell a Story
Learn how to compose bird photos that tell a story — from the decisive moment to negative space, gesture, and working within a mixed flock.
Japanese Aesthetics in Lowcountry Photography (Part 1): Wabi-Sabi and Impermanence
Wabi-sabi the Japanese art of impermanence transforms how you photograph shorebirds on Hilton Head Island. Marbled Godwits and Sanderlings in minimal coastal light.
Meet the Orange-Alert Shorebirds of Hilton Head Island Part 1: Black-bellied Plover
How to identify the Black-bellied Plover on Hilton Head Island through the seasons of migration. Plus its plumage, feeding habits and Orange Alert conservation status.
Winter Visitors on the Pinckney Island NWR Ponds
This field-note birding walk on Pinckney Island NWR, from the Main Trail to Ibis, Starr, and Osprey Ponds, as winter birds settle in. Hooded Mergansers, American Coots, Pied-billed Grebes, cormorants, kingfishers, and small songbirds.
In the Footsteps of Walter Anderson: Art, Color, Shorebirds and Seabirds on the Port Royal Sound
Explore how the vibrant coastal art and journals of Walter Anderson inspire birding and nature photography on Hilton Head Island.
Pointe of the Season: Witnessing Fall Bird Migration on Hilton Head Island
Late Summer Shorebird Migration in the Lowcountry: A Photographer’s Field Journal. Follow the pulse of migration on Hilton Head: field notes and photographs reveal shorebird and seabird species, their unique behaviors, and where to catch them during peak season.
Beneath So Kind a Sky: Edith Inglesby’s Summer in the Lowcountry
Discover the nature writing of Edith Inglesby in her 1968 book, A Corner of Carolina: The Four Seasons in Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Bluffton. Explore her vivid summer chapter, “Beneath So Kind a Sky,” and learn about her life, literary style, and the birds of the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Spring Flight in Motion: Spotting the Signs of Bird Migration Along the South Carolina Coast
Every Spring, Red Knots, Dunlins and Black-bellied Plovers shift into breeding plumage on Hilton Head's beaches. Here's how to read the signs of Spring bird migration in the lowcountry,