Friends of Hunting Island Newsletter

Nature Center Remodel

“FOHI Spring Kickoff Dinner”

Was held Tuesday, March 11th, at the Lady’s Island Country Club — A Fine Time was had by All!

Special Guests!

Wendy Pollitzer - New Interpretive Program Manager

Kevin Palmer - Park Ranger - Welcome Back!

Hunting Island State Park Jobs Available

The State Park is searching for Admission Fee Attendant; 40 hour a week position, however, benefits are not included. Excellent job for a retiree looking to supplement their income.

* Collect admission fees from Park visitors
* Operates cash register and accounts for receipts
* Assists in control of displaying and maintaining inventory
* Housekeeping of fee booth
* Disseminates information to Park visitors

Also looking for retail clerks. Great opportunity for college students returning home for the summer.

Applicants please contact: Kenny Heater, Assistant Park Manager Hunting Island State Park 843.838.4868 or kheater@scprt.com

"Life's Better Outdoors"

Information sharing, please contact SCDNR directly:

SC Department of Natural Resources is hosting a free of charge Open House for the public at The Marine Resources Center on James Island's Fort Johnson Saturday, May 3rd. 9am - 4pm
Events: Cast netting & shrimp baiting, Fly fishing, Knot tying, Fish casting, Fishing simulator, Touch tank, Fish printing, Fish tattoos, Seafood cooking, Fish tagging, & Bait types

Educational cruises aboard DNR's E / V Discovery will be offered during the course of the day. Three trips will be offered, and participants will be led through an estuarine ecology lesson aboard the marine educational vessel out into the Charleston Harbor.

Pre-registration is required for this event and thirty spaces are available per trip.
Times for the trips are: 9:30 am - 11:00 am; 11:00 am -12:30 pm; & 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Participants must be 10 years of age or older.

Space fills up quickly, so contact Kattie McMillan with DNR's Marine Education Program today to pre-register! McMillanK@dnr.sc.gov, or (843) 953-0762.

For more details and information visit www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/openhouse or call (843) 953-9300

Snowy Plovers Spotted

These rare birds (Charadrius alexandrinus) were seen at low tide during the summer of 2007, about a half mile north of the Lighthouse, and at high tide on the northern tip of the island. Let us know if you see them this year.

According to http://www.enature.com/ (image credit at their site), the Snowy Plover's patchy distribution, not only in North America but elsewhere in the world, is due to its specialized habitat requirements. Keeping to large, flat expanses of sand, it avoids competition for food in a habitat in which few other birds can exist. Here these plovers, with their pale coloration, are difficult to see even when they run. As soon as the plover stops running it seems to disappear, blending into its surroundings. The eggs also blend with dry sand or salty barren soil and are almost impossible to find once the incubating bird slips off them. Inland, these birds feed mainly on insects but along the coast they also take crustaceans, worms, and other small marine creatures.

Description: 5-7" (13-18 cm). A small whitish plover with pale brown upperparts, black legs, slender black bill, and small black mark on each side of breast. The similar Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) has stubbier yellow bill and yellow legs.

In North America, Snowy Plovers breed along the Pacific Coast from Washington to Baja California (especially from San Francisco south); on the Gulf Coast from Florida to Tamaulipas, Mexico; and locally on salt flats around lakes in the interior West. Outside of the breeding season, Snowy Plovers are found in coastal areas from San Francisco south on the Pacific Coast, and along the Gulf coasts of Florida and Texas, often in mixed groups of shorebirds. This species has been on the National Audubon Society's Blue List of declining species since the list began in 1972.