South Carolina Breeding Bird Atlas

1988-1995

Although South Carolina has a long history of ornithological survey, dating back to the
colonial era, much of this work was concentrated in the coastal zone and sporadic in
nature. Large portions of South Carolina, especially the interior of the state, have never
had an adequate natural history survey.

The Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) Project was designed to increase our knowledge of the
states's breeding bird distribution and status through systematic surveys over a fixed
period of time. The Atlas Project was patterned after similar surveys conducted in other
states. One-sixth of a seven-and-a-half-minute USGS topographic quadrangle map, an area of
about ten square miles, was the survey unit. Nearly all survey blocks were surveyed by
volunteers, but unlike many states which had large numbers of volunteers, South Carolina
had relatively few observers qualified to identify birds in the field by sight and sound.
We were therefore only able to conduct a limited survey and used one block of every other
quadrangle map as the survey unit. Breeding criteria, based on field observations, were
similar to those in other states and grouped into 3 main catergories: possible, probable,
and confirmed breeding. In order to get the best picture of a species' breeding range, we
also used random observations ("casual observations") and information reported
in the literature ("literature note"), mainly the Chat, the quarterly bulletin
of the Carolina Bird Club, and unpublished field notes of various observers. Unpublished
field notes and literature notes were used dating back to 1965, while casual observations
were used during the same time period as the Atlas survey. Like most other states, we
intended for the South Carolina BBA to be completed in 5 years. 1989 was the first full
year of coverage, as 1988 got off to a late start and was used as a "trial run",
but we had to extend coverage through 1994 and 1995 in order to finish all assigned
blocks.

Because of restricted coverage, the South Carolina BBA did not effectively survey the
breeding distribution of certain species such as Bald Eagles, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers,
and other endangered and threatened birds, nor colonial-nesting wading birds or
shorebirds. For information on the breeding status and ranges of the latter two groups,
see Dodd, M.G., and T.M. Murphy. 1997. The status and distribution of wading birds in
South Carolina, 1988-1996. Chat 61(3): 129-181 and Wilkinson, P.M. 1997. Survey and census
of colonial nesting seabirds in South Carolina. Chat 61(4): 233-259.

Because of space limitations, it is not possible to acknowledge the more than 175
volunteers here who contributed to the South Carolina BBA. However, we would like to
recognize those individuals who surveyed five or more Atlas blocks: Robin Carter, Dennis
Forsythe, Lex Glover, Tim Kalbach, Tom Nicolls, Perry Nugent, Bill Pulliam, and Peter
Worthington. Katherine Boyle of the SC Department of Natural Resources also deserves
special recognition for her dedication and software skills that made the final product
possible.

Funding for the South Carolina Breeding Bird Atlas Project was made possible by the
Endangered Wildlife Fund (formerly the Check for Wildlife), the Harry Hampton Memorial
Wildlife Fund, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Robert W. Woodruff
Foundation, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Pittman-Robertson Grant-in-Aid Program.

We also intend to produce a hard copy of the Atlas with a list of all contributors and
a brief species narrative to accompany each map. For more information or questions,
send email to John Cely.