You'd think I'd have more sense than to go birding on a hot May day in South Carolina, but I know my friend Maggie who lives in Pinewood loves birds, so I suggested we go on a bird walk at Santee National Wildlife Refuge near Summerton last Saturday morning.

Josh Arrants, a very cute, personable, knowledgeable DHEC biologist from Kershaw County, led the walk, which was part of International Migratory Bird Day. Josh was gung-ho about showing us snakes along the way, but he was kind enough to ask the group if that was okay beforehand. The consensus was that we'd rather see birds than snakes. Yeah, right. Like Mother Nature really gives a hoot about what we'd rather see!

If you've never been to Santee National Wildlife Refuge, shame on you! It's a jewel in our midst. The refuge was recently designated as an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society on the basis of three nominating criteria -- endangered species, watchlist species and concentrations of birds (waterfowl, colonial waterbirds and exceptional numbers of migratory landbirds).

Josh said that of the approximately 700 species of birds which spend time or live in the U.S., 300 of them are found at Santee National Wildlife Refuge.

Josh really made the two-hour walk enjoyable, showing us some really neat birds. He's very good at "phishing," or making a "white noise" that attracts birds. One of the neat things about the refuge is that there are so many different types of habitat within its 15,000 acres -- mixed hardwoods, mixed pine-hardwoods, pine plantations, marsh, croplands, old fields, ponds, impoundments and open water -- supporting many kinds of wildlife. The four management units of the refuge -- the Bluff, Dingle Pond, Pine Island and Cuddo units -- stretch more than 18 miles along the northern side of Santee Cooper's Lake Marion.

Some of the birds we either saw or heard included: anhinga (snakebird), Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Eastern Kingbird, Purple Martin, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Bluebird, Brown Thrasher, North Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Wood Duck, Osprey and Orchard Oriole.

As we were walking through a mixed hardwood forest, Maggie, who was walking in front of me, suddenly froze in her tracks, causing a pile-up of about six of us behind her. As eager as he had been to show us some snakes, Josh somehow managed to walk right past a six-foot rat snake. The snake initially seemed to be contemplating slithering in the direction of the piled-up birders, me among them. The snake glanced our way, and I envisioned the reptile racing up my pants' leg and nearly fainted on the spot. Thank goodness the serpent decided to slither off the side of the path into the woods, where he promptly displayed his climbing prowess by gliding straight up a tree.

Another highlight, or lowlight -- depending on how strong your stomach is -- was piles and piles of coyote poop, which our fearless leader delighted in dissecting to show us what the coyotes had eaten. The refuge must be full of coyotes because there sure were a lot of coyote droppings.

Josh said started out being only interested in birds until he began to realize how everything in nature is so interconnected. His enthusiasm for what he observed around him was contagious.

T&D Region Editor Carol Barker can be reached by e-mail at cbarker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5525.

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