Skeow! That peculiar sound startled me a handful of years back as I was relaxing on my back patio. What in the world? I thought, looking up to ard the oak canopy to try to locate its source. I’d never heard anything bike it before-a guttural noise unlike the piercing cry of the red-tailed hawks that /frequent our neighborhood or the hacking croak of the egrets out in the marsh. ••-..,..’Jkeow! There it was again.
While I had thumbed through The Sibley Guide and spied various war­blers and waders on local adventures, I didn’t consider myself a birder. Still, I had to investigate. My husband laughed at me for the better part of an hour as I traipsed from tree to tree holding my phone overhead attempt­ing to capture a shot in the general direction of the call. Thank goodness for an informed neighbor and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s catalog of bird sounds, or I might have gone crazy. Turns out it was a green heron (pictured at right)-the much smaller cousin to the great blue heron-that was hiding up in the branches.
Since then, I have had a new appreciation for the plethora of birdlife in the Lowcountry-from the sandpipers skittering on Folly Beach to the gorgeous roseate spoonbills that occasionally cruise by my friend’s dock. And our October Outdoor issue cover story has taken that to another level. In “For the Birds” (page 88), senior features editor Margaret Loftus details the region’s diverse habitats, a sampling of the species that call them home, and the chal­lenges and triumphs in protecting both. You’ ll also find a list of locales for bird-watching and upcoming naturalist-led tours. I kind of want to sign up for all of them!
In the meantime, you’ ll find me stalking green herons-love those little guys-and trying to imitate the skeow. (Find a link to hear it and the calls of all the birds featured at charlestonmag.com/features/birding_2023.)

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