Credit: Pamela Cohen
Seabrook Island’s North Beach is recognized as a critical habitat for shorebirds. Among the species that live, nest and feed on Seabrook are the Red Knot, Piping Plover, Wilson’s Plover and the Least Tern.
For an island with a habitat so important to shorebirds, it may have come as a surprise to some that the Seabrook Island Town Council unanimously decided not to approve a $2,500 grant to the Avian Conservation Center at the regular Town Council meeting on November 19.
The Avian Conservation Center, which encompasses the Center for Birds of Prey, SC Oiled Bird Treatment Facility, and the Avian Medical Clinic, is whom everyone calls when they encounter or need to report a sick or injured bird.
On their website, the mission is stated simply, “To identify and address vital environmental issues by
providing medical care for injured birds of prey and shorebirds, and through educational research, and conservation initiatives.”
The website goes on to state, “After more than 30 years and 15,000 medical cases, we can fully appreciate the invaluable insight that wild birds provide into a broad range of environmental threats.”
Headquartered in Awendaw, visitors can tour the site, view the birds that they care for, learn about the wild birds’ habitats and behaviors, and hear about the birds’ chances of being reintroduced into the wild after rehabilitation. Probably the most popular reason to visit the Avian Conservation Center is to view a flight demonstration.
The Avian Conservation Center will assist with injured or sick wild birds and shorebirds all over the Charleston County area and currently admits between 800 and 1,000 patients with minor to critical conditions each year.
In fact, the Seabrook Island Birders, an organization of Seabrook Island residents who volunteer to educate the public on protecting the island’s shorebirds and wild birds, has a link on their website to the Avian Conservation Center for the public to call when they spot a sick or injured wild bird or shorebird.
Credit: Pamela Cohen
However, Town Council Member Gordon Weis, who is also chair of the Environment and Wildlife Committee, commented that the Committee was split on recommending approval of the grant to Council by 2 to 2, which was why there was not a recommendation either way from the committee. He said that two of the members were unsure as to what exactly the Avian Conservation Center did for Seabrook Island directly, especially since they were not located anywhere near the island and were not on the island often to educate on their services.
“They put on some meetings for the Seabrook Island Birders, but if you weren’t a member of the Birders, you had to pay to go to the meeting,” he said. “Two of us just didn’t feel they offered much to the town of Seabrook and the residents here.”
Mayor Bruce Kleinman added that the public on Seabrook Island are instructed to call the Avian Conservation Center when they spot a sick or injured bird.
Council Member Dan Kortvelesy mentioned that it would be important to have the merit of the Seabrook Island Birders if this application comes through again.
Council Member Darryl May added that there are many organizations that benefit both Charleston County as a whole, as well as Seabrook specifically. He gave the example of the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network, which is located in Charleston, but has a more direct tie to Seabrook since they spend time on the island educating beachgoers about dolphin behaviors. “While I am sure this is a worthwhile organization, we can’t give to all organizations that do not have a direct tie to us other than that they are located in Charleston County.”
Weis noted that the Avian Conservation Center was invited several times to speak to the Town Council, but that the Town was just directed to their website.
In the Avian Conservation Center’s application, they said they would use $2,250 of the money to fund a study on anticoagulant rodenticide with Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and $250 on testing supplies. They noted in the application that anticoagulant rodenticide is found in wild birds, like owls and hawks, when they consume rodents. The second-generation anticoagulants can cause death to the birds.
Animals, such as wild birds, bobcats and alligators, have tested positive on Johns Island, Kiawah, and Seabrook Islands in recent years for the second-generation anticoagulant.
In the end, Kleinman expressed his concern that there was no one there to represent the Avian Conservation Center and speak on their behalf. Seabrook Island Town Council therefore opposed approving the grant award to the Avian Conservation Center with Kleinman abstaining from the vote.
Representatives from the Avian Conservation Center did not respond when asked to comment.
