Kiawah Island--Spring of 2005

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At the Piggly Wiggly, there was little of the normal frenzy. This was the first indication of how quiet the week would be. With Easter so early this year, the big crowds had already been there. The next frenzy will not take place till summer. The first real shock, however, was at the turn onto the island from Main Road. The beautiful Kiawah sign and flowers were replaced by a bulldozed construction site. Off to the right was the newly developed, obviously not finished, Fresh Fields Shopping Center. As one resident described it: "A monstrosity that has the appearance of a mining town." Some stores were open for business, but the construction made it unappealing for a visit.

We stayed at a nice upstairs-downstairs villa at Windswept, overlooking the Night Heron Park lagoon. The Nature Center was quiet; and when we ate lunch outside of it, we were the only people there. The Windswept location, being more to the middle of the island, allowed us to easily ride our bikes to either end. The birding right around the lagoon was very good, and it is only a short walk to the ocean from Windswept. Tides had obviously been high, but there was no noticeable destruction of boardwalks or dunes. The beach was empty, only a few walkers, even though it was sunny and warm.

We walked to the Sanctuary--the new hotel on the island. As well as the old Inn had blended with the flora of the island, the new monstrosity (the appropriate description by a local resident--she added, "The Kuwaitis are rolling over in their graves! They had made every effort to make everything blend into the island") rose out of a huge parking lot that extended back to the Town Center.

We spent the week riding bikes along the not very busy trails. Birding was easy. We got over 60 species--no life birds, however. "You just missed the Wood Storks" and "We had a Painted Bunting at the feeders" were not things we wanted to hear.

There seemed to be much construction going on beyond the second gate, more than we ever noticed before. There must be a great number of very, very rich people in the world. A local told us that she owns a small piece of land on Surfsong and pays $18,000 a year in taxes for the yet-to-be developed property--she lamented that she will never, ever be able to build on it because of the high expense. Presently, there is a $250/sq foot minimum. It was the dream of her husband to live out there. Now he's gone and so is the dream. We wonder how many others are finding the same to be true.

The old Inn is closed and a fence encircles it with "No Trespassing" signs. It was sad to look at the empty pools and the tattered awnings of Sundancers. We remembered all the times that Bart had swum in those pools and we had looked out to the ocean. The rumors are that it will be leveled and condos will be built on the site. Who knows? The Straw Market is suffering from the lack of business from the empty Inn. Most shops have pulled out--many moving to Fresh Fields, some to the Sanctuary. Shrimpers (aka: Sweetgrass, aka: Jonah's) is still there and the food is, as always, excellent. Scoopers had a few customers.

We went to Rett's Bluff and found the ruins of the first plantation house built on the island. We wondered what the island looked like as a rice plantation.

It rained hard Wednesday night, late, and Thursday morning. Then it cleared and was quite warm in the sheltered areas of the island. Friday was very windy and somewhat cooler. But since the wind was from the north, the ocean was very calm (the beach, surprisingly, faces south).

All in all, it was a great week. It was sad to see some of the things, but, as always, a little landscaping will make you forget that the island was ever any different.

Click to see some general pictures of the island.
Click to see some pictures of Black-crowned Night Herons at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Eastern Bluebirds at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Brown Pelicans at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Brown Thrashers at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of a Carolina Wren at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of a Cedar Waxwing at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of a Double-crested Cormorant at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Great Blue Herons.
Click to see some pictures of a Great Crested Flycatcher.
Click to see some pictures of a "smart" Ring-billed Gull at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of a Hermit Thrush at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of an Eastern Kingbird at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Laughing Gulls at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Northern Mockingbirds at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Ospreys at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of Ring-billed Gulls at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of a Rough-winged Swallow at Kiawah.
Click to see some pictures of a Snowy Egret and a Tri-colored Heron.