It’s not as exciting as camping or as sexy as kayaking. It doesn’t sound as cool as star gazing, and it doesn’t have the same hip connotations as mountain biking. But for many people, especially in South Carolina, birding is a great outdoor activity.

May is considered one of the prime bird-watching months in and around the Upstate. Many of our feathered friends are either breeding or feeding (their young), and locating “hard-to-find” species is a bit easier.

And there are dozens of places all over our area that are primed for quality bird watching. So, get your binoculars, buy a bird guide and get out there. It might not be whitewater rafting, but millions of birders can’t be wrong.

Townville area

Like most birding, find a wooded, secluded area and listen.

The mountains

A great excuse to hit the mountains around Pickens County and see something you have never seen before.

Walhalla Fish Hatchery

Take S.C. 107 north of Walhalla. Soon you’ll find yourself in the heart of Sumter National Forest. Take the turnoff to the fish hatchery a few miles south of the North Carolina state line and bird the road down to the fish hatchery. The SCAS says the road going to the hatchery is the best area.

Eastatoe Creek Heritage Preserve, Oconee County

Go north on U.S. 178

approximately 8 miles from its intersection with S.C. 11 at Holly Springs. Turn left on Horsepasture Road (gravel) and follow it to the Foothills Trail parking area on the left side of the road.

Jones Gap State Park

Take S.C. 276 through Travelers Rest, Marietta and Cleveland. Approximately two miles north of Cleveland, turn right at the park sign onto River Falls Road. Stay on River Falls Road until the name changes to Jones Gap Road. The park is six miles off of U.S. 276.

Table Rock State Park

A very popular park just of S.C. 11. It has a lot of traffic, but there is also a plethora of places to bird.

Tammassee Road, Oconee County

Burrells Ford on the Chattooga River, Oconee County

From Walhalla, drive west on S.C. 28 for 7.5 miles, and bear right onto S.C. 107. Drive approximately 10 miles, and turn left onto Burrells Ford Road. Continue on Burrells Ford Road to a sign that indicates the way to Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area on the Chattooga Trail. Hike 2.1 miles on the Chattooga Trail to the west trailhead of the East Fork Trail.

Another May posibility

Sassafras Mountain

From Pickens, go north on U.S. 178 and turn right at Rocky Bottom. The road takes you almost to the top of the 3,548-foot mountain, the highest in South Carolina. Keep your eyes open for Ruffed Grouse and other birds of the higher elevations. Sassafras Mountain is privately owned by a power company, so there are no facilities.

Source: South Carolina Audubon Society and SCTrails.net