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They’re a key component in the ecology of the Columbia campus, are a mainstay of its park-like atmosphere, and even play a role in the University’s educational mission.
The 40 or 50 species of wild birds that populate the campus’ unique urban habitat are a chief reason Rudy Mancke describes the USC physical plant as “a little oasis” in the heart of the city.
“This is a good place to watch birds,” said Mancke, a distinguished lecturer in the School of the Environment and former host of S.C. ETV’s Nature Scene who lauded the variety of habitat on campus that attracts the creatures.
The combination of natural areas, the prevalence of water in pools and fountains, and the large number of trees in areas like the A.C. Moore Garden and the Horseshoe all contribute to the number of birds who frequent the University’s grounds, most of which “put up with people fairly well,” he added.
The campus has such an abundant variety of wild birds that Mancke uses it as a field trip site for his natural history of South Carolina class. “The campus is here, it’s something I can take advantage of, and it’s very useful,” he said.
Many of the birds are what Mancke refers to as year-round birds that people see in their back yards from January through December. Among these are northern mockingbirds, brown thrashers, northern cardinals, rock doves or pigeons, house sparrows, European starlings, the Carolina wren (the state bird), blue jays, and a variety of woodpeckers, to name just a few.
Others are migratory species that drop in on campus temporarily during different seasons while navigating flyways that take them north and south, and east and west. Among the migrants are cedar waxwings, white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed juncos or snowbirds, miscellaneous warblers, and ruby-crowned kinglets, among others.
Then there are the raptors, including a variety of hawks, most notably the red-tailed hawk, along with Mississippi kites, vultures, owls, and occasionally, bald eagles.
Sometimes when Mancke and his students are observing campus wildlife they come upon extraordinary finds: students discovered a pair of red-tailed hawks perched on the roof of the Moore School building; and they noticed that small warblers known as ovenbirds were staying on campus much later than expected.
The later sightings indicated the species had expanded its breeding range and moved farther south, Mancke said.
“This is another nice thing about watching birds,” he added. “Things are changing, and if you’re a good observer, you notice the changes and it’s fun.”
Beyond the beneficial role the birds play in the campus’ ecology—hawks are predators of squirrels, for example, yellow shafted flickers eat fire ants, and Mississippi kites feed on high-flying insects—watching wild birds can also serve as a recreational outlet.
Some faculty and staff put out feed for wild birds on campus, and when members of the campus community spot an unusual bird or avian activity it can become a noteworthy event.
A faculty colleague who once spotted a red-bellied woodpecker in a tree outside her office kept Mancke informed of the bird’s activity and the report was eventually passed along to Mancke’s students.
“This isn’t the job of faculty and staff—they’re doing other work that is important—but in that time when this person had a break she kept me informed of what the bird was doing. She was excited about it, I was excited about it, and I shared it with my students.
“These are pretty basic things, yet when you actually slow down and start observing them it’s almost therapeutic and it’s something that is satisfying,” Mancke said.
“My view is that we’re all born with a built-in, innate curiosity about the world and when we satisfy that curiosity, it feels good. “That natural curiosity we have about the world is the basis for all that’s taught on this campus and is the basis for life. We’re trying to figure this world out, trying to make sense of it, trying to see the connections in the world and maybe, just maybe, find our particular little place in it.”
3/05
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