In the early 1980s, the wood stork was designated as an endangered species.
A year ago, the bird was removed from that list, much to the delight of Paul Koehler, director of the Silver Bluff Audubon Center in the Jackson area.
Still, the work stork remains "threatened," and that status is why the center will host is annual Storks and Corks benefit event, Koehler said. It will be held Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.
Visitors will have the opportunity to see the storks and enjoy a buffet dinner and wine. Tickets are $50, and proceeds will help the center's operations.
In 2014, the Associated Press described how wood storks are the only stork species that nest in the U.S. Its population for many years was centered in Florida. Due to destroyed habitats there, about 50 percent of storks can be found in the Carolinas and Georgia.
When Koehler began work at the Audubon Center 29 years ago, a system of ponds was built as a mitigation at the Savannah River Site through the work of local contractors.
That created an alternate foraging area for the storks at the center.
"Ever since then, the storks have (been) coming to the Audubon Center to take advantage of the fish in these ponds," Koehler said. "We'll have folks from the local center with spotting scopes who can explain what (visitors) will be looking at. It's a great evening, and some people will stay until dark, looking at the storks."
Senior writer Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter and has been with the newspaper since September 2001.
He is a native of Walterboro and majored in journalism at the University of Georgia.