2015 Beidler Forest - Boardwalk Bonanza

Cottonmouth snake - An impressive specimen!

Box turtle and dwarf palmetto frond

Birdwatchers know that fall is an excellent time to visit the woodlands looking for migratory songbirds. A wide array of birds are passing through the Lowcountry at the end of September 2015 and my recent sightings include hooded warbler and American redstart. The Audubon Center at Beidler Forest is located in Dorchester County near to I-26 and was founded by both Audubon and The Nature Conservancy. Noted as a wetland of International importance by the Ramsar committee, my Sept. 22 visit revealed that the swamp was almost bone dry due to a lack of rain. However, one caveat to such conditions is a lack of mosquitoes, and I can report very comfortable viewing conditions on the boardwalk.

Daily tours are available for visitors, or you can simply show up on your own and roam the boardwalk freely after paying a nominal admittance fee. There is some old-growth hardwood bottomland forest along the boardwalk, plus a mosaic of other swamp land habitat. Songbirds, wildflowers, reptiles and the ever-present cypress tree knees provide other distractions for the outdoor enthusiast. After all, this blackwater cypress-tupelo creek swamp is one of the most unique watersheds  in the world, and Audubon owns and protects a large chunk of this ecosystem.

To view a past blog about Beidler Forest with video click here.

Many of the cypress trees here are 100 years old!!

To view my latest Birding Journal Observations click here.

Visitors make their way around the Boardwalk

To view my latest Field Notes and Photos click here.