Check back soon for the photos and report....
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Friday, May 10, 2024
2024 Professional Outdoor Media visit Pinewood, S.C.
POMA members at the SCWA waterfowl overlook after riding in the Honda Pioneer 1000 |
Chef Danny Hieronymus after his Lowcountry Boil cooking demo |
The POMA meeting did not fall during a hunt season, but the first order of business was to send writer sea photographers out on the Lake for a Monday morning fishing trip for catfish! The three-day conference ran from Monday, May 6 though May 8 and features a jam-packed schedule of sessions focused on content creation, gear access and even first-aid education. POMA members coming from many states gather together for all meals and lodging which creates a setting where idea exchanges can take place, and future stories can blossom. SCWA founder David Wielicki received an award for POMA one day, and was back to giving personally-guided tours to media members the next day. SCWA marketing director Mark Copley is the contact to learn more about the future at SCWA.
POMA members during Airboat Ride |
To view past blog entries from SEOPA click on 2018 / Florence, S.C. - 2015 Eufala, Alabama - 2014 / Fonatana, N.C. - 2013 / SW Louisiana - 2012 / East TN. - 2009 / Punta Gorda, Florida
Range Day is always a favorite |
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
2024 Birding Journal Observations - March / April
Male House Finch feeding a juvenile 4/26 |
Hawk in a Tree 4/10 |
To view the most recent Birding Journal Observations click on January / February 2024
To view past Birding Journal Observations from March / April click on 2023 - 2022- 2021- 2018- 2017 - 2016- 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009 Swallow-tailed Kite and Wood Stork 4/3
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
2024 Turkey Season - Last Day Hunt Drama
Last Day of Turkey Season Success |
The plan for April 30 was to clear the schedule so that I could hit the woods at dawn, and then hunt as long as needed in hopes of tagging a gobbler. At 6 a.m. I was on a creek bottom where turkeys had frequented in the past, but this year it had been wet late in the season, and as day broke I was nowhere near a turkey, but I did hear a mature tom in the distance and a young tom a bit nearer. No need to pursue a young tom, even if it is the Final Day, so I loaded my gear and began to rummage my way though the woods to strike a gobbler. Nothing. Wildlife was spotted, but the turkeys were invisible. It was 9:30 when I heard a tom gobble loud and clear, and I knew this was it, and suddenly the gear that had been heavy over 3.5-hours of prospecting felt just fine, and I crept slowly and silently towards the gobbler.
Mid-morning Set up April 30 |
I set up in a spot in the woods where a thicket was on my right and the gobbler was 100-yards ahead of me. I needed the gobbler to approach me satellite-style in order for me to have a shot. He would not budge, so I made a move a bit closer, and then it was on. He came towards me gobbling and strutting, and I could hear ever puff when his feathers blowing up. To be sure, he slowed down and started looking for the hen that my calls told him was nearby. This only served to increase the chance I would be detected, and that I should remain as still as a statue. I listened as the gobbler circled me, not daring a glimpse. As my limbs began to tighten up from the pressure, I never forgot this hunt would come down to my ability to aim the shotgun when the time was right. With only one shotgun shell in my gun, I swung my gun to the left and drew a bead on the head of the gobbler and squeezed the trigger with confidence.
To view blog entries on past turkey hunts click 2019 - 2016- 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2010 - 2009
Sunday, April 28, 2024
2024 Carolina Bird Club - Spring Meeting
Donnelly WMA birding on 4/26 |
Photographer making pics of Red Knots from a safe distance
To view past birding trips from 2024 click on Earth Day / Kiawah - Spring Island - Southeast Shorebird Festival - Hammock Coast Birding Festival - Huntington Beach State Park - Yawkey Center - Yemassee CBC - Edisto CBC Beautiful Bald Eagle with Nesting Material
Thursday, April 25, 2024
2024 Kiawah Conservancy - Earth Day Birding
Black-necked Stilts on the beach |
to be on a barrier island. Crisp cool weather and breezy conditions persisted all day, and it never did really get warm. A piece of property on Kiawah under a conservation easement known as The Preserve was the meeting place for this naturalizations walk with a Staffer. We traversed trails that shows signs of recent saltwater intrusion due to high tides and NE winds. A large observation tower there overlooks a beautiful pond that is situated between two linear hummocks that were actually once front beach sand dunes. A stunning trio-color heron was fishing there, and had the prettiest blue beak I could remember seeing. A kingfisher, egret and alligator rounded out the pond sightings. When I looked into nearby pine trees, and we were now at tree top level in the tower, I heard and then spied a male painted bunting perched on a dead limb in the sun. We heard a bald eagle and an osprey and took time to notice glasswort and dragonflies too. I stopped at the beach afterward and saw red knots, and some black-necked stilts.
Saturday, April 20, 2024
2024 Charleston Race Week at Patriots Point
2024 Race Locations Map |
Team Flamingo sailing inshore |
To read my feature article on 2024 CRW in the Post and Courier click on Tideline.
To view past blog entries from Charleston Race Week click on 2021 - 2018- 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009