CCA's Tide now online - Hobcaw Barony article

The Coastal Conservation Association has some very exciting news for the current edition of TIDE - it is their first-ever electronic edition of TIDE. They worked with the printer to explore the option of creating an electronic version of the magazine and the result is below - simply click on the link to check it out. When touring the new e-TIDE, please check out my latest article - Hobknobbing at Hobcaw Barony - which is in the current March / April edition. Simply click on the article title in the contents section to be 'taken' to my opening photo on page 32. You can even use the hot link at the end of the article to navigate back to Lowcountryoutdoors.

http://digitaledition.qwinc.com/publication/?i=32399

To view other articles by Jeff in CCA TIDE magazine click here.

To view past blog entries from Hobcaw Barony click here. 

PhotoByJeffDennis: Captain Steve Thomas ties in to a whopper of a redfish on the flats at Hobcaw Barony

March 15 - Turkey Season IN

What a wondrous and glorious day March 15 is, bringing in the start of the spring turkey season. There is only a limited number of good weather days during the season, so with the sun shining, many outdoorsmen hit the woods in search of a gobbling tom. Reports from the morning hunts in the Lowcountry ranged from gangs of gobblers raising cain, to satellite toms that 'came in silent.' One report was of an early morning missed shot (like about 15 minutes after dawn), that was redeemed later in the morning when that same hunter tagged a boss tom that sported four beards. Another report claimed that the gobblers were so thick, that they had to wait for 'some separation' before a safe shot was allowed by the guide - and a 21-pound tom with an 11-inch beard went to a lucky hunter. Two hunters (on separate hunts) saw a gobbler strut right in front of them, but since they had come in silent and swift, there was no chance in either case to lift the gun and take aim. A snap shot was available in both cases, but the conservation minded turkey hunter would not chance such a shot, and risk losing a wounded turkey to the woodlands; better to take your licks and hit the woods again another time.

To view my feature article on turkey season click Charleston Mercury.

To see past blog entires about the opening day of turkey season click here.

PhotoProvided: Scott Hammond killed his opening day gobbler 'by the numbers' - he made 3 calls and shot him 6 feet away to kick off the 2010 season, and that's a big 10-4

2010 LOLT picnic at Birds Of Prey Center

The Lowcountry Open Land Trust held their annual membership picnic in Awendaw and the Birds of Prey Center played host for the day. LOLT completed its twenty-fourth year of land conservation in 2009 with a quiet and steady hand on the vehicle of preservation, the conservation easement. Twenty-two easements were cobbled together in 2009 totaling 4,654 acres protected. This allowed LOLT to surpass the threshold of 80,000 acres protected since their inception.

LOLT found the proverbial feather in their cap in 2009 when they were able to partner with the Avian Conservation Center, better known as the Birds of Prey Center in Awendaw, to secure $267,500 from the Greenbelt Program to permanently protect the 153 acres that the center operates on. The Wingswood conservation easement protects land that was donated to the Birds of Prey Center by the Rice family, and compliments the acreage that is already protected in that area.

LOLT’s Lewis Hay said, “It is always a privilege to work with a Lowcountry landowner to protect another piece of our heritage. It is especially gratifying when the landowner is an important and well-known local non-profit serving our community in a vital role to protect our wildlife. Further, this tract is an essential link in the conservation puzzle which includes Cape Romaine National Wildlife Refuge and Francis Marion National Forest. Bringing Greenbelt Bank assistance into this deal cemented the fact that it was a great project.”

To view past blog entries about the Center for Birds of Prey click here.

To view my blog on the 2009 LOLT picnic click here.

PhotosByJeffDennis: A Birds of Prey Center volunteer holds a screech owl at the LOLT picnic; Birds Of Prey Director Jim Elliott accepts a butterfly house from LOLT board member Sam Hiott

Lowcountry Hunt Closing Meet & AWARD

The National membership organization known as the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, bestowed a great honor on the three-year old Lowcountry Hunt fox hunting club based in the ACE Basin. On January 29 in Atlanta the 2009 Hunting Habitat Conservation Award was awarded jointly to Nina Burke (Joint Master of the Lowcountry Hunt) and Margaret P. Blackmer (President of the Board of trustees for the Lowcountry Open Land Trust). The award is given in recognition of significant and enduring contributions toward the preservation of rural countryside and its flora and fauna. The closing meet was hosted by the Limehouse family on March 13 at Airy Hall Plantation.

PhotoByDennisFoster: J. Martin Jr., Nina Burke, Margaret Blackmer, John Van Nagel and Marvin Beeman in Atlanta on January 29

To view my blog entry on the Middleton Place Hounds fox hunt click here.

PhotoByJeffDennis: the hounds of the Lowcountry Hunt are gathered together before the closing meet; the fox hunters depart under an oak allee' decorated with wondrous spanish moss

VideoByJeffDenis: the hounds and the hunters depart - Tally Ho!

Bear Island WMA Birding Trip in the ACE Basin

The SCDNR's Coastal Education Series held its annual bird watching day at Bear Island Wildlife Management Area. While the WMA is open to the public, the limited space on the birding tour gets visitors a seat on a wagon that is towed across the property. It also gets you an expert birder to lead the tour in the form of Pete Laurie, and DNR biologist Al Segars. With heavy rain the day before the outing was not a certainty, but even with a few folks canceling their plans to attend, a good time was had by the remainder. Bear Island WMA has been owned by the state of S.C. since 1953 and is approximately 12,000 acres. It carries 28 impoundments with 5000 acres of managed wetlands that require 70 rice trunks, and is thus managed to provide for public duck hunting. Other months the WMA is open for bird watching, and is considered a 'refueling station' for many different types of migratory birds. If one feels strongly about Bear Island WMA, one only need purchase a hunting license to have contributed towards its welfare - whether hunting is your hobby or not. On March 12 the birding crew saw tree swallows, bluebirds, moorhens, common yellowthroats, shovelers, coots, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, mallards, wood storks, great blue herons, snipe, killdeer, bufflehead, snowy egrets, tri-color herons, great egrets, bald eagles, turkey vultures, kingfishers, meadowlarks, doves, robins, norther harriers, black-crowned night herons, glossy ibis, seagulls, anhingas, alligators, pie-billed grebes, ruddy ducks, a black-necked stilt, pintails, lesser yellowlegs, forester terns, white pelicans (5), tundra swans (100!), and one Canada goose. To my fellow birders, if an observation escaped me please feel free to add it here in the form of a comment.

To view past blog entries about bird watching at Bear Island WMA click here.

PhotosByJeffDennis: The birding crew watches in amazement as at least 100 tundra swans feed in an impoundment while making a non-stop happy and contented honking noise; Ross Catterton is the manager at Bear Island and he knows a great deal about impoundment management and migratory waterfowl; a bluebird house on Bear Island WMA next to a crossroads sign

Belfast WMA benefit

Laurens and Newberry Counties are the setting for the sprawling new 4,664-acre Belfast WMA. Historic Belfast Plantation is located along Highway 56 and has been purchased by SCDNR, NWTF and the Conservation Fund in order to preserve the land and provide public hunting access. A fundraising banquet on March 9 in Columbia helped raise funds for SCDNR to continue with Phase II of the purchase of Belfast WMA. Monetary donations can be made to the NWTF’s More Places to Hunt Campaign and contributers must specify that the tax deductible contribution is for Belfast WMA.

The property is located between two units of the Sumter National Forest and will provide a corridor of connectivity to both the Enoree and Long Cane Ranger Districts. Belfast WMA also provides protection for several miles of Little River and Mudlick Creek which flow into the Saluda River.

The Belfast WMA acquisition provides SCDNR another Foothills property to offer increased public recreation, and public hunting opportunities like the spring turkey draw hunts. An old plantation house built in the early 1800’s serves as a reminder of the past, but now welcomes public hunting to what may be considered the golden age of big game hunting.

PhotosByJeffDennis: The oil painting of the Belfast Plantation house was just one of the special items on the auction to raise funds at the Belfast WMA benefit; Erika and Wiley Marshall of St. Helena join S.C. Governor Mark Sanford to support conservation efforts in the state; DNR Director John Frampton and Asst. Director Emily Cope smile with S.C. Rep. Jeff Duncan who also served as auctioneer for the night; Dr. Bob Aitken is President of the NWTF state board and he is with Melissa and Dennis Axson.

Captain Bob Sanders - Redfish report

A sparkling white frost greeted us at the boat ramp at 6:45 a.m. and the 29-degree temperature had the boat covered with a light coating of slick ice. Using the towel-on-the-deck method for sure footing we bundled up for the short ride over to Fishing Creek on Edisto Island. Cold fingers and no bites started our day as the last of the ebb tide flowed, and before our conversation about S.C. land sales was over, the tide changed directions like someone had 'flipped the switch.' With sunlight now striking the clear water with two-feet of visibility, we continued casting our Trout Tricks lures to likely structure and then Captain Sanders 'woke up' a big boy - and brought a nice 28-inch redfish (with shoulders) to the boat. Three large spots marked one side of his body and we knew that this was a special redfish, one to remember - one that made the early mornin' meeting well worth it. Being a southern gentleman he did not want to outfish his guest, and he allowed me to cast to 'the spot' for another redfish - but my redfish was ten inches shorter and paled in comparison to the bronze-backed bomber that he had displayed in the morning sunlight. Other Sunday duties called us off the water before long, and I said I wanted one more cast to 'the spot' and Sanders said 'No Jeff, we have to go.' Knowing we had to go by the spot in order to leave I told him that it would be hard to get me by 'the spot' without one more cast, to which Sanders' replied 'That is why I'm going to ride down the opposite side of the creek.' Smart man!

To read my feature article click on Charleston Mercury.

PhotoByJeffDennis: Captain Bob Sanders of www.FishingwithBob.com holds a gem of the Lowcountry; the big one conveniently let his spot hang out of the rubber dip net; even Lowcountryoutdoors.com was able to get in on the Edisto inshore redfish action