2017 Tall Timbers Field Day / Little Hobcaw Plantation

Theron Terhune and Reggie Thackston 

address landowners in the field

Hot and sunny conditions!

Right now the primary focus for quail recovery is on large acreage habitats like found at the 3,680-acre Little Hobcaw Plantation. Field Day attendees were able to learn about the rich hunting heritage of the property that was once owned by Bernard Baruch. This turn key quail hunting property is currently for sale by Southern Pine Plantations company out of Georgia. Tall Timbers Research Station out of Florida is bringing its expertise to bear in the Carolinas, and the Oct. 6 trip gave attendees a chance to see the blueprint for a large-scale quail landscape.

The battle to bring back the whistle of bobwhite quail to woodlands isn’t all about money though, and Tall Timber’s Bill Palmer spoke about new emphasis on the practice of prescribed fire. “We are planning to add 100,000-acres of quail habitat in the Southeast over the next ten years, and will rely on the commitment of private landowners to do so,” said Palmer. “So Tall Timbers is recommitting to the culture of prescribed fire, because it’s a practice that we don’t need to let go, and in fact it is a part of our Southern culture.” Tall Timbers just signed a Memorandum Of Agreement with SCDNR to bolster bobwhite funding.

Hayride transportation for all

The Big House at Little Hobcaw

A large property like Little Hobcaw allows adjacent properties to better manage for quail, in what is called the hub and spoke model. If a smaller property is too isolated from large scale quail woods then quail management is less realistic. But with enough hubs across the S.C. landscape, then meaningful quail recovery becomes more possible. Tall Timber’s Theron Terhune spoke about the importance of creating multiple hub and spoke habitat projects just to keep up with threats from predation or even something as unpredictable as a harsh winter. When it comes to quail populations, the more the better, and that ties directly to habitat acreage.

To read the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries from the Tall Timbers Field Day click  2013 - 2011 - 2010 or Independent Quail Workshop 2014

To view past blog entries from the Savannah River Turkey Invitational click 2013 - 2012 - 2011 

To view past blog entries from my New Year's Eve Toast click 2016 - 2015- 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

Inaugural SE Wildlife Expo - Student Art Week

Artist Jen Starwalt

The Southeastern Wildlife Expostion is excited to announce the Inaugural SEWE Art Week, October 2^nd – 6^th. This is an all-encompassing way to teach students the importance and beauty of wildlife and nature art. 

Education is a cornerstone of SEWE’s mission, and the event is committing an entire week to highlighting artists from around the world’s passion for the wild. 

SEWE Artists will engage with schools in their local communities and share the message of why the genre of wildlife art is so important. 

Participating SEWE artists include:

·         Peter Blackwell, Kenya 

• Tim Donovan, Lovettsville, Virginia 
• Lita Gatlin, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Patricia A. Griffin, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
• Jan Perkins, Athens, Georgia
• Jen Starwalt, Hermosa Beach, California
• Ken Wallin, Saint Simons, Georgia   
• 
  

Each brushstroke tells the story of a bird dog on the hunt

For the past three decades, SEWE has been advancing its mission of promoting wildlife and nature conservation. In recent years, SEWE has stepped outside of its weekend event and become more active in schools through two educational programs – Kids for Conservation and the South Carolina Junior Duck Stamp. SEWE Art Week is now the third educational program that furthers that end though linking artists with youth and educating the next generation of conservationists.   

“SEWE’s reach to the youth in the Lowcountry and South Carolina has become so impactful,” says SEWE Art Curator Natalie Henderson. “That impact was most apparent when we hosted the National Junior Duck Stamp program in April. It is a great honor to promote SEWE Art Week throughout the country by partnering with our talented artists. Their willingness to teach speaks volumes about their passion for their work.”

To view past blog entries from the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition click 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

To view past blog entries about the S.C. Junior Duck Stamp competition click on 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011

Fazio Golf Course at Barnsley Resort

Play through the boulders of the North Georgia foothills!

Yardage book and signature golf balls aid play

The Jim Fazio golf course at Barsnsley Resort was designed in 1999 encompassing a generous 378-acres, making a motorized cart a necessity for any round of golf. The course is 7200-yards at its maximum length, which is deceptive since it blends in well with the natural landscape.  On the back nine holes, the cart path undulates as it crosses hardwood bottoms in between the ridgelines that define the Barnsley Resort property. At these highest elevations, hiking paths and horse trails intersect, revealing other ways that guests at Barnsley Resort can get outdoors and look back down the hill towards the resort campus.

Downhill shot to a Par 3 - and I made a par!

The fourth hole looks like a canyon to the Lowcountry observer, and demands the ability to execute sidehill and uphill shots in order to reach the green. There is no dishonor in hooking or pushing a shot from one of these treacherous lies, especially if you are visiting from an area with zero elevation changes. Golfing basics like choking down on your club and swinging down on the ball to make good contact will be called upon for any shots that don’t go straight down the middle. The same undulations and dramatic drop-offs that make for tough golf shots are also what makes some of these golf holes exquisite.

            

The Jim Fazio course is nestled in nature.

The Fazio course is open to the public, and it also sells memberships to locals, and sees a fair amount of traffic coming in from Atlanta which is just one hour South of Adairsville. The Bermuda grass on the greens putts true, but it’s the speed of the greens that make them tough, with the 18th green playing the hardest since it has three different levels. Approach shots to any green must factor in elevation changes, with uphill shots demanding a higher club than normal, and downhill shots requiring less club. Factor in the wind and you’ve got the making for some fun swings throughout your round, the kind that make playing golf with your buddies a hoot.

To read the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries about the PGA Championship click on 2017 Quail Hollow - 2012 Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

To view past blog entries from Barnsley Resort click on Elegant Ruins - Dining and Amenities - Sporting Clays - Horseback Trail Rides - East Coast Drive Camp - Spring Bank Pheasant Hunt - Spring Bank Quail Hunt - Spring Bank Turkey Hunt 

To view past blog entries about golf in Augusta, Georgia click on Forest Hills - Augusta National