2018 SEWE Gala at Belmond Charleston Place

Live music at the SEWE Gala

Work in progress from Hemsley Art

Cirque De Vol from Raleigh N.C.

Art of all kinds is on display at Belmond Charleston Place

The 36th edition of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition included a black tie gala and art auction on February 15. This year's featured artist is Kathryn Mapes Turner from Wyoming, and the 2018 Guest Artist is Joseph Sulkowski from Tennessee. This preview of the wildlife art for sale at SEWE gives VIP patrons the chance to purchase paintings and sculptures in a setting where the artists are always open to answer questions from serious collectors, including commission artwork orders.

A buffet supper, open bar, jazz music, live auction and performance art are all part of the mix in the Belmond Charleston Place ballroom. Celebrities in attendance included Jeff Foxworthy, Jack Hanna and numerous S.C. elected officials. Friendly discussions include swapping hunting stories, sharing current events about family members, and of course planning out what to do over the next three days of SEWE. The air conditioner was running inside, due to the unseasonably warm weather that is in place for the entire 2018 SEWE weekend.

To view blog entries from 2018 SEWE click on ACE Awards

To view past blog entries from the SEWE Gala click 2017 - 2016 - 2015- 2014 - 2013,  2012, 2011, 2010, or 2009.

2018 SEWE Begins - ACE Conservation Awards

Presenting the Check for the Inaugural ACE award

Ricky Schroder supports conservation

The Inaugural Award for Conservation Excellence (ACE) ceremonies held at the Gaillard Ballroom on Valentine's Day reflected on worldwide efforts on behalf of wildlife and the natural resources they depend on. The idea for the ACE awards came from artist John Banovich of Seattle, and his Banovich Wildscapes Foundation. Banovich was the featured artist at SEWE in 1998 and he agreed that Charleston and SEWE would serve as an ideal host. Congrats to Timothy McClanahan and Nyawira Mouthiga, founders of the Wildlife Conservation Society's coral reef program, for winning the Award for Conservation Excellence and the $100,000 cash prize to further their research.

"The ACE awards crowd included sportsmen, academics, scientists, conservationists and environmentalists," said Banovich. "The nominees are rock stars in the realm of conservation, and they have all moved the needle in their respective fields, so they really deserve this recognition." A team of judges determined the winner. The other finalists were George Archibald, Joel Berger, K. Ullas Karanth and David MacDonald. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke was the keynote speaker at the ACE awards.

To view past entries about the start of the SE Wildlife Expo click 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014- 2013 - 2012 - 2009

Anne London, Jim Hart and George Archibald

 To view a past blog about the ACE Basin area of the Lowcountry click on 25th Anniversary 

Emcee Jeff Foxworthy and Jungle Jack Hanna 
mingle with ACE Award guests

Three-toed sloth that Jack Hanna brought to town

Waterfowl Habitat Workshop at The Catfish Farm

Bob Perry demonstrates how 6-inches of water depth,
is ideal for ducks feeding on the bottom

The timing for the waterfowl habitat workshop could not have been better considering that duck hunting season just ended. Waterfowl managers could now visit duck ponds still holding migratory waterfowl without worry of disturbing the ducks. The Catfish Farm is located in the Pee Dee region and does not have any tidal influence on its waterfowl habitat, which includes flooded agricultural impoundments and a green tree reservoir complex.

            

Dr. Rick Kaminski and Manager Lynn Collins

The Director of the Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Center based at the Baruch Institute in Georgetown is Dr. Rick Kaminski. “We should be mindful that this is the 100th Anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act signed in 1918,” said Kaminski. “That’s a long time to be managing migratory waterfowl, and the North American Waterfowl Plan is the greatest continental ecosystem management plan worldwide.” Kaminski also shares that while duck numbers are trending upward in modern times, duck hunter recruitment numbers are decreasing.

            

Pee Dee Waterfowl Workshop attendees

Ben Powell is the Clemson Cooperative Extension member tasked with planning the Pee Dee Waterfowl workshop. Winyah Land and Timber, SCDNR, Ducks Unlimited and the Nemours Wildlife Foundation provided meeting materials or on site expertise to help convey the message of wetland conservation. The Catfish Farm is owned by Richardson Construction Company, and longtime manager Lynn Collins was happy to answer any questions about how they attract migratory ducks and honor waterfowling traditions.

            

Thanks to The Catfish Farm for hosting the workshop!

Bob Perry is a wildlife biologist with Palmetto Natural Resources Management consulting firm, after retiring in June 2017 after 39-years with SCDNR. “I first came to The Catfish Farm in 1999, when aquaculture practices raising commercial catfish were still underway,” said Perry. “Since the initial waterfowl management plan we crafted here, I can document the history of waterfowl using the property.” The Catfish Pond is located near Marion, and occupies 1100-acres once known as Cypress Creek Bay, and lies in between the Little Pee Dee and Great Pee Dee Rivers.

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

To view past blog entries about waterfowl habitat click on ACE Basin 25th Anniversary 

Field Notes and Photos - February 2018

Barred Owl - Who Cooks For You!!

Field Notes is a column I began fourteen years ago in the Charleston Mercury newspaper, but as the amount of newsprint space in the 'salmon sheets' has become more and more in demand, there was less space for my nature photography. Now when I have a fresh batch of observations I share them via Lowcountry Outdoors.

To view past Field Notes and Photos click December 2017 - September 2017 - January 2017- December 2016 - June 2016 - February 2016- December 2015 - October 2015 - September 2015 - August 2015 - July 2015 - June 2015 - February 2105 - October 2014 -  September 2014 - August 2014 - June 2014 - March 2012 - February 2012 - October 2011 - September 2011     

Redhead duck poses with driftwood

Green and red moss

Roadkill brown bat 

2018 Edisto Grits Cook Off

Dan Corley, Reagan Brogdon, Jimmy King,
winner Leecia Bolton and Robbie Harrison with their grits!

Cubby Huffines helps out with the live auction

With unseasonably warm weather in place over the Lowcountry during mid-February, it was a perfect time to gather on the dock at the Marina on Edisto Beach for fellowship. The 2nd annual Edisto Grits Cook Off is a fundraiser to refurbish the Old Magistrate's Building on Indigo Hill Road for use as a community center. Dallas Murray helped to organize the event, and he gathered items that were sold during a live auction. Furthermore, Murray served up local oysters at $10 a bucket, while Pressley's at the Marina opened up their deck bar.

Lynn and Bob Laystrom enjoy the warm weather on the dock

Six local cooks placed their special grits into the fun competition, and a group of judges took turns sampling these grits, and then determined the winner. The public was allowed to taste each offering and formulate their own opinions, before the winner was announced during a break in the live music. Congratulations to Leecia Bolton for winning! She calls her grits 'Southern Goodness' and shares that she uses a combination of white and yellow grits, then adds monterey jack cheese, heavy cream and chicken broth. Perhaps emboldened by her win, Bolton mentioned that she would be entering the Edisto Mac-apalooza contest on March 10 with friend Maria Pressley.

To view past blog entries from the Edisto Chamber Business of the Year click on 2017 - 2016

To view past blog entries from Edisto Island Open Land Trust click on 2017 Oyster Roast - 2017 Tomato Open - 2017 I Love Edisto Auction- 2016 Oyster Roast - 2014 Oyster Roast - 2014 Spring Birding - 2013 Oyster Roast - 2012 ACE Basin Mtg. - 2009 Spring Birding

To view past blog entries from 2017 at Edisto click on Edisto Music Festival - Lions Club Bingo - Business of the Year - Jim Bost Tourney - Summer Activities

To view past blog entries from 2016 at Edisto click on Jim Bost Memorial - Dolphin Slam - Cobia Tourney - Spring Shorebird Synergy - Bovine Bones on Beach - Edisto River book - 2016 Edisto Billfish Tourney 

2018 Bald Eagle Update - Port Royal Sound Foundation

Mature blad eagles at rest overlooking the salt marsh

The old Lemon Island Marina is now home to the Port Royal Sound Foundation, with a maritime center that invites the public to stop in and learn more about a unique ecosystem. Admission is free from 10 – 5 from Tuesday until Saturday, and volunteers are waiting to show the 3000-gallon aquarium filled with marine life and to answer questions. The monthly Tuesday Talks series brings in educational speakers to focus on wildlife species and biologist Tom Murphy spoke in January about his work with the S.C. Bald Eagle program.

            

Tom Murphy retired in 2009 after 34 years working for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, helping to implement the program to monitor bald eagles. “Setting up a program to monitor and study an endangered species like the bald eagle was a new endeavor, since SCDNR mainly dealt with game species,” said Murphy. “The first ever nest survey flights over South Carolina recorded just 13 bald eagle nests, and that became our baseline to first learn about their natural history and then to marvel at their ability to adapt.”

Join them for Tuesday Talks on Conservation

Today, bald eagle recovery continues to boom and they are no longer listed as an endangered species. “The nest survey flight in 2009 recorded 253 eagle nests in S.C. and their population growth was estimated to be 10% per year,” said Murphy. “We learned that bald eagles didn’t simply migrate into SC during duck migration, but rather it is due to the advantages of winter nesting. The abundance of coots in winter can’t be overstated since they are an easy source of food for bald eagles. And the water clarity in the Lowcountry is best in winter, making for better fishing conditions for bald eagles, which may have vision equivalent to 7X magnification.”

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

To view my latest Birding Journal Observations click on November / December 2017

To view Field Notes and Photos click on December 2017 - September 2017 - January 2017- December 2016 - June 2016 - February 2016- December 2015 - October 2015 - September 2015 - August 2015 - July 2015 - June 2015 - February 2105 - October 2014 -  September 2014 - August 2014 - June 2014 - March 2012 - February 2012 - October 2011 - September 2011  

SEWE awards 2018 S.C. Junior Duck Stamp Winners

Best Of Show and Titled Smug Mug

The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition stewards student art each year since taking the reigns for the South Carolina Junior Duck Stamp competition. Four different competition groups are formed between Kindergarten and Twelfth grade entries that are judged by members of the S.C. Ducks Unlimited leadership, among others.

More 2018 entries

The results are in and Abi O'Donnell from Thomas Cairo middle school in Mount Pleasant is the 2018 S.C. Junior Duck Stamp Best Of Show. Her entry will advance to the Federal Junior Duck Stamp competition on April 20.

In the conservation message category students  from grades 10, 11 and 12 shared these sentiments:

Nature is the basis of art, beauty in its truest form. It is our job as artists to preserve its authenticity.

 SEWE blog 

Conservation is not only for wildlife, but also for those who look to nature for life.

Conserving a habitat saves more than a species, it preserves their beauty and grace for everyone to enjoy.

Just as lake ripple when a fowl's feathers touch the water, the actions that we execute spread beyond us, affecting our environment.

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

To view past blog entries from SEWE Sunday click 2017- 2016- 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

To view blog entries from the 2017 35th Anniversary of SEWE click Birds Of Prey - Jeff Corwin - SEWE Gala - Feathers and Flocks