2018 Walk Through History at Yawkey Center

New Sign with decoy accents, Jeff Dennis and SCDNR's Jim Lee

This is what 'Off The Bus' looks like!

My educational field trip to the Yawkey Center in 2016 provided a glimpse of pristine maritime habitat through a van window during a three-hour driving tour. When the opportunity for an “off-the-bus” visit came up, including strenuous activity with several miles of walking, I jumped at the opportunity. The hiking trails led us to the abandoned chimneys and water cistern at historic Smithville, ruins of a steam-operated sawmill, and Civil War fortifications with a commanding view to guard the entrance to Winyah Bay.

The Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center is 24,000-acres of barrier islands that is owned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in a partnership with the Yawkey Foundation. This property comprises of North Island, South Island and Cat Island and was the second home to Tom Yawkey. After Yawkey’s passing he willed the land to South Carolina in 1976 and set up at multi-million dollar endowment to pay for ongoing wildlife habitat management. The Yawkey Foundation in Boston administers this funding, including a directive for educational tours of the Yawkey Center which are conducted by 30-year SCDNR veteran Jim Lee.

Watch your step - wildlife abounds at Yawkey Center

The history tour with walking through the old sawmill location is generally conducted in winter to try and minimize encounters with insects and snakes. “Ticks are present here any time of year so I advise visitors to check for them at the end of the day,” said Lee. The hiking trails generally offer firm footing but the exception comes when crossing a ditch or two with water and soft mud in place. Stepping on a log, or jumping from bank to bank is where this walking tour requires a more advanced level of readiness, but I found it wasn’t more than what an outdoor enthusiast is already familiar with. The difference between this place and others, is that your footprints are one of only a limited few that have touched the ground in this storied locale.

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

To view past blog entries from the Yawkey Center click on 2016 Education Tour -  2015 Shorebirds with Manomet - Yawkey Legacy

To view past blog entries about Winyah Bay click on NERR gag grouper study - Fly Fishing Hobcaw Barony - Sheepshead Slam with Gul'R'Boy Charters

View from overgrown Civil War Fort

The Sporting Life Book - Horses, Gundogs and Wildlife

Artist Joseph Sulkowski

Artist Joseph H. Sulkowski presents his viewpoint on outdoor heritage through a new book filled with paintings and sketches. The hard-cover coffee table size book has 240-pages, with more than half of this volume simply artwork detailing bird hunts, horseplay and the love of working canines in the field. For those who cherish outdoor experiences, turning the pages of this book will trigger memories of hunting and fishing adventures, and may inspire new ones.

Sulkowski is based in Franklin, Tennessee and has spent the years traveling to hunt and paint at the finest plantations in the South. His life experiences include travel abroad too, all the while honing his style that he refers to as poetic realism. “My goal with The Sporting Life is to help viewers connect with the natural world,” said Sulkowski. This compelling book published in late 2017, so it relates many of his individual experiences, while delivering an overview how this lifestyle also offers nourishment for the soul. He signed copies and greeted fans during the Horses, Hounds and Hooch event at the Dog and Horse art gallery on Church Street.

English Pointer Pups and Llewellyn Setters

It’s hard to convey the depth of colors in each image, but the titles are plain enough. Quail Hunt over the Palmetto Prairie, Controlled Burn at Blue Springs Plantation, September Dove Hunt over Middle Tennessee, Duck Hunting Among the Cypress, Dad’s Tackle Box, Casting on the Narrows and Sketch of a Sportsman’s Life. Seek out a copy of The Sporting Life to see if your vision for each of these titles matches the scenes Sulkowski shares, offering vistas from his own journey along the outdoors trail.

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

To view past sporting exhibits at Dog and Horse click on 2012 - 2010 

Apokalupsis

To view past book reviews click on Barns, Barbecue and Bales of Cotton -  Turkey Men - Edisto River - Tall Timbers - Red Knot - Audubon's Aviary - Lefty Kreh - Guy Harvey - Year of the Pig- Shrimp, Collards and Grits - Passion of the Wild - Kayak Fishing - Longleaf Alliance - Old Friends (Barns)

2018 Garden and Gun - Cocktails and Conservation

Bill Palmer and Paul Grimes 

New for 2018 SEWE

After a successful run of having a large booth outside at Marion Square during the SE Wildlife Expo, the folks at Garden and Gun magazine decided to host a pair of new events dubbed Cocktails and Conservation. The first event on 2 p.m. on Saturday featured Bill Palmer from Tall Timbers Research Station in Florida, where research on fire ecology and bobwhite quail is conducted every day. Paul Grimes is the regional game bird biologist that oversees South Carolina lands. Writer T. Edward Nickens moderated the questions that came from the knowledgeable attendees, while Palmer explained how more resources are required to keep a fire culture at the forefront of conservation today. Tall Timbers advocates for more land under management for quail, with an emphasis on restoring fire to areas it is absent from now.

The second event on Sunday at 2 p.m. featured editor David DeBenedetto as moderator for aquaculture experts Ryan Croxton and Cyrus Buffum. A plate of three oysters from different locations were presented along with a bourbon drink from Blade and Bow. There seemed to be a lot of interest in how oysters can filter the water and actually improve the habitat they are growing in. Recycling oyster shell is also a popular topic since the availability of solid substrate is imperative in the Lowcountry where silt and pluff mud dominates the estuary.

For past blog entries about Tall Timbers Field Days in S.C. click 2017 -  2013 - 2011 - 2010  or Independent Quail Workshop 2014

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

Tall Timbers / Red Hills Legacy book review

Blade and Bow bourbon served with oysters

2018 SEWE Sunday - Sporting Round Up

Jim Westerhold educates youngsters
 about wildlife

The final day of SEWE ends one hour earlier at 5 p.m., which means SEWE patrons need to savor the experience of Charleston's sporting round-up before the long wait for 2019 SEWE begins. The South Carolina Bobwhite Initiative and Qual Forever were on with new signs for landowners willing to participate in providing small game habitat.

To view blog entries from 2018 SEWE click on ACE Awards - Black Tie Preview Gala - Gone to the Dogs - Birds of Prey

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

Tim Long with Quail Forever and the S.C. Bobwhite Brigade

Find sporting furnishings at SEWE

You might be a redneck if you knew
 Jeff Foxworthy is an artist?!

2018 SEWE Saturday - Birds of Prey Flight Demo

African Yellow-billed Kite

The Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw come to the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition each year to conduct flight demonstrations in Marion Square in downtown Charleston, to raise awareness for their mission regarding the conservation of avian species.

To view blog entries from 2018 SEWE click on ACE Awards - Black Tie Preview Gala - Gone to the Dogs

To view past blog entries about the Center for Birds of Prey click on 2017 - 2016 - 2013 - 2011 - 2010

To view past SEWE Saturday photos click 2015 - 2014- 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009.

Eurasian Eagle Owl

Gyr-prairie falcon hybrid

Two Harris Hawks launching from Embassy Suites

2018 SEWE Friday - Gone to the Dogs

Dock Dogs Friday at Brittlebank Park

People that attend the Southeastern Wildlife Expo are all animal lovers of some kind, but it tends to be most suitable to dog owners and pooch friendly folks. The sheep herding, dock dogs, canine rescue organizations and retriever demos are always in demand - taking SEWE to the dogs again in 2018!

To view blog entries from 2018 SEWE click on ACE Awards - Black Tie Preview Gala

To view past blog entries about the S.C. Junior Duck Stamp competition click 2018 - 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 

Sheep Herding Demos at NEW to 2018 SEWE

Greyhound Rescue is at SEWE

John Boat full of Labs