2023 Webb Center - Wildflower Walk With Master Naturalists

Passion Flower

The Fall calendar month of September is usually a good time to look for wildflowers, and the Spring Island Master Naturalist group chose the Webb Wildlife Center WMA as a prime location. The Webb Center is under management which includes regular prescribed fire, and regular fire is what the Southeastern forests evolved with. Juliana Smith from Spring Island led the intrepid group of Master Naturalists into the piney woods to look for and locate wildflowers. Asters are the number one wildflower family found, and the second is the orchid family. To the layman a sea of yellow flowers graces roadsides and fallow fields, which are all attractors for pollinators, but among that yellow plethora of petals are some other fine flowers with colorful names. Rattlesnake Master, Passion Flower, Lobelia, Cone Flower, and many more. The shape of the flower itself might lend itself to attract a certain kind of pollinator including bees, beetles, birds, butterflies, moths and even the wind! We were armed with two handouts to decipher the wildflower equation, but it is complicated because these flowers employ tactics including color, nectar guides, odor and petal shape. Within the confines of the morning hours on Sept. 22 we made several stops and enjoyed viewing the entire landscape that is home to these precious natural resources.

Bog Cheeto (Not real name!)

To view past Field Notes and Photos click on January 2021 -  July 2020 -  June 2020 -  March 2020 - June 2019 - July 2018 - February 2018 -  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 

Master Naturalists at Webb Center

 

2023 Early Birds of September / Hunting Seasons

 September gives the wingshooting sportsman a variety of opportunities to choose from.

To view past blog entries from Trilogy Outdoors click on SCDNR Salt Fishing Clinics -  Silver King Makes Big Splash - S.C. Mahi Series - 2023 Yawkey Wildlife Center - 2023 Hammock Coast Birding Festival - 2023 Lowcountry Oyster Festival - 2022 Sea Turtle Season - Navigating an S.C. Public Draw Deer Hunt - Crappie Camp - Blessings of a Sporting Father

Published in the September Issue of Trilogy Outdoors (Click on Pic for Larger Image)

2023 Hunting Island State Park - Fall Shorebirds

Shorebirds circle the North Spit of Hunting Island State Park on Sept. 1

A group of birding enthusiasts from the Statewide Master Naturalist alumni gathered on Friday, September 1 to look for shorebirds on the northern tip of this barrier island, at the inlet by Harbor Island. This trip had to be postponed by one day due to Tropical Storm Idalia hitting the area on Wednesday, causing the State Park to be closed for clean-up on Thursday. A few folks could not manage the date change, but our core group was on time at 8 a.m. and ready to walk a mile or so down the beach, for a training session on Shorebird ID, with World Shorebird Day designated as September 6!

Shorebirds occupy a small green island as the tide and wind drives water on the beach

Master Naturalists at Work

Our guide Andy Jones had scouted the area a week before, saying that unless the birds moved away due to Idalia, we should see multiple species of shorebirds. Well it did not take long for us to start finding them, partly because a robust wind had the tide well up on the beach and the birds (and us) only had so much beach to work with. Keeping our distance by using binoculars and spotting scopes we began identifying birds, and we had two Shorebird Stewards from Audubon S.C. there to provide background information, like recent migration movements and leg banding data.

We saw over 2000 individual birds and recorded 32 different species on this day. We saw an American oystercatcher with a red leg band on each leg, and were told a red band means it was tagged in Georgia. A solitary lesser black-backed gull was in this flock, and it stood out mainly by its height. Roughly 15 white pelicans were spotted on a sandbar offshore, and these were the first sightings (this summer) of a species that migrates to S.C. for the winter. Other shorebird sightings included black-bellied plover, semi-palmated plover, Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Short-billed Dowitcher and Greater Yellowlegs.

To view past blog entries on Shorebirds click on 2023 Sea Islands Festival - 2022 Harbor Island Shorebird Walk- 2020 Shorebird Protection on Botany Bay WMA - 2021 World Shorebird Day -  2018 Shorebirds Talk at Seabrook Island Birders -  2017 Shorebird Symposium by Kiawah Conservancy - 2016 Spring Shorebird Synergy - 2016 The Narrow Edge Book Review - 2015 Manomet Workshop at Yawkey Preserve - 2015 World Shorebird Day - 2014 Moon Bird Book Review - 2014 / Inaugural World Shorebird Day

To view past blog entries from Hunting Island State Park click on 2022 Turtle Patrol - 2021 Lighthouse / Beach - 2021 Wildlife Sightings - 2017 Reopens after Matthew

To view 2023 Birding Trips click on  Sea Island Shorebird Festival - Beidler Forest - Harbor Island- Kiawah Island -  Webb Wildlife Center - Whooping Crane Pond - Jarvis Creek Park - Caw Caw Bio Blitz - Hammock Coast Birding Festival  -  Botany Bay WMA - Pinckney Island NWR - ACE Basin NWR Combahee Unit

To view past blog entries on S.C. State Parks click on Givhans Ferry - Cheraw - Barnwell - Hickory Knob - Huntington Beach - Hampton Plantation - Edisto Beach 

2023 Edisto Belles Beach Walk - Post Idalia

Walkers heading down the Pink Trail

The annual Beach Walk to Beat Breast Cancer was a big success on Saturday, Sept. 2 despite a couple of glitches. The Edisto Belles organization raises money during this walk by having teams of walkers get sponsors. Tropical Storm Idalia rolled up the East Coast and visited Edisto Beach on the Wednesday before the walk, and certainly caused some beach erosion. The Wyndham Cabana on front beach is normally the Start / Finish Line for the Beach Walk, but it was damaged during the storm and could not be accessed. So the event was moved to 603 Palmetto Blvd. so that folks could gather together to register and to put on any pink accessories that the Belles provide. Also, a raffle is held from community donations.

2023 Crowd at Starting Line at 603 Palmetto Blvd.

At approximately 9 a.m. the walkers took Beach Access 6 to the front beach and followed a path laid out in pink. Pink signs, Pink flamingos, Pink necklaces, and even Pink bras lined the beach. The morning high tide was WAY up due to the influences fo Idalia and a full moon, so the beach was narrow, but the walkers got down and back the course with no issues. Sunny and hot weather in 2022, gave way to a much more temperate day in 2023 thanks to the backside breezes from Idalia. Leah Harrington was the 2023 Survivor Honoree for the Belles Beachwalk. 

To view past blog entries from Edisto Belles click on 2022 - 2021

2023 Birding Journal Observations - July / August

Red-Headed Woodpecker with mouth open August 14

The temperatures in July and August were very even, and very Hot! Backyard birding did not really suffer, but there was very little change on species coming and going. Most of the Lowcountry enjoyed spotty rain showers both months, but for me two tropical style downpours in late August signaled a change in the atmosphere heading into tropical weather season. The first deluge was 5.5-inches and the second was 4.6-inches (courtesy of T.S. Idalia). The first rain smoked right into the ground, and the second mostly ran off, so the drought-busting rains of Fall have begun their annual dance. 

Killdeer with mouth open on Aug. 12

With the hot temps, I noticed plenty of birds with their mouths open, moving air through their gullet in order to cool down, similar to a dog panting. I have witnessed this behavior in the past for sure, but the string of hot days in July and August made this tactic more commonplace, especially when being in the shade was not an option for the bird. Shorebirds, wading birds, and songbirds all practice this habit.

It is worth noting that while birding at Botany Bay WMA on Aug. 11 we spotted a female American redstart, which is a Fall migrant. It seems a bit early, but by Sept. 1 a good many migratory species were on the move. And the painted buntings I enjoyed all summer made their move South at the end of August, and they will be missed.

To view the latest Birding Journal Observations click on May / June 2023

To view past Birding Journal Observations for July / August click on 2022 -  2021-  2018- 2017- 2016 - 2015- 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2009  

Green Heron with mouth open on August 11

To view 2023 Birding Trips click on Hunting Island Shorebirds - Sea Island Shorebird Festival - Beidler Forest - Harbor Island -  Kiawah Island -  Webb Wildlife Center - Whooping Crane Pond - Jarvis Creek Park - Caw Caw Bio Blitz -  Botany Bay WMA - Pinckney Island NWR - ACE Basin NWR Combahee Unit

2023 S.C. Plantation Managers meet at Clarendon in Beaufort

Charles Ruth addresses Wild Turkeys

The 2023 Plantation Managers meeting took place at Clarendon Plantation in Beaufort, which has hosted the group before. A morning meeting with a full agenda included talks by Private Land Management's Jason Hewett, SCDNR's Molly Kneece regarding waterfowl, S.C. Forestry Association's Cam Crawford, and SCDNR's Charles Ruth regrading wild turkeys. A full house of land managers enjoyed each speaker in the air-conditioning, and a hot weather field tour would follow a barbecue lunch. 

A large turnout on August 10

Hewett's talk centered on how people set up their quail hunting courses, and then how they hunt them. "Everything times out when you are burning to achieve a mosaic pattern," said Hewett. "I urge managers to aim for the heaviest cover possible in the fire-managed ecosystem. Escape cover is practically gone post-fire, so how do you manage other adjacent areas to provide shrubs, grasses and forbes? By utilizing a feed trail system, anyone can stop and start their hunts according to where the previous hunt day ends, which mitigates hunting pressure elsewhere. A feed trail system allows you to hunt more habitat edges along your path between different burn blocks."

The Field Tour at Clarendon Plantation

Ruth's talk was a concise discussion of the recent Public Meetings to discuss turkey decline. "We have some really great research going on right here in S.C.," said Ruth. "The Webb Center and the Savannah River Site have already undergone serval years of research and the data is becoming clear that the wild turkey population decline is continuing. It should be noted that all across the Southeast other studies are seeing similar results, so its not just a one-state issue. Habitat, Harvest, Predation and Weather are some of the factors affecting turkey numbers, and the S.C. General Assembly may take actions to further condense turkey seasons."

To view past blog entries from SCPMA click on 2022 Sumter / Shaw AFB - 2021 Cherokee Plantation - 2016 Hobcaw Barony - 2015 / Walterboro - 2014 Spring Island - 2011 / Brosnan Forest - 2010 Nemours Plantation - 2009 Poco Sabo Plantation 

2023 SCDNR Surf Fishing Clinics

Published in the August Issue of Trilogy Outdoors  (Click on Pic for Larger Image)

 To view past blog entries from Trilogy Outdoors click on Silver King Makes Big Splash - S.C. Mahi Series - 2023 Yawkey Wildlife Center - 2023 Hammock Coast Birding Festival - 2023 Lowcountry Oyster Festival - 2022 Sea Turtle Season - Navigating an S.C. Public Draw Deer Hunt - Crappie Camp - Blessings of a Sporting Father

To view past blog entries on Surf Fishing click on Little St. Simon's Island , Ga - Bald Head Island, NC - Edisto Island, SC - Bulls Island, SC