Death and Life

Life and death are natural parts of every day all over our planet, including here at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest. However, people do not treat all life and death equally. The death of an annoying mosquito flattened by the palm of our hand against our shin does not elicit the same response as the death of a fawn gasping its last breath. Nonetheless, life and death are normal functions of nature.

Vultures are not the harbingers of death, but more like vital hazmat response teams. Death occurs and vultures detect that odor, much sooner than our poor sense of smell will allow, or they spot something that simply looks dead. Yesterday, visitors noticed vultures picking at a dead animal in the water. Reports of the prospective meal's identity ranged from a River Otter (Lutra canadensis) to a Raccoon (Procyon lotor) to a White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Those who said "deer" may move to the front of the class and put a gold star by their name on the board of positive self-esteem.

In fairness to the other observers, the deer is missing most of its hair, which gave it a whitish appearance and we do not know how much of the animal was visible prior to the pictures being taken by us after work. The image shows the back of the deer, which is facing away with its head turned to the right and a pinkish ear pointing skyward.

Vultures have bills designed to tear flesh from a carcass, but they often have trouble getting through a dead animal's hide. If there is not an opening in the carcass caused by injury or feeding by a carnivore, vultures will go after soft tissue like the eyes and anus and attempt to create a greater opening. In the case of the water-logged deer, no carnivores were available or willing to brave the cool water, so the vultures moved on to other opportunities. They will likely return once the water has had time to soften the carcass, which should coincide with humans detecting the odor. Vultures are able to eat decaying flesh due to enzymes and bacteria in their digestive systems, which helps limit diseases that might incubate in uneated carcasses. Yum.

That was death, so now we will move on to life. Project PROTHO is beginning its second year and will aid in life by providing nesting cavities for Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in areas of the swamp that have been degrading by past logging. Younger trees and forests have fewer natural cavities in which birds can nest, so the nest boxes will fill an unmet need. Students in Orangeburg Consolidated School District Three are helping to build the nest boxes out of used 1/2-gallon milk/juice cartons and master naturalists in the state are volunteering to set out and monitor the nest boxes. Below is the how-to video:





Images by Mark Musselman

GBBC Next Week

The Great Backyard Bird Count is next weekend (Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15, 2010)! Below are excerpts from the site:

“Taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun, and help birds—all at the same time," said Audubon Education Vice President, Judy Braus. "Even if you can only identify a few species you can provide important information that enables scientists to learn more about how the environment is changing and how that affects our conservation priorities.”

Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at http://www.birdcount.org/.

On the http://www.birdcount.org/ website, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC website’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other great birding products.

Remember, like our 15-minute Bird Blitz blog entry this week, you don't need to spend a great deal of time observing birds nor do you need to be an expert ornithologist. Spend as little as 15 minutes and report what you know or can identify using a field guide.

It is no mistake that backyard is a key word in this citizen science project!

Image by Mark Musselman

15-minute Bird Blitz

Sometimes, we have to work indoors at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, but at least we have windows! Between 11:15-11:30 a.m., we were treated to a bird blitz just outside the office window. (Note to staff: We need to clean the outside of the windows!)

All the birds, except for the Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), were foraging for food. The Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) were looking under leaves on the forest floor. The Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) were searching for their food opportunities on the trunks of trees. The Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) was inspecting every dried, curled leaf in hopes of finding a delicious cocoon resident. The Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus) was sticking its bill in crevices between the vine and the tree trunk. Finally, the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) pair appeared to be in search of berries, but they'll need to be quicker than the American Robins.

The Carolina Wren was carefully selecting bits of dead leaves from the forest floor. We're not sure what qualifies as suitable nesting material, but several bits of leaves were picked up and then discarded. The leaf bits that made the cut did not appear any different than those that were deemed inferior.

Here are the bird images in not particular order:

Later, we saw the Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus) at the swamp's edge. As it was not sunny or particularly warm, it is odd for the snake to be out and exposed. It is possible that this snake selected a winter den that has gone under the water with recent rain. Note the caterpillar under the snake's eye. We think these are all signs that the Pennsylvania groundhog got it wrong and winter will end sooner than predicted!

Finally, we spotted this Bobcat (Lynx rufus) resting under a leaning tree. Not really...it's the cat that was taken to the taxidermist years ago after being hit by a car. However, we needed a bobcat image for the Francis Beidler Forest boardwalk-specific iPhone/iPod Touch app that we will be sending to Apple for approval next week. Once approved, the app will be available for free at iTunes.

Images by Mark Musselman

Beaver Chews

Today, the sun came out at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest and lured us out onto the boardwalk. The swamp is full from the recent rain, including yesterday's day-long soaking, and the higher water has allowed beavers (Castor canadensis) to explore territory that was previously farther from the water's edge.

When a beaver gnaws on a tree or a branch, it is not eating everything. The large branch may eventually make it to the dam/lodge complex in the powerline right-of-way as it is an appropriate size, but the bark has been removed (not eaten) and the cambium has been consumed. The same fate befell the smaller branch. All the wounds on the trunks of various tree species have bark shavings below, the cambium consumed, and the interior portion of the tree untouched. Only the cambium, the living cells connecting the leaves with the roots and serving as the avenue for the transportation of water and nutrients throughout the tree. This is the delicious, nutritious part of the tree sought after by the beavers. If a beaver gnaws completely around the tree, it will girdle the tree and cut the connection between the leaves and the roots. A girdled tree will inevitably die. We're guessing that an inexperienced beaver began gnawing on the Loblolly Pine and that its gummed up mouth caused it to stop!

The beavers were not the only animals becoming active with the warmer, sunnier weather. Right out the nature center, Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) were basking on logs in the shallow water outside of the main flow of the swamp. Where the boardwalk forks at the swamp's edge, an Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus) was partially out of the water and on a log. At Goodson Lake, a Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) was warming in the sun and possibly causing leeches to disembark. Finally, rounding the last curve in the boardwalk before the fork, a male Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) was busy taking a bath in the shallow water at the swamp's edge.

Along with the wildlife, we enjoyed the sun while we could. Tomorrow, rain is scheduled to return!

Images by Mark Musselman

Robins in the Swamp

Yesterday, before the cold and rain of today, American Robins (Turdus migratorius) were busy eating berries outside our office window at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest. The red, ripened berries of an American Holly (Ilex opaca) tree were the first targets. After the tree had been stripped of berries, the robins dropped to the forest floor and began moving the dry, fallen leaves in search of Partridge Berry (Mitchella repens). Apparently, Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) are not the only fan of the plentiful ground berries.

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) was also low to the ground, but he was flying up and hovering around the holly leaves in search of insects.

Images by Mark Musselman

Playing Catch Up

It was a busy week at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, but we were not in the office and the blog reflects that fact. Therefore, today's entry will address a variety of topics.

Last Thursday, we spent the whole day burning the Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)
stands at the Till property (owned by Audubon SC) southwest of Williams, SC (see Google Earth maps). Longleaf Pine evolved with periodic fires that burned low to the ground, eliminated competing tree species, and exposed the soil to receive Longleaf Pine seeds. Longleaf Pines thick bark protects the trees from low-intensity fires that readily kill or burn other tree species. The key to keeping the fires low in intensity is to ensure that the excess fuel (leaves, needles, dead branches) does not accumulate on the forest floor. As can be seen in the before and after images of the Till burn, fuel was eliminated, Sweetgum and Lobllolly Pine trees were burnt, and the Longleaf Pine trees were given space grown.

Drip torches containing a 4:1 mixture of diesel to gasoline were used to set the fire on the downwind side of the stand, which allowed the fire to burn into the wind at a slower, steadier pace than if the fire were started on the upwind side of the stand. Cotton Rats had to find cover somewhere else and were the most-frequently seen wildlife as they exited the burning areas, although a variety of birds and a family of armadillos were also spotted. Here are some other longleaf-related blog entries.

On Friday, we were at the Sangaree Intermediate School's career day. The former director of a speed-dating service must have set the schedule for the morning. We presented to 175 students in seven 20-minute sessions during three straight hours. We had just enough time between the sessions to reset the PowerPoint. Deja vu was a recurring phenomenon. Hopefully, we were still talking about the swamp in the last sessions! We think we were.

Finally, yesterday the Coastal Master Naturalists Association held their first meeting and began soliciting membership. Beside electing a slate of officers, establishing the bylaws, and planning field activities for the year, we made a Project PROTHO presentation detailing the research and the upcoming opportunities for master naturalists to satisfy some or all of their volunteer service requirements. Here are some previous blog entries regarding Project PROTHO.

Images by Mark Musselman

Water's Up!

The December rain we received at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest has kept the swamp looking like a swamp. The region is more than 8" above normal since December 1st. The rain doesn't need to fall directly within the boundaries of Beidler Forest as the Four Holes Swamp watershed extends from Orangeburg to Ridgeville before emptying into the Edisto River upstream from Givhans Ferry State Park.

The last two doses of rain have pushed the swamp's water level to within three feet of the boardwalk's deck (see image)! Even the Spotted Turtles were having trouble finding a basking site out of the water.


Rain if forecasted for Friday, so it doesn't look like the swamp will be dry again any time soon. Anyone remember exactly what a cubit is?

Images by Mark Musselman