Alligator Nursery

We do not conduct any surveys of the alligator population within Audubon's Francis Beidler Forest. However, anecdotal observations point to a bumper crop of young alligators this year. No guarantee that those youngsters will grow to adults, but insects, frogs, and small fish should remain alert!

In the image below, four or five of the thirteen young alligators can be seen floating at the surface of the water along an old logging road that was built into the swamp. All were basking on the sunny road prior to our arrival.

Young alligators - Image by Mark Musselman

On another day along our canoe trail, a young alligator attempted to hide below the water's surface directly below our canoe. We were touring the property with Carolyn Davis, who was down on an inspection visit from the National Natural Landmark's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania office. As Carolyn was not getting a quality image for her report, we literally offered a helping hand.

Young alligator - Image by Carolyn Davis

In the 1960s, logging roads built in the swamp were created by "borrowing" soils and piling those soils onto non-target timber logs laid out like railroad ties. In most areas, the disconnected borrow pits remain alongside the roads, appearing to be ditches, and hold water throughout the year. The deeper water offers security for larger alligators, which go to the bottom to wait out any threat, as well as younger alligators, by offering a relatively predator-free environment with a protective mom always lurking within the pool.

The image below shows a pit forming a portion of a "ditch" along an old logging road. Note the clarity of the water within the pit. There was likely no large alligator activity within that pit.

Borrow pit - Image by Mark Musselman

The image below shows the same pit (right) from the above image and the adjacent pit to the north. Note the lack of clarity in the water in the pit on the left. Prior to the dozen or so young alligators entering the water from their basking areas on the road, a large alligator was heard launching into the murky water.

Borrow pits - Image by Mark Musselman

The image below shows the pit containing the adult alligator (somewhere below the water) along with the dozen or so young alligators, some of which can be made out floating near the surface below the cane at the bottom left of the pit. At the far end of the pit, a hole, sometimes called a den, dug into the bank has been exposed by the dropping level of the water.

Borrow pit - Image by Mark Musselman

 The image below shows a closer look at a den dug into the bank similar to the image above. 

Alligator den - Image by Mark Musselman

During the winter, alligators are usually safely below the water. They rise to the surface periodically to breath, but are generally inactive at our latitude. If the temperatures drop below freezing, alligators may retreat into the depths of a den they have dug. Earlier in the summer, some of the young alligators were observed retreating into the den for safety as we approached.

Although alligators in our area are generally inactive in the winter, that does not mean they are never active. On December 16, 2014, an alligator was encountered basking on an old logging road and blocking our path back to the truck.

That alligator probably got its start in a nearby borrow pit...maybe even the one it now calls home.

In the News

The winter season is the slowest of seasons in the swamp and at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest.  Some birds have migrated away, reptiles become inactive, and school groups are not interested in being out in the colder weather.  However, just because thinks have slowed down one should not get the idea that news is not happening.

The Post and Courier newspaper reported that Diamondback Rattlesnakes are being relocated instead of killed to preserve the species.  "The diamondback is a keystone species in the health of the longleaf savannah ecosystem, the pines that are the heart of the Lowcountry...and moving them to larger tracts of pinelands might be the best bet for conserving what is maybe the most hated native Lowcountry species -- a 6-foot-long, muscled arm-thick, venomous viper that people have stomped, chopped, shot and even dynamited for generations when they crossed paths."

We have several tracts of Longleaf Pine and plan to restore additional tracts as the land becomes available. We have made some cursory searches for Diamondback Rattlesnakes, but we have yet to detect any on Beidler Forest property.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources conducts a wading bird program.  From their site:  Researchers have placed metal bands, colored bands with engraved numbers and/or letters, wing tags, radio transmitters, and satellite transmitters on a small number of wading birds. We are interested in any sightings of marked birds. This information helps us to learn about the movement patterns and life spans of wading birds. More information about the purpose of banding birds can be found at the Bird Banding Lab website.

If you see a live bird with an engraved color band, we would appreciate it if you could attempt to read the numbers/letters on the band. Please also record the species of the bird, the color of the band, the color of the letters, which leg that band was attached to, and the location of the bird and send the information to wadingbirds@dnr.sc.gov. Photographs of the bird and the band are also very helpful.

If you find a dead bird of any species wearing a metal band, please report the band number to the Bird Banding Lab through their website or by calling 1-800-327-BAND (2263).

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources also issued a news release regarding the value of snags.  The Post and Courier newspaper ran a brief article on the subject and used one of our images.

Using our image was appropriate as we have an ample of supply of snag in the old-growth swamp...

and as this Pileated Woodpecker shows, there is a bounty of food in the dead wood!

Using a Wasp to Catch a Beetle: The Quest to Save Ash Trees - The non-native Emerald Ash Borer arrived on a boat from Asia and is eating its way through millions of ash trees.  We have plenty of ash trees at Beidler Forest, so we don't relish the thought of these beetles making their way here.  The wasp technique described in the article was not used here when researchers checked for the Emerald Ash Borer two years ago.  Instead, traps with the attracting scent of a female were hung from trees.  Note: moving firewood to other areas is one way for these and other insects can reach and infest areas faster than they could naturally expand their range.

Images by Mark Musselman

Ripped From the Headlines!

The staff at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest hopes that everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving...everyone and every thing!

Image by Mark Musselman

While enjoying our days away from the swamp, we had extra time to peruse the printed and online news.  Here are a few noteworthy selections:

In a callback to our post from last week, we spotted an article by Bo Petersen in The Post and Courier regarding an award nomination of local conservationist George Rabb for his lifetime of work protecting wildlife and their habitats.  Why are frogs disappearing from the planet at an alarming rate?  Mr. Rabb can tell you.  "He drove research that identified a deadly skin fungus literally being carried frog to frog as local species were transported around the world. Because of that work, a global effort is under way to find ways to diffuse the crisis and conserve healthy captive species as a fallback."

Next, work continues with Ashley Ridge High School and the new nature trail. Last week, we were on campus to teach the basics of Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation.  Students quickly got the hang of the technology and found various objects like a manhole cover, a specific palm tree, white traffic arrows, and a bench.  All objects that could have been located with verbal directions, but it likely would have devolved into something akin to the old game of telephone.  With their newly acquired skills, students will be able to capture the coordinates of various locations along the nature trail, including wildlife sightings!  Using the data they collect, students will also be able to create their own maps.  You can read more about the day in the Summerville Journal Scene's article.

Images by Emily Cavell


Finally, "one of the world's rarest and most valuable books is out of the vault and on public view."  You can read the rest of Joann Loviglio's article regarding John James Audubon's "The Birds of America" in yesterday's Post and Courier.

Master Naturalist Visit

Last Monday, the participants in the Master Naturalist program at the Lowcountry Institute on Spring Island visited the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest.  This time of year, wildlife along the boardwalk can be scarce.  Many of the birds have migrated to southerly locations, reptiles are less active and often hidden from sight, and deer are literally gun-shy.

During our walk around the boardwalk, we did see a variety of birds, Yellow-bellied Sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta) at the lake, a Greenish Rat Snake sunning on a tree branch, and this likely-born-this-year Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus) basking in a patch of sun next to the Yellow Popular (Liriodendron tulipifera) sign.

After lunch, we moved to the bluff near Mallard Lake to inspect the seeps and see what might be living in the those moist habitats.  While still above the bluff on the sandy, dry stretch, Tony Mills caught a male Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus) basking on a fallen log.  Note the vibrant blue on the lizard's belly and throat!

Under a log, we found a female Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) with her eggs.  Once the water level rises and floods the area, the eggs will hatch.  Elsewhere we found Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera), Three-lined Salamander (Eurycea guttolineata), and Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus).

Finally, hopping across the leaf litter, we found what we are identifying as an Upland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris feriarum).  Variability in individuals makes this one tough to identify with only the image to examine.

Images by Mark Musselman

Summer Camp - Session 1

The first session of summer camp at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest is in the books!  Reptiles, amphibians and campers kept us busy last week, so we failed to make an entry on this blog.  However, we'll make a week's-worth of entries today!

The week-long camp began (schedule here) with an overview of the continuing Project PROTHO.  We discussed the purpose of the project, the banding and identification process, and this year's nest box component.  Since the camp's theme is herps, we noted that Greenish Rat Snakes (Elaphe obsoleta x quadrivittata) take their share of Prothonotary Warbler eggs and chicks, but enough nesting attempts are successful.  Although the old-growth swamp offers plenty of natural cavities in which the Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) can nest, one pair used a student-made nest box behind the sign at #17 along the boardwalk.  Denise Ecker banded two of the four chicks as their legs were adult size, but they were not yet capable of leaving the nest.

After lunch on the first day, Dennis Blejski brought a collection of herps from his collection.  Pictured are a Milk Snake, non-native Cane Toad, Siren, Diamondback Terrapin, and American Alligator.  Dennis also had a Rough-green Snake, Copperhead, Timber Rattlesnake, Scarlet Kingsnake, Corn Snake, Hognose Snake, Yellow-bellied Slider, Spotted Turtle, Fence Lizard, Bullfrog, and Southern Toads.  Dennis had no problems keeping the attention of the campers!

On Day 2, with low water levels due to a lack of rain, we had difficulty finding reptiles and amphibians during our walk along the 1.75-mile boardwalk.  However, as we walked back toward the nature center along the edge of the swamp, one sharp-eyed camper spotted a Southern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix) sunning on a log ten feet off the boardwalk.  For those animals that we did not see, campers could use the iPod Touches and the boardwalk app to see the images.

After the boardwalk tour and lunch, campers had the opportunity to inspect and identify a variety of amphibians and reptiles that we had previously captured.  The species included Southern Toad, Southern Cricket Frog, Squirrel Treefrog, Spotted Turtle, Musk Turtle, Yellow-bellied Slider, Narrowmouth Toad, Southern Dusky Salamander, Three-lined Salamander, Bullfrog tadpole, and some unidentified frog eggs and tadpoles.  Campers rotated through the eleven stations and used a variety of resources (field guides, keys, iPod Touch apps) to identify the animals.

Wednesday, we were off the boardwalk to check the 14 coverboards that were placed at the swamp's edge and in higher, drier sites.  Amphibians and reptiles will seek shelter under boards, but we found nothing beyond a few beetles and spiders.  However, campers were able to see the beaver dam and the quantity of water pooled behind the dam, which has created a habitat suitable to amphibians and reptiles and those animals that may eat them.

The afternoon was spent learning various frog and toad calls loaded to the iPod Touches with a team frog/toad call competition to end the day.

While inspecting the minnow traps on Thursday morning, we discovered that we had captured an Eastern Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia intermedia).  The siren is an amphibian that preys on a variety of aquatic animals and spends nearly its entire life in the water.  Sirens lack rear legs and have relatively-weak front legs, so travel over land is nearly impossible.  If a body of water begins to dry, sirens can bury themselves in the mud in a protective slimy "cocoon" and aestivate for up to a year or until the water returns.

A game of Jeopardy on Thursday afternoon helped campers demonstrate what they had learned during the week.  The game is played just like the famous television gameshow with one camper from each of the three teams trying to buzz in when they know the answer.  Age was not a disadvantage for campers as it appeared that younger campers paid better attention during the week and cleaned up with the 1000-point answers!

Throughout the week, campers created a variety of art/craft items, including pot frogs, minnow traps, and garden stepping stones. 

Camp ended on Friday with a herpathon along the boardwalk, lunch with families, and the presentation of diplomas and a CD of the week's images and sounds.

The next session begins on Monday and the third session will be the third week of July.  We're looking forward to all the new faces in the swamp!
Images by Mark Musselman