Sparrow Banding

Between January 26th and January 29th, we were banding sparrow species in a variety of habitats.  Mark LaBarr, Audubon Vermont and a federally certified bird bander, flew down to coordinate the proceedings and band the captured sparrows.

In the eastern United States, grassland habitat continues to disappear and consequently bird species that prefer that habitat are also in decline.  Previously, we have reported on our efforts to restore grassland habitats within the Francis Beidler Forest.

The four days of banding began at the recently burned Spring Branch grassland restoration site.

Unburned and burned Spring Branch - Mark Musselman

Lex Glover removing sparrow - Mark Musselman

Other certified banders, Lex Glover of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and Aaron Given of the Town of Kiawah, were on site to assist with the banding and data collection, but the significant help came from the Summerville High School Navy Junior ROTC volunteers.  The effort to capture and band sparrow species is not like some netting stations which are situated to be in the flight paths of birds conducting their normal activities.  Sparrows spend the majority of their time on or quite close to the ground, so they need to be flushed from their cover towards the mist nets.  That is where the extra bodies proved to be invaluable.

Purple line shows track of Mark Musselman during the day of banding

The middle of the three sections shown above in orange was the only section not burned.  The nets were initially set along the fire break to the west and set later along the fire break to the east.

Summerville HS NJROTC volunteers - Mark Musselman

With the large grassland habitat and small coverage area of the mist nets, the sparrows would have had no trouble leaking around the three banders and three Audubon staff members trying to drive the birds towards the nets.  However, with the quantity of high school volunteers joining the effort, we were able to cover a wide swath of the grassland and curl in the ends of the line to keep the birds moving directly away from the noise and humans and towards the waiting nets

The majority of the approximately 60 sparrows captured were Song Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows.  However, there were also several Savannah Sparrows and one Grasshopper Sparrow as well as an overly curious Northern Mockingbird.  The mockingbird was shown to the students and released without any bands, but all sparrows were given an official United State Geologic Survey (USGS) band.  You can read more about the North American bird banding program here.

Mark LaBarr with Northern Mockingbird - Mark Musselman

Savannah Sparrow - Mark Musselman

Grasshopper Sparrow - Mark Musselman

Grasshopper Sparrow - Mark Musselman

The second day of banding include a shut-out at the Longleaf Pine restoration site.  The emerging pine habitat still has a significant number of short oaks and wiregrass ground cover, which is clumpy and not nearly as dense as the grassland habitat at Spring Branch.  A return to Spring Branch later in the day resulted in additional sparrows being captured and banded, but without the large number of volunteers, we did not capture anything close to the numbers we saw flying over and around the nets and the six humans.

Clark tract - Longleaf Pine restoration

Days three and four were spent at the Oakridge landfill in Dorchester County and the Bees Ferry landfill in Charleston County.  Although landfills seldom, if ever, evoke images of wildlife habitat, they can be beneficial to some species once portions or the entire landfill have been closed.  Once a section or cell of the landfill has been capped, grasses are encouraged to grow on top and on the sloped sides in order to prevent erosion of the capping material.  Trees, however, are no allowed to grow as their roots would penetrate the capping material, which would allow water in and pollutants out of the waste cell.  Driving the mist net poles in to the ground would have the same effect as tree roots, so the poles needed to be set in buckets of sand.  This sounds good in principle, but the occasional gust of wind would topple at least one pole, which would in turn pull down several others.  Valuable time was then spent picking grass, twigs, and blackberry stems from the delicate nets.

Oakridge Landfill

Oakridge landfill has the distinction of having the highest point in Dorchester County at an elevation of 255 feet.  The small grassy lump in the left half of the panorama below is that high point.

Panoramic view from top of Oakridge landfill - Mark Musselman

Methane capture - Mark Musselman

Mark LaBarr removing sparrow - Mark Musselman

Setting mist nets - Mark Musselman

House Wren - Mark Musselman

Although we did not take pictures of the second site closer to the top of the landfill (see panorama above) was much more like an open grassland.  The site was full of sparrows, but we were again plagued with a limited number of bird drivers.  Additionally, the steep slope worked in the birds' favor.  When flushed from their cover, the birds flew straight out before diving back down for cover.  Unfortunately, straight out put them over the top of the mist nets running parallel to the contour of the hill.  The sparrows were not captured and banded, but their presence was noted and the habitat deemed suitable for grassland sparrow species.

Bees Ferry landfill was the site of the final day of banding.

Bees Ferry Landfill

Help from a variety of volunteers made it possible to set the poles and nets on an increasingly windy day.  Like the Oakridge landfill, poles could not be set into the ground to avoid puncturing the cap and or lining material.  Now, with an ample force of volunteer bird drivers, we lacked the bird numbers we had seen on previous days!

Mark LaBarr removing sparrow - Mark Musselman

Mark LaBarr setting nets - Mark Musselman

Volunteers helping set nets - Mark Musselman

First for Mark LaBarr, Le Conte's Sparrow - Mark Musselman

The day began with a breeze and the winds continued to increase in advance of the approaching cold front.  Setting the nets, already difficult with the sand-in-bucket system, was all the more frustrating due to the random gusts of wind.  However, Mark LaBarr was able to band his first Le Conte's Sparrow and landfill supervisor, Ron Tibbetts, was able to release one of the banded sparrows.

Mark LaBarr helps Ron Tibbetts release sparrow - Mark Musselman

Setting net at second site - Mark Musselman

Although wind and manpower prevented all of the observed sparrows from being captured and banded, we were successful in determining the general usefulness of a variety of grassland habitats to support wintering sparrow species.  In the end, sites like the landfills might mow less, which would save them money (salaries, fuel, maintenance) and provide better habitat for bird species in search of a winter home.

The birds banded over the four days will soon be heading north to establish breeding territories.  It's a long shot, but it is possible that Mark LaBarr could capture in his springtime nets a bird he first met here in South Carolina!

Sandhill Cranes in the Bend

Sandhill Cranes (Gurs canadensis) are back in the Bend this winter.  The Bend is the community roughly bordered by Four Holes Swamp to the north and east and I-26 from the northwest to southeast.

The Bend

Specifically, the cranes are often seen in the large field bordered by Second Bend Road and Two Churches Road.  Although range maps do not show the bird as a winter resident for our area, we have spotted Sandhill Cranes in that field over the years.  During the 2011 Christmas Bird Count (CBC), 15 Sandhill Cranes were seen and 79 were observed during the 2012 CBC.  In February 2011, we photographed 20 cranes in the field and saw 17 and 24 on consecutive mornings this past weekend.  We did not have time to stop for a photograph this weekend, so the image below is from February 2011.  However, an image taken this weekend would have appeared identical.

Sandhill Cranes in Henbit - Mark Musselman

Mornings are a better time to observe the cranes at the location marked in the image.  We have never observed cranes in this field late in the day.  Lex Glover, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, suspects that the cranes we are seeing are a small foraging flock from the large contingent Sandhill Cranes wintering at the Santee National Wildlife Refuge north of Lake Marion.  The birds feed mainly on grains and seeds along with some insects.  Therefore, once the fields get plowed in preparation for spring planting, the cranes will be gone from the area until next winter.

Grassland Burn

Previously, we have reported how the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest is working to restore grassland habitat for birds and other wildlife.  This week, we burned approximately 25 acres of grassland near the intersection of I-26 and Hwy 15.

Grassland plants have adapted to periodic dramatic change whether that change was caused by lightning-strike fires, fires set by Native Americans to manage their hunting grounds, or herds of grazing bison. As Native Americans learned, fire is an effective and beneficial land management tool.  In grassland ecosystems, fire prevents trees from invading and dominating the habitat, returns nutrients to the soil, and stimulates growth in native grassland plants.  The tender new growth, flowers, seeds, and fruit provide food for a variety of animals that are in turn food for other animals.  By spring, the site will be prime for grassland bird species returning from their wintering grounds in search of breeding territory.

Prescribed burns are well-planned events.  In fact, this burn was delayed by several days until the winds shifted out of the southwest, which allowed the smoke to travel northeast over the swamp and away from nearby I-26 and US Hwy 15.  Using drip torches containing a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline, the northeast corner of the plot was lit so that the fire burned back into the wind, which helped to keep the fire slow and steady.

Grassland Prescribed Burn - Mark Musselman

Volunteers and staff patrolled the borders of the burn plot to ensure flames did not cross the plowed fire breaks.  If any breaches were to occur, backpack water sprayers, ATV-mounted water sprayers, rakes, flappers, and shovels were available to quickly snuff out the errant flames.

Ricky Covey Monitoring Burn - Mark Musselman

Grassland Prescribed Burn - Mark Musselman

Ricky Covey Monitoring Burn - Mark Musselman

It was a full day (45 volunteer hours, 38 staff hours) of hard work, but all went well and we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Sunset - Mark Musselman

Warm Weather Creatures

At the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, the recent spell of warm weather has increase the activity of more than winter-weary humans!  In the last week, we have spied snakes soaking up the sun's rays and eschewing their cold-weather sanctuaries.  All three of the snakes were well inside the swamp and likely using as dens the hollow logs upon which they were basking.

Banded Water Snake - Mark Musselman

Eastern Cottonmouth - Mark Musselman

Eastern Cottonmouth - Mark Musselman

Beavers (Castor canadensis) have again become active near Goodson Lake.  They have been gnawing on the same Sweet Gum where, years ago, gnawing announced their return to the swamp.  Weather like this week could be dangerous for the beavers as the alligator in the nearby lake could decide that it need not wait for the warm days of March to digest a mammal meal.

Beaver Gnawing - Mark Musselman

Finally, the normally nocturnal Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) marched by the office window in the middle of the morning.  It was obvious to us that the eyesight and hearing of the opossum are not two of its strongest senses.  As we moved along the boardwalk to get ahead of the animal, the opossum was oblivious to our presence.  However, as it approached our position, it lifted its head, carefully smelled the air and then moved in another direction.  This occurred three times before we remained in place and let the opossum go under the boardwalk and wander off.

Opossum - Mark Musselman

Opossum - Mark Musselman

Boardwalk - Mark Musselman

We hope you and all the swamp creatures enjoyed the mid-winter-summer, because the cold front is pushing through as we type and the temperature is dropping steadily.

Eastern Buckmoth

Today, we were able to add another insect to our growing list at Audubon's Francis Beidler Forest.  While in a young Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) stand we planted, we observed numerous black, white and orange moths flitting about low to the ground.  A quick check of the Internet and we learned our never-before-consciously-seen moth was an Eastern Buckmoth (Hemileuca maia) so called for its abundance late in the fall when deer are rutting.

Longleaf Pine restoration - Mark Musselman

The adults do not eat, but focus their energy on reproduction.  The male with his large, comb-like antennae flits about in hopes of detecting the pheromone trail emitted by the female.  The pair in the image (the male has the mostly orange abdomen tip) seemed to have found each other but played 'possum when we handled them for the photograph.

Female and male Eastern Buckmoth - Mark Musselman

Once a pair has located each other and mated, the female will attach her eggs in rings around the twig of a host plant, which can be one of several varieties of oak.  The caterpillars will develop through several instars as they eat oak leaves.  Stingy bristles, called urticating hairs, appear in the later instars.  These bristles can deliver venom causing anything from mild irritation to dermatitis to nausea.  Ouch!

We'll stick to watching the bits of color flitting through the drab winter landscape.

Christmas Bird Count in Four Holes Swamp 2012

All the data sheets for the Monday's 2012 Four Holes Swamp Christmas Bird Count have not been returned to the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest.  However, with 95 species already tallied, we have bested last year's 90 species and are within striking distance of 2010's 100 species.  The species numbers for this year are surprising as the day's weather began with temperatures fluctuating noticeably between warm and cool, continued to cool and began to lightly rain by noon, and ended the birding shortly after 3:00 p.m. with the arrival of heavy rain.

Some bird highlights included 79 Sandhill Cranes flying near Beider Forest; a pair of Bald Eagles perched in a snag overlooking the Holcim Cement quarry; multiple Sharp-shinned Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, and Northern Harriers; Loggerhead Shrikes with prey; Wild Turkey; and over 200 American Pipits.

In addition to the many birds we spotted, we also spied an alligator in a pond deep in the inactive portion of the Holcim Cement quarry.  Although the morning weather could not be classified as wintery, we all agreed it was too cool for a swim.  A few hundred meters away in the swamp, we surprised an animal better suited to be swimming in the cold water.  A large beaver with insulating fur slipped off the bank and swam down the lake away from the Holcim dock.

Thank you to the 32 participants in this year's count and to Argos and Holcim cement companies for access to their properties!  We still had some groups counting more than one section of the count circle, so we could use your help next December for the 114th annual Christmas Bird Count.  The date is tentatively set for December 16, 2013.

Due to the wet weather, we do not have any bird images to show from this year's count, so we will leave you with an image taken two days ago by one of our game cameras.

White-tailed Deer  -  self-portrait

We hope Santa's can account for all of his deer.  We will see you in 2013!

Christmas and Screech Owls

We probably will not see any Eastern Screech Owls (Otus asio) on our own during the Four Holes Swamp Christmas Bird Count on Monday, but there is a possibility we will hear one or discover one due to mobbing activity by other bird species.  Screech owls are strictly nocturnal and vary in color from bright rufous to plain gray.  Beyond being nocturnal, the intricate pattern of their feathers make screech owls difficult, if not impossible, to see against a backdrop of tree bark.

Recently, a motorist brought in a gray adult Eastern Screech Owl that was in the middle of the road.  Although they struck the owl, it may have been standing in the middle of road after having been previously struck by a vehicle.  Note the bird's coloration and size in the hand of Mike Dawson, center director.

Eastern Screech Owl - Mark Musselman

Eastern Screech Owl - Mark Musselman

Eastern Screech Owl - Mark Musselman

Mike Dawson with Eastern Screech Owl - Mark Musselman

Two years ago, we found a rufous adult Eastern Screech Owl in the middle of Beidler Forest Road.

Eastern Screech Owl - Mark Musselman

Six years ago, we took a picture of a Barred Owl (Strix varia) in the road.  Unfortunately, we see many vehicle-struck Barred Owls along the roads in and around the swamp.

Barred Owl - Mark Musselman

It is not only owls in danger of being hit by vehicles, but other avian predators like the Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) shown below.

Red-shouldered Hawk - Mark Musselman

Red-shouldered Hawk - Mark Musselman

Red-shouldered Hawk - Mark Musselman

All of these predators perch near open areas like power line corridors and roadways.  Humans throwing food items or trash out of the window of a vehicle attracts prey animals to the road's edge.  Avian predators fixated on their prey will glide from their perch and risk getting hit by a vehicle as they fly low across the road.

Please keep you trash in your vehicle, so we can count all the owls and hawks during Monday's Christmas Bird Count!

GPS Units Coming to Ashley Ridge High School

Ashley Ridge High School has received a grant from Lowcountry Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) to purchase six or more global positioning system (GPS) units.  Students will be able to use the GPS units to capture latitude/longitude coordinates for points of interest along the nature trail, including the abundant wildlife they encounter, or habitat enhancement sites they create.  Bill Salisbury, representing Dorchester County, presented the check to the grant writers Amy Litz,  Jerry Kociuruba, and Natalie Tarpein after taking a quick tour of the nature trail to see the many possibilities for integrating the GPS technology into the biology and environmental sciences classes.

(l to r) Natalie Tarpein, Bill Salisbury, Jerry Kociuruba, Amy Litz on nature trail

Over the last two years, students in the environmental science and AP biology classes have received GPS training (see Summerville Journal Scene article) as well as geographic information systems (GIS) training, which they used to create maps with the GPS data they had collected.  The training and GPS units used were provided by the education department at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest and had been purchased with a grant from the South Carolina Geographic Alliance.

As an organization, Lowcountry RC&D sells year-old seed to individuals who wish to plant feed plots for wildlife.  Any profits are distributed to projects aimed at teaching students about the environment.   Previous Lowcountry RC&D grants to the education department at Francis Beidler Forest have gone toward the purchase of iPod Touches and binoculars (see below), which also have been used with ARHS students during various on-campus visits.

Ms. Tarpein and class learning birding basics

Geography is everywhere!  Thanks to Lowcountry RC&D, students at Ashley Ridge High School have some new tools to help them explore, map, and understand their environment.