Day in the Swamp

As the land manager at Audubon's Francis Beidler Forest, no two days are the same. This is an account for a recent day of boundary line painting.

With over 110 miles of exterior boundary and another 31 miles of interior boundary, there is always plenty of boundary to paint in any year. Some lines are easy to paint as they run parallel to a road or fire break, but some lines run through the swamp. The majority of the in-swamp lines are painted most easily when the water level is lower.  Therefore, before the last bout of rain, a long-neglected in-swamp line was attacked with bright orange paint.

Work in the swamp is a tough sell for most individuals. There are mosquitoes, snakes, alligators, ticks, chiggers, poison ivy, thorny vines, mud, it is hot and humid, one is required to carry all food and water (never enough), restroom options are limited, and there are only lat/long coordinates to give the 911 operator (if there is cell service) should the need arise. Oh, and then EMS needs to find their way to the spot in the swamp (see obstacles and hazards above), which is seldom near an address their system will recognize. For example, the address for lunch in the image below was N33.29782, W80.49187.

Lunch in the swamp - Image by Mark Musselman

Just prior to lunch, one of the swamp's residents moved away from the paint bucket. Wearing safety orange paint would run counter to its attempts to remain camouflaged.

Eastern Cottonmouth - Image by Mark Musselman

Farther east down the boundary line, a large, unseen gator dramatically thrashed the water in annoyance less than fifteen feet from the tree being painted. The alligator, in aptly named Alligator Lake, had obviously heard the less-than-stealthy painting patrol and had slipped quietly into the deeper water to watch. As it became clear that the man with the orange paint was preparing to cross directly atop it, the alligator made its move to the depths (less than three feet) and swam upstream. Approaching the deeper water, the question, "Do I try to wade across deep water to continue painting the line?" was asked aloud. The beast beneath the surface helped make the decision to find a detour crossing downstream

While walking the water's edge to find the downstream crossing, the basking site of the big alligator was encountered.

Alligator tail impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Alligator skin impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Alligator skin impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Alligator foot impression in mud - Image by Mark Musselman

Downstream detour, good choice...not a bad band name either.

Not all encounters in the swamp have the potential to be painful or dangerous to painters, but they can be equally upsetting and do pose a threat to wildlife. Balloons, like the one found below, are an all-to-common discovery in the swamp. As @BalloonsBlow states, "Balloons blow, don't let them go!"

 

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.

Day 5 of Advanced Summer Camp

Advanced Summer Camp for 2012 at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest ended on Friday.  The final day was spent on the boardwalk counting birds for the week's eBird report.  Our goal was over 20 species with high hopes to reach 30.  It took a spin around the parking area to collect the last three species, but we reached 30! (see complete list below)

Banded Water Snake - Mark Musselman

During our time on the boardwalk in search of birds, we also came across other wildlife like the beautiful Banded Water Snake in the above image.

Below is a map showing the week's activities and sightings.  You can link to the map and select the "show contents of map" icon to check on/off the various layers.  There are layers showing our tracks during the morning and afternoon trips as well as pins with popup windows showing images and information for what we saw at those locations.


View Larger Map

Francis Beidler Forest Audubon Center & Sanctuary, Dorchester, US-SC
Jul 20, 2012 9:20 AM - 12:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Comments:    Mostly clear, humid, breezy, 80Fs
30 species

Great Egret (Ardea alba)  2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)  1
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)  23
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis)  1
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)  2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)  3
Barred Owl (Strix varia)  3
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  3
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)  5
Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)  8
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  5
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)  2
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  4
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  8
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)  18
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  15
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  1
Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla)  2
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)  1
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)  2
Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)  1
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  8
Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  6

GIS at FBF

The new Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest webpage has made it easier for us to share Geographic Information System (GIS) data.  You can learn more about GIS at our GIS page.  We currently have a sample lesson on using GIS data from Beidler Forest in conjunction with the ArcGIS Online site.  There is a selection of GIS data files related to Beidler Forest that can be downloaded from our data page.  These files will be periodically updated with new information and additional data files will be loaded in the coming weeks, so check back often!

The ArcGIS Online map-making site is easy to use and can be a powerful tool in education.  We have used the  site to create a virtual tour of the boardwalk.  Once the map is loaded, click on any symbol to see text and an image for that location.  We will continue to add data to this map.  You can use the map to plan your trip around the boardwalk or use the map after your visit to help share your experience!

The screenshot above was taken from the National Weather Service's Charleston site. The site also offers GIS and Google Earth files of the weather service's imagery.

Today, there is plenty of thunder in the area and the weather service's radar shows rain, but it will take many days of this type of weather to fill the swamp again.  Additionally, those 90F temperatures in coming weeks will accelerate the removal (evaporation, transpiration) of any water from today's system that falls within the swamp's watershed.

The lower water in the swamp has made it trickier to find some of wildlife.  However, we have some new images and will post them shortly.

GIS at Ft. Dorchester High School

In 2011, Mark Musselman, education director at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest was awarded a $1000 grant by the South Carolina Geographic Alliance (SCGA).  The grant went toward the purchase of Global Positioning System (GPS) units that could be used to collect data for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Not only is that a mouthful of acronyms, it is incredibly powerful technology!

Just about everyone is familiar with GPS technology, but GPS latitude/longitude coordinates for where you are and where you wish to go have little meaning without all the GIS layers that get lumped under “GPS technology.”  The road map the shows on the navigator screen is a GIS data layer.  All the buildings shown on the map, including the critical brand name coffee shops along the way, are part of GIS data layers.  Picking a hotel that is within walking distance of your favorite coffee shop as well as a movie theater and a pizza parlor, is possible using data layers overlapping in a GIS database…and you thought you would never again use a Venn diagram.

On Tuesday, Mark Musselman took GIS data files for species and trails in the swamp and traveled to Dr. Michael Becwar’s environmentalstudies classes at Fort Dorchester High School.  In the computer lab, students began creating their own maps using the www.arcgis.com/home/ site.  With a satellite image as a base map, students could differentiate between the wetter and drier areas in the swamp based on the color of vegetative green.  The wetter areas are dominated by bald cypress and tupelo gum trees, which show as a lighter green in the image, while the slightly higher, drier areas support oaks and other trees showing as darker green on the image.  After loading the alligator sightings data layer, students discovered that alligators are not seen throughout the swamp, but found only in deep water areas where trees are not growing and sunlight can reach the Earth’s surface.  Based on that knowledge and without ever traveling to the Congaree National Park, students were able to predict where in the park’s boundaries alligators would likely be found.

Image by Mark Musselman

Later, students loaded snake data layers and discovered that brown water snakes remain toward the middle of the swamp while cottonmouths tend to be found closer to the edges of the swamp.  Referring to the free Beidler Forest app on an iPod Touch (initial units purchased with a previous SCGA grant), students learned that brown water snakes only eat fish, so they stay close to their prey in areas of deeper water.  Meanwhile, cottonmouths eat fish, frogs, snakes, birds, and rodents, so they exploit larger areas of the swamp even when those areas become dry.

Image by Mark Musselman

Finally, a quick glance at a map showing a variety of Prothonotary Warbler breeding territories was all that was necessary for students to see that all territories, and therefore all areas of the swamp, are not equal.  Territories around the nature center were shown to be exceeding large and isolated, while territories deep within the swamp at the eastern end of the boardwalk were small and densely packed.  Why?  A check of the iPod app showed that Prothonotary Warblers prefer to nest in cavities over or near water.  The western territories around the nature center consisted of dry, upland areas and therefore elicited little competition allowing for preposterous land claims.  On the other hand, territories at the eastern end of the boardwalk consisted of prime wetland habitat forcing males to settle for smaller (and quite sufficient) territories lest they exhaust themselves fruitlessly attempting to defend larger claims.

Students were able to make all of the swampy deductions noted above without leaving their school.  According to Dr. Joseph Kerski, Curriculum Development Manager for ESRI and recent president of the National Council forGeographic Education, “Accelerating globalization means that we can no longer be complacent about increasing the amount of spatial thinking in the educational curriculum at all levels.  We're also starting to realize that global issues, such as biodiversity loss, urban sprawl, energy needs, water quality and availability, natural hazards, and human health, are becoming increasingly complex and beginning to affect our everyday lives.  Moreover, they all have a spatial component.  To grapple with these issues for the 21st century requires a populace that's adept at using GIS and other geotechnologies.”  Students at Fort Dorchester High School have begun moving in that direction!

You can interact with the map and all the data layers at http://bit.ly/ycL36U.