I was back in South Carolina for the Christmas holiday and had a chance to explore some of the wildlife around Kiawah Island and Magnolia Plantation, both near Charleston. The gallery shows some of my favorite photos from that week… deer, ducks, alligators, herons, and seagulls. I especially enjoyed watching a pair of blue herons going about the construction of their nest. They seemed to be taking their time, slowly building it one tiny stick at a time.
My wildlife cameras show a lot of activity in the forest during hunting season.
Snow fell overnight, just a little. It seemed like a fine way to mark the end of hunting season. I headed out in the early morning light, striding uphill through the woods, eager to check on my wildlife cameras. A month ago, just before hunting season, I placed the cameras in promising locations after obtaining permission from the landowner. Deer season – specifically, rifle season, when most hunters are out in the woods – ended last night. I dressed in bright orange clothing, just in case, and full of hope for what my own ‘hunt’ may have captured. Read on to find out!
A long weekend in lowcountry South Carolina.
Every other year, our extended family gathers on a rural farm in lowcountry South Carolina outside Charleston, to celebrate Thanksgiving with family, feast, and friendly competition. My wife’s family prepares the turkey (130 pounds!) and the outdoor setting, and a hundred extended relatives bring potluck favorites … stuffing, corn pudding, collard greens, green beans, sweet potatoes, fish stew, cole slaw, and more. And the dessert table (shown)… pies and cookies and cakes galore. This year, 95 members of the family re-connect, and meet new relatives. Many huddled around the six-foot-wide diagram of the family tree to discover their relationship or to scribble in the names of new arrivals.
This year we were blessed with wonderful weather – sunshine and mild temperatures. As people finished their lunches and chatted in lawnchairs, another group set up for the skeet-shooting competition. This year, about 20 people competed, young and old, using a shotgun to shatter the clay disks as they flew away from them. It’s even harder than it looks! The old-timers taught the new-comers, some who had never shot skeet before, or perhaps had never shot a gun before. After several rounds of increasingly stiff competition, the best received the treasured felt hats – each scribbled with the winners’ names and dates going back almost five decades.
Over the course of the weekend my father and I had a chance to explore Kiawah Island and Magnolia Plantation Gardens, also outside Charleston, to photograph the wildlife and scenery. Explore the photo gallery!
Fox, deer, bobcat, and more!
My two wildlife cameras spent another month in the yard, capturing some fun photos and video of critters who visit our property. Most of them were captured at night, using the cameras’ infrared illumination. Check out the gallery!
Perhaps the most fun video was the parade of animals that came by our patio to check out the spot where we’d accidentally dropped a pizza as it came out of the pizza oven! I also experimented with other locations.
You may want to take another look at September’s gallery, to which I’ve added some new content. Lots of critters came to browse for fallen apples under the apple tree: groundhog, possum, raccoon, porcupine, turkey, deer, fox. I was particularly excited to see a bobcat come by one night!
For November, I’ve placed the cameras in the forested hillside across the street – with landowner permission – and am hoping for some more action “in the wild!”
One location, nine days, six types of critter!
I found a new location for my wildlife camera that is creating a feast of images: the backyard apple tree. The apples are ripe, falling from the tree, and feeding the entire neighborhood! Check out this two-minute video review of the local deer, fox, woodchuck, turkey, possum, and porcupine.
First efforts!
We are fortunate to live along the Connecticut River in a rural part of New Hampshire – in the town of Lyme, just a few miles north of Dartmouth College and the Town of Hanover. Surrounded by farmland and forest, and situated in that interstitial space between the forest and the river, we are regularly treated to wildlife sightings. Over the years I have seen and heard moose, deer, bear, fox, coyote, porcupine, skunk, raccoon, groundhog (woodchuck), beaver, mink, fisher (maybe), … not to mention birdlife like turkey, bald eagle, hawk, osprey, egret, heron, goose, duck, loon, and countless other songbirds and waterfowl. And yet, I am certain there is far more happening in our yard and around our house than I happen to see, especially at night. Sebastian, our cat, has surely seen it all… but he’s not talking. So I was pleased to get a pair of wildlife cameras for my birthday. I set up one by the river and one at the edge of a woodpile; here’s what I’ve seen so far.
The gallery includes four captures, in still and video:
I am still experimenting with locations for these cameras, and hope to capture something more interesting soon!
Our wild neighbors.
Another snowstorm, on Sunday through Monday, left about 6-8″ of fresh, powdery snow across the fields and forests around us. On Monday morning I headed across the street and into the forest behind the house, as I have done so often over the years, bushwhacking up the steep hill through the woods. The forest is relatively young and open, having been logged periodically and well managed for a variety of species – pine, fir, hemlock, oak, maple, and more. I enjoy rambling through these woods, following the fading trails left by loggers, especially in winter – because the snow exposes stories of the wildlife that live here. It’s hard to see in the photo below, but the deer walked this path earlier than me, this morning.
Vernal pools appear.
My weekend wanderings through the woods near home allowed me more glimpses of the white-tailed deer living therein – emphasis on the white tail, because I only tend to spot them after they’ve chosen to bound away from me, white tail flashing and leaping through the trees until they fade into the distant brownness of the tree bark and leaf litter. Yesterday I saw them three times, though never with enough time to capture with a camera. Saturday I also saw a big ol’ turkey waddling off into the bushes.
Several of my favorite paths pass by vernal pools – intermittent shallow pools formed by spring rains and snowmelt, on deep-frozen ground not yet ready to absorb the moisture. Not much spring life there yet, but I’ll check again next week. (Last year these pools became active in May.)
So, photographically, all I have to share this week is another “new” thing along my path. It was very windy last week and this hemlock snapped off at the base. When a tree like this falls in the woods; do you think the deer hear it? 😉
Lots of traffic in my patch of woods.
Yesterday afternoon I took another walk up the hill behind our home, to revisit the curious spot where a deer had met its end (discovered last week). As I climbed the hill, a family of wild turkeys slowly tried to sneak away – not easy now the snow has melted and the crisp, dry leaves of fall cover the forest floor. I noted they were heading uphill away from me, but toward the summit that I would soon reach by a looping path. As I neared the crest, two deer bounded away, flashing their white tails. One paused and turned, curious about me. I was able to approach much closer, allowing me time to capture photographs and video.
I never quite know where I’ll go or what I’ll find.
Last weekend’s hike to Holts Ledge emphasized the end of winter/snow hiking, despite the spectacular powder snow I encountered on Kinsman Ridge two weeks ago. That change, coupled with area roads swallowed under a mud season of “biblical proportions”, led me to stay close to home for my hiking this weekend: literally out my back door. It’s a common mud-season opportunity for me, while the trails remain muddy in the mountains and the river is still shedding its winter ice. Today’s outing led to two interesting finds! Read on.
Continue reading “Wandering the Lyme woods”
