Monday, July 13
The month of June will be remembered for among other things, heat and humidity. We had two weeks of temps in the triple digits. Much warmer than normal for June. We've been told there's normally two to three days of triple digits, then it cools off (yes, upper 80's does feel cool), then it heats back up again. We've had week of cooler temps; back to triple digits this week. We haven't been doing much sight-seeing because of the heat. While at the refuge, we try to get the outside work done before 2:00. The hottest part of the day is between 2:00 and 5:00.
In my previous refuge blog, I omitted both Jim and Matt. They are our maintenance men/heavy equipment operators. They keep us going!!
Santee NWR is comprised of four units: Bluff (home of the Visitors Center and where we stay),
Dingle Pond, Pine Island and Cuddo.
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| Visitors Center overlooks Lake Marion. Purple Martin housing on the grounds of the visitors center |
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| crepe myrtle tree on the grounds of the visitors center |
Of the four units, Cuddo is the most diverse unit in terms of fields, woods, wetlands and swamps. It is also the most popular unit. Cuddo offers more than 8 miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as more than 8 miles of canoe and kayak trails. Cuddo is also home to the ever popular 7 1/2 mile wildlife drive. The drive winds through the fields, forest, wetlands and around the swamps of Alligator Alley. Turkeys, white-tailed deer and very large alligators are common sights at Cuddo. You may also see wild boars, wood ducks, blue birds, as well as other migratory birds.
The majority of our time spent on Cuddo is checking on the wood duck boxes. While blue bird boxes may be seen from the wildlife drive, the wood duck boxes are located in the managed areas.
We started off by checking boxes along alligator pond road...
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| duck weed plant |
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| a closer view |
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| wood ducks love to eat the duck weed; this is a perfect location for a box |
We could hear the alligators off in the far distance. They make a rumbling bellow or a deep growl...
It's almost past the end of the nesting season, so we were pleasantly surprised to find these membranes...
We continued checking boxes along alligator pond road...
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| sometimes it's easier to back the truck up than to use the ladder |
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| documenting the contents of the box |
additional sights on Cuddo...
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| popular fellow. visitors are always looking to see them |
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| alligator tracks |
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| largest alligator we've seen |
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| Anhinga. Quite common on the refuge. Also known as the "snake bird", the anhinga often swims with its body submerged and only its head and neck visible above the water. Anhingas lack oil glands; they must perch with their wings half open to dry them in the sun |
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| tree swallow |
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| we stop for turtles. always pick them up and place them on the side that they were heading to |
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| beautiful |
We're looking forward to exploring more of this beautiful refuge.
Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper
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