Friday, June 26
Swamp: noun. a tract of wet, spongy land, often having a growth of certain types of trees and other vegetation, but unfit for cultivation; a wetland that is forested...
I never thought I'd say this...but, I've fallen in love with swamps. I love their beauty and tranquility. This morning, we went on a tour of Stump Hole Swamp. The tour, Fish Eagle Tours, originates from Santee State Park, in Santee. Santee is just down the road from us.
The tour lasted about two hours and took us through Stump Hole Swamp; a bald cypress and water tupelo forest. After all, that is what a swamp is -- a flooded forest. The bald cypress tree is so named due to its uncommon "baldness" or bare looking branches. It is a tall deciduous tree with needle-like leaves and distinctive "knees" that rise up from the soil or water around it.
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| bald cypress knees |
Water tupelo, also called cottongum, sourgum, swamp tupelo, tupelo-gum, and water-gum, is a large, long-lived tree. It grows in southern swamps and flood plains where its root system is periodically under water. It has a swollen base that tapers to a long, clear trunk and often occurs in pure stands. The timber is used commercially for furniture and crates. Many kinds of wildlife will eat the fruits of this tree.
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| water tupelo |
We rode on a medium sized pontoon boat. Their large pontoon boat, the Osprey, had been in the shop. Our tour was lead by Kathie Livingston (naturalist) and Captain Richard.
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| on Lake Marion heading out. Kathie giving info and answering questions |
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| Capt. Richard |
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| looking forward to riding through the swamp... |
Sights seen along the way...
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| lake Marion is a large, shallow lake |
Along the way Kathie gave us a bit of history of the area, including that of Lake Marion and the earliest settlers in the area...
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| samples of pottery from the Santee Indians |
It was a hot morning and we were grateful for the covering on the pontoon boat.
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| first view of the swamp |
sights in Stump Hole Swamp...
We cruised through "osprey village"; there are approximately 20 osprey nests in this area of the swamp. And yes, they were not happy with us being in their home. They were pretty vocal with their displeasure of us!!
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| notice the nest in the distance? |
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| one is an adult, the other a baby |
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| this sitting osprey sure looks like an eagle! |
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| heading towards its nest |
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| ospreys can fly very high... |
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| nice day for fishing |
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| the woodpeckers love this tree... |
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| one of my favorite views |
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| crested floating heart. invasive exotic plant. |
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| close-up. notice the heart shape? |
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| anhinga |
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white flowers are swamp mallow. and yes, you can make marshmallows
with them. notice the 'gator in the background? |
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| snowy egret |
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| snowy egret |
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| picked up a hitchhiker along the way. beautiful color of blue. sat on Ron's hat for a long time... |
all too soon, it was time to leave the swamp...
Wow! This was an awesome experience!! We learned much and saw so many beautiful sights. This is definitely something we would like to do again. Each trip through the swamp is different...you never know what you will see!
Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper, the Birthday Boy!!
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