A South Carolina Summer ~ Historic Camden

Friday, June 12

"Go and learn things" is an expression used on one of my favorite tv shows. Today we took a day trip to Camden, where we learned many things. Camden is located about 60 miles north of us, not too far from Columbia. Camden was established in 1733, following a decree from George II in 1730. This decree established a series of townships which were designed to attract small farmers to the colony as well as protect them from foreign powers. Camden is the oldest inland town in South Carolina.

Camden is the site of two major revolutionary war battles; the Battle of Camden and the Battle of Hobkirk Hill.

Our first stop was at Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. This 107 acre site is a national historic district and open-air museum. It is located at the original site of the town of Camden.

At the time of the Revolution, Camden consisted of two city blocks and military barracks. It was surrounded by a palaside log fence and further protected by five redoubts.

palaside log fence

redoubt (protective barrier). redoubts usually consisted of a combination of moat, earthen parapet and palaside wall 

We began our tour at the Camden Historic Exchange...

Cunningham house. today it houses a gift shop and information center.

Dr. John McCaa house

John Craven house. the window frames, one closet door, wainscoting and chimney are all original

interior of Craven house. John was an accountant

another view

love the tall windows

taking a break while Ron looks in the house

Drakeford house. paliside fence along side of home

hanging in the shade. Drakeford and Bradley homes in background

Bradley house

side view

love the chimney. flat sandstones (rare for the area) were used in the chimney

in front of Drake house

cooling off on the porch of the Drake house

Kershaw house in background. this area, between the Kershaw house
and Camden, was known as the "Common"; it was used for numerous
military exercises and parade grounds throughout the years

Kershaw house. John Kershaw was a prominent citizen of Camden

one of the redoubts located near the Kershaw house

Our next stop was the Battle of Camden battlefield...

                                                                                      

The battle of Camden, fought on August 16, 1780, was one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American Army, as well as the worst defeat of the Revolutionary War...

Following the battle, the British put Camden under strict military rule. Rebel sympathizers were forced to flee, or if captured, were confined with military prisoners. Many, including young Andrew Jackson and his brother, were imprisoned in the small-pox infested gaol just up the street. Jackson watched the battle of Hobkirk Hill from the gaol's second story window.

Our next stop...

Hobkirk Hill is a ridge running east and west for about a half mile in the northern part of present-day Camden

This battle, which took place on April 25, 1781, was the result of an American attempt to dislodge the British from Camden. This, too, failed. Less than two weeks after the Americans defeat at Hobkirk Hill, the British hurriedly abandoned Camdon. They pillaged and burned the town as they left. A few buildings, most notably the Kershaw house, remained.

This battle took place in what is now residential district of Camden. A driving tour takes you through this area where you can view historic homes (many of which are on the National Historic Register) and some monuments. The driving tour ends fittingly enough, at the the Revolutionary War Memorial...

it's very disheartening to see these memorials falling into disrepair

the Camden Oak. this oak tree was a sapling at the time of the battles

Today was a great day. We learned many interesting things and had a lot of fun doing so!

Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & Cooper

Life on the Refuge ~ Drift Fences and Blue Birds

June, 2015


Much of our time is spent on the Pine Island unit. Pine Island is popular for those who wish to fish, canoe and or kayak. A primitive boat launch area is provided. And yes, you may be fishing among the alligators...

sign at entrance to boat launch. they really leave you alone. the key is to ignore them and stay away
 from their nests. female 'gators are very protective of their young; they usually hatch in August.
females will lay between 30 & 50 eggs; 80% of which are lost to predation.

Along with fishing, Pine Island is popular with hikers and bicyclists; there are four miles of hiking and mountain bike trails.

We do a couple of things at Pine Island. Drift fences are checked daily; blue bird boxes are checked weekly...

Kelli & I heading out to check the drift fences. they're located near the swamp,
so there are lots of mosquitoes!!

drift fence. we use them to catch insects, reptiles and amphibians for research. we
have three drift fences set up at Pine Island. each bucket contains a sponge which soaks
up any rain water. the critters go along the "fence" and fall into the bucket. lids are put on the
buckets on Friday & removed Monday morning (they are not checked over the weekend)

a net is used to capture the critter. once it is identified, we release it, and then record
the info on a data sheet.

another capture method. four of these are placed at the
end of each drift fence

nope. nothing under this one!

Mostly we've caught eastern narrow mouth toads, southern toads, as well as five-lined skinks...

this guy was a surprise!!

we're finished! 

Heading out to check the blue bird boxes...

As with the wood duck boxes, the majority of the blue bird boxes are located in the "managed" part of Pine Island; a beautiful part of the refuge. Pine Island is almost as diverse as Cuddo...

Norman (one of the local volunteers) weed whacking around the blue bird box

Blue bird boxes are not as tall as the wood duck boxes, therefore,  a ladder is not needed to check them.  As with the wood duck boxes, we knock on the box first. If mom is on the nest, we'll flush her out. We've also heard the baby chicks chirping when we've knocked. We then lift the lid and peek inside. Nests are packed into the box and rise almost to the top of the box. We use a small mirror to peer into the nest. Blue birds make their nest out of pine needles. All information gathered is recorded onto a data sheet.

Kelli checking the box

this nest was abandoned. 

dated them at eight days because their eyes are opened

almost two weeks. beaks are formed.

so cute!

At times we'll find that another species is using the box to nest. Unless it is a sparrow or cowbird, we leave the nest be...

\

a field swallow is nesting here. blue birds only use pine needles to make their nests. looking
at the nesting material as well as the feathers, tells us that a field swallow made her nest in
 this box

again, by looking at the nesting material, we can determine the type of bird that is
nesting in this box. this nest was built by a great crested flycatcher

We're really enjoying our time here on the refuge. We're so blessed to have this opportunity to live on a refuge and have so many hands-on opportunities. We're learning new things each day!

Til next time,

Ron, Dawn & Cooper

Life on the Refuge ~ Alligators and Wood Ducks

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.

Visitors Center overlooks Lake Marion. Purple Martin housing on the grounds of the visitors center

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...

duck weed plant

a closer view

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...

sometimes it's easier to back the truck up than to use the ladder

documenting the contents of the box

additional sights on Cuddo...

popular fellow. visitors are always looking to see them

alligator tracks

largest alligator we've seen

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

tree swallow

we stop for turtles. always pick them up and place them on the side that they were heading to

beautiful

We're looking forward to exploring more of this beautiful refuge.

Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & Cooper