A South Carolina Summer ~ The Battle of Eutaw Springs

Saturday, June 6

South Carolina is a state full of history; history dating prior to the Revolutionary War. Today, we went for a short (11 miles) drive to Eutaw (Utah) Springs. Eutaw Springs is the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina.

In early 1781, Major General Nathanael Greene began a campaign to end British control over the South Carolina backcountry.

The battle of Eutaw Springs took place on September 8, 1781 when the armies of  Major General Nathanael Greene (Commander of the Continental Army), and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart (Commander of the British Army) met near the limestone springs in Eutawville...

these springs are under Lake Marion today; most of the battlefield
remains above the water

Strategy for the attack is accredited to the genius of General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion. General Marion knew every foot of the Santee swamps and rivers. Lake Marion, the largest man-made lake in South Carolina is named for him.

view of Lake Marion from the battlefield

In over three hours of brutal combat American and British forces traded musket volleys and bayonet charges. Both armies, evenly matched, had had enough. Casualties were high. 500 killed or wounded for the Americans, over 700 killed or wounded for the British forces.

Technically a British victory, the American forces decimated the British ranks forcing them, once again, to retreat to Charleston. This last major battle in South Carolina completely broke the British hold in the South and, more importantly, it denied needed aid to the British forces in the North. Only six weeks later, Lord Charles Cornwallis, Commander of the British forces, surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown.

exploring the battlefield

Major Majoribanks (Marshbanks) was a British hero of the battle

grave of Major Marjoribanks (Marshbanks) British hero of the battle

we don't know who this grave belongs to. the headstone
was unreadable; very faded

The Eutaw Springs Battlefield Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

This is the first Revolutionary War Battlefield we have visited. It was an interesting and moving experience.

Til next time,

Ron, Dawn and Cooper

Life on the Refuge ~Trail Maintenance and Wood Duck Boxes

Monday, June 22

We're enjoying ourselves living and volunteering on the Refuge. Everyday brings something new and interesting.  We are on a huge learning curve!  We both spend part of each day in the visitors center. The remaining part of the day we spend out in the field.  It has been unusually hot for this time of year; we've had triple digits for the past week, which has limited our field work and sight-seeing!!

Santee NWR is short-handed at the moment.  Susi is our biologist, while Kevin is our Federal Law Enforcement Agent. We also have a full-time intern, Kelli, and Lexi who is a part-time intern. There are also eight other local volunteers who help out with manning the visitors center, checking blue bird and wood duck boxes, trail maintenance and anything else that needs to be done. We will have a new NWR manager arrive the end of July (the current manager is on leave and will be retiring).

Our day begins with the raising and lowering of the flag...

Other than the visitors center, the Bluff Unit is home to the Santee Indian Mound (more about that in another blog) as well as the popular Wrights Bluff Nature Trail. This one-mile trail gives visitors the chance to observe a variety of wild flowers, songbirds, small mammals and reptiles. The north side of this trail along Cantey Bay, is a great place to observe wading birds, Canada geese (they are managed here. Hard to believe, I know), shorebirds and other wetland species. An observation platform and tower give hikers good observation areas for wildlife. This area, along with both the Pine Island and Cuddo units provide great opportunities for seeing the spectacular painted bunting.

One of our responsibilities is to maintain this great trail.

Some of the sights along the way...

remnants of a turtle shell

turtle shell remnant. almost translucent

love the smoothness of this pine cone

sweet gum pod

almost looks like pine needles

lichen

Cantey Bay

cypress knees (middle of picture)

more cypress knees

interesting...legs are on all sides (including the front
and back of his body)

One of the fun things we do is going into the "managed" areas. These areas are off-limits to the public. We've seen many cool birds including wood ducks, storks and herons in these areas. The managed areas are where the wood duck and blue bird boxes are located, among other things. One of our fun "jobs" is checking on the wood duck boxes. We have boxes on the Bluff, Pine Island and Cuddo Units.

Ron and Kelli checking the boxes on the Bluff...

Kelli knocking on the box...if mom is in she'll be
flushed out

step two. using the hook to check for rat snakes.
these snakes like to get into the boxes

step three. when all is clear, feel for eggs 

hatching's! (from a different box)

In order to track migration, we are baiting wood ducks as well as doves. 

Kelli baiting the wood ducks

The lake has been lowered. As the baiting progresses, the bait is moved closer and closer to shore, until finally we bait on the shore. A net will be shot over the ducks to trap them in order to band them. We must be very careful to trap on land. If we were to trap them while in the water, the ducks would drown.


As I said, each and everyday brings a new adventure!!

sunset over Lake Marion (view from back deck of visitors center)

Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & Cooper

Santee National Wildlife Refuge, Summerton South Carolina

Wednesday, May 27

We awoke to sunny skies, warm and high (100%) humidity (again)...

sheesh, this humidity is beginning to be a habit!

It's a great day for traveling...we've only 123 miles to travel today.  We had clear skies until we were about 15 miles south of Santee when the rains came. 

crossing Lake Marion in the rain...

almost there

It only rained hard for a few minutes, then it stopped. Then it rained, gently this time. Then it stopped, then it began, then it stopped (you get the picture). It continued this way for most of the afternoon. In between raindrops, the sun shone. I kept looking for a rainbow but I never saw one.

our "home" for the summer and autumn

 It's confusing, but the Santee NWR is actually located in Summerton. We will be volunteering at the Santee National Wildlife Refuge until the end of October. We volunteer three days a week from 8 am to 4 pm. Ron and I will take turns in the Visitors Center and doing whatever else is necessary...mowing, maintenance etc. We'll also be doing fun things such as checking the wood duck and blue bird boxes and maintaining trails.

We are actually staying on the refuge (which is awesome!). We're located in a clearing in the woods. There is room for two RV's, but we're the only volunteers for the summer/autumn.

Cooper loves his yard...

We have a short commute to "work"...behind our rig is a trail which leads directly to the visitors center. About a five minute walk...

visitors center

Santee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941. The refuge provides habitat and sanctuary for wildlife displaced by the Santee Cooper hydro-electric project that brought electricity to many rural areas of South Carolina. 

The refuge is comprised of four units, Bluff (the unit we're on, as well as the only unit with a visitors center) Dingle Pond, Pine Island and Cuddo. These units lie within the Atlantic Coastal Plain and include approximately 13,000 acres of mixed hardwood and pine forests, freshwater marshes, forested wetlands, waterfowl impoundments, croplands, grassland fields and open water.

Santee NWR is known as one of the best birding areas in South Carolina. This refuge is home to 296 bird species as well as 45 mammals, 54 reptiles (coral snake and cottonmouth snake among others), 35 amphibians and more than 100 fish species. The painted bunting breeds and nests here during the summer months as do many other neo-tropical songbirds.

painted bunting (male). comes to our feeder several times each day

female painting bunting. also comes to our feeder several times each day

A good portion of the refuge is managed, but there are hiking trails available at each of the units. In addition to the managed areas, other portions of the refuge are closed to visitors from November 1 until March 1 to provide sanctuary for wintering waterfowl.

The refuge is located on the north shore of Lake Marion which is the largest lake in South Carolina...

view of Lake Marion from the visitors center

another view from the visitors center

one of our visitors to the center...

gardenia bush. pretty isn't it? smells great too! it's located near the
 visitors center

Out of the all the displays in the visitors center, I think the visitors enjoy this display the most...

what surprise awaits at the top...

a birds-eye view of an osprey nest!!

We're happy to be here. We're learning many new things and looking forward to learning more!

This area is rich in history. There is so much to explore here locally. We're only about 70 miles from Charleston. We're looking forward to exploring there as well.

Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & Cooper