One July Day in the Audubon Swamp of Magnolia Gardens

Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

           On our hot sultry days in South Carolina, it can be difficult to find the motivation to go out to favorite birding destinations.  The heat and humidity of our beloved Lowcountry can sap the life out of you until you feel like a limp, damp rag -- weak from heat exhaustion.  Funny thing though, this summer, our temperatures have only rarely climbed into the low-to-mid 90s.  And where are the hordes of mosquitoes that normally limit our outings to the areas sprayed by the Mosquito Patrol?  I am truly appreciating this summer due to the lower temperatures and the lack of mosquitoes.  As such, Carl and I are venturing out more this summer.  Thus, Sunday a week ago, July 21, Carl suggested that we go to Magnolia Gardens.  The skies were cloudy but the rain showers were not forecast to occur until the afternoon.  Overcast skies would make for better photography conditions for shooting all of those white birds -- Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Little Blue Heron chicks -- in the rookery if any were left!  It seemed rather late in the breeding season to have much of an active rookery.  Nonetheless, with rain gear loaded, we set forth.

          As we walked from the parking lot towards the rookery, the sounds and the smells emanating from the Audubon Swamp promised us a slew of birds.  Indeed, the rookery did not disappoint.  Most of the birds were concentrated on a small islet next to the boardwalk in an area which has not, to our knowledge, hosted a large number of nests.  The Great Blue Herons were largely absent as they begin nesting in late January and early February.  I expected the same to be true of the Great Egrets.  But apparently there were some late nesting birds this year and a few still had fledglings that were expecting a meal delivery.

Great Egrets and other smaller unidentified herons awaiting food in the rookery in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

 

Young fledgling Great Egrets awaiting a meal delivery -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

          As is sometimes the case with herons, these Great Egret siblings were not so very cordial with one another.

Young Great Egret siblings contending for a parent's attention -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

In fact, the video below shows a bit of the violent animosity often exhibited between siblings.  Both of these fledglings had just been fed before I began recording.  The parent had wisely retreated to a snag out of the picture.  He had more fish to feed but needed time to bring it forth to regurgitate into a voracious beak.  Why hang out with the fussy children when it is quieter on a nearby branch?  The video will show one sibling being harassed by the other and how the former chose to separate himself from his aggressor.  Towards the end of the clip, you will see the parent return and the chicks fly up to meet it.  I am sorry to say that the feeding itself takes place behind branches but you can see a bit of it.  The actual feeding process appears to be very violent.  Can you tell who gets fed and who does not?   Watching this makes me think that herons and egrets have the most difficult parenting job with the orneriest children!

              We were surprised to find some very late nesting anhinga in the swamp.  Perhaps they have a very long period for nesting and some begin much later than others.  We have seen Anhingas building nests in April and feeding relatively large chicks by mid-May!    

Female Anhinga on nest in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

I loved watching the affectionate nuzzling between this pair.

Anhinga pair-bonding in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Carl captured this video of a female feeding her chick!

Anhinga video by Carl Miller -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

              Most of the Wood Ducks have much larger chicks (and fewer also since ducklings serve as a food source for other critters) in July.  But this hen was leading about this adorable and sleepy clutch of 11 newly hatched babies!  If you play full screen in the video, you can see the babies closing their eyes.

Newly hatched Wood Ducks following their mama -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

  

    
          When egrets and herons first leave the nest, they begin by climbing and hopping around the branches of their nest tree.  They are not truly capable of long flight.  We call this behavior "branching."  Another egret species tending to branching chicks in the rookery were the Snowy Egrets.  In the photo below, you see a parent (the bird behind the other two) attempting to feed one chick while another squawks loudly (on the right).

Snowy Egret feeding his chicks -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

In this next photo, the parent has made a break for it.  But you can see a chick below him giving chase.

Parent Snowy Egret above has broken away from his clamoring kid below after feeding him -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

         
           The Little Blue Herons deal with the same kind of clamoring kids.  They might appear to be quite calm and sweet as in the children's group shot below...

Little Blue Heron siblings -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

... or in this shot of this blue-eyed darling stretching his wings.

Little Blue Heron fledgling exercising -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

          Do not let these serene appearances fool you!  The "devil child" lies within!

Little Blue Heron fledgling wanting his lunch -- Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

They pursue their parents raucously and aggressively when the parent comes in with a meal.

Little Blue Heron parent pursued by his children at meal delivery -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Little Blue Heron parent feeding his chick -- Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Job done!  This parent is about to leave in search of more food.

Little Blue Heron preparing to depart after feeding the chicks -- Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

This final video shows how rapaciously the older chicks will go after their parents at feeding time and depicts the seemingly violent manner in which herons and egrets deliver food to their young.

          Another species that nests in this rookery is the Black-Crowned Night Heron.  Here a chick quietly hangs out.

Black-Crowned Night Heron chick -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

  
          Cattle Egrets also nest here but I did not see their chicks.

Cattle Egret -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Cattle Egret -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

         One final heron that breeds in the Audubon Swamp Garden is the Green Heron.

Green Heron -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

 
The Green Heron hides its nest quite well.  I have rarely seen a nest here but I have noted plenty of fledglings such as this very cute one.

Green Heron -- Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

          This completes a review of the species of herons and egrets seen in the rookery this day.  In addition to these birds, I also was captivated by the photographic possibilities offered by the flora blooming in the swamp garden at this time.  These particular summer blooms certainly add to the semi-tropical ambiance of the swamp.  I can claim nearly no expertise in plants but two specimens appeared to have hibiscus-like blooms.  If anyone out there can help to identify these plants, I would be most grateful and will share the information!  This first one's huge blooms -- 7-8 inches across -- grew on very tall, leggy stalks from the moist swamp soil.

 

Large unidentified bloom from the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Large unidentified bloom from the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

 The buds of the bloom above are depicted in the photo below.

Buds of the unidentified bloom above in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens, Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Another hibiscus-like bloom that challenged me photographically is below.

Hibiscus-like bloom in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens, Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

I attempted to capture the fuzzy stigmas on the hairy styles of the pistil in relatively sharp focus without a macro lens.  A larger version of this photo shows the fuzz and hairs better.  Still a macro lens would have done a better job.

Hibiscus-like bloom in the  Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Close-up view of the pistil of a hibiscus-like bloom in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC  July 21, 2013

           Another beauty blooming along the path's edges was this eye-catching lily.  Again, if anyone can identify this specimen, please let me know and I will post the information for all.

Lily -- Large unidentified bloom from the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens -- Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

Another bloom of this same lily was harboring this small, but wary katydid.

Katydid attempting to hide-out in a lily in the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation Gardens, Charleston, SC -- July 21, 2013

The critter quickly saved himself from the up-close-and-personal shot as I approached.  Oh well!  Another day, another katydid!

             Ring-a-ding!  The lunch bell (aka: a phone call from Carl who was shooting elsewhere) was ringing.  We had arrived at our designated departure time.  Thus concluded another trip to the famed and favored Magnolia Gardens!  I can now recommend to all a mid-July visit to the still very active rookery.  Thankfully, our cooler than usual summer morning helped our enjoyment considerably.  The overcast skies not only kept the temperature down but also aided our photographic endeavors on the white birds.  Whether you are a photographer, birder, gardener, or other nature-lover, you will find the beauty to be serene and the wildlife activity to be engaging here in the always delightful Audubon Swamp Garden of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.

The Jewels of the North Carolina Mountains: Final Day -- Birds and Sunset -- June 15

180 Degree view from Sam Knob -- near Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina -- June 11, 2013 -- Photo by Carl Miller

            Here it is -- the final edition of the travelogue on our June 2013 trip to the North Carolina mountains.  For our last day, Carl and I truly wanted a hike of decent length.  Unfortunately, on our previous day's hikes to the waterfalls, I had rubbed raw an ant bite wound on top of my toe.  I was fairly certain that my wound would not tolerate the hiking boots on a long hike.  Thus, Carl and I decided to return to Richland Balsam -- a favorite, birdy destination from last year's trip.  In fact, this site hosted the very rare Mourning Warbler last year!

Mourning Warbler -- Richland Balsam Overlook -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 19, 2012 -- Photo by Carl Miller

It also happens to be the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway (close to milepost 431) at 6053 feet.  Just north of there, is another pull-off, Jackson-Haywood Overlook, with a 1.5 mile loop trail that takes you to the summit of Richland Balsam with an elevation of 6410 feet.

            As always, we left the cabin early to reach the parkway when the birds would be the liveliest.  Since it was a Saturday, it was also important to try to be up there as early as possible before the loud motorcylces found their way up.  In route to the Richland Balsam Overlook, we stopped at milepost 433 at the Roy Taylor Forest Overlook.  The temperature was in the upper 50s and the breeze was brisk.  We took the short trail to the overlook for the view.  The best birds though were singing in the parking lot.  Here, we had our best views of the magnificent Blackburnian Warbler!

Blackburnian Warbler -- Roy Taylor Forest Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

              Competing for "air time" for his own song, we had this Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Chestnut-sided Warbler -- Roy Taylor Forest Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

         This much quieter Cedar Waxwing was enjoying the warmth of the sun's rays on this cool morning.

Cedar Waxwing -- Roy Taylor Forest Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Cedar Waxwing -- Roy Taylor Forest Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

          The shrub, brush, trees held many busy bird species such as American Robins, Eastern Towhees, Chickadees, and Indigo Buntings.  Eventually, we decided that we should continue up the road before too many noisy motorbikes arrived and interfered with our birding by ear.

          Arriving at the Richland Balsam Overlook, we were overwhelmed with bird song from all sides.  The next challenge was to find these songsters.  Try as I might, I could not spot the Black-Throated Green Warblers.  This Winter Wren, on the other hand, was quite happy to sing from his open perch.

Winter Wren -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Winter Wren -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

           Such a beautiful, long serenade!   I did not have my tripod with me but Carl did and so he captured this fabulous video of this balladeer.

Winter Wren singing -- Richland Balsam -- June 15, 2013 -- Video by Carl Miller

       A couple of Chestnut-sided Warblers were disputing territory.  In the photo below, this fellow is going after another who must have been pushing the line a bit.

Chestnut-sided Warbler -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

        A Red-breasted Nuthatch was investigating a snag close to the Winter Wren's snag.

Red-breasted Nuthatch -- Winter Wren -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Of course, we had the "not-to-be-out-sung" Indigo Bunting!

Indigo Bunting -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

       
             The Richland Balsam Overlook, being the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway, serves as a must-stop for all the motoring tourists.  Soon, as it was a Saturday, there were as many as twenty motorcycles roaring into the parking lot.  I suppose that we birders look as curious to them as they do to us.  Particularly, our excitement was notable when Carl and I figured out that a small flock of Red Crossbills with one Pine Siskin had flown in!  This Red Crossbill posed ever so nicely for us.  This was our second view ever of this species.  My regular readers will remember my report of this Life Bird in a previous edition of "The Jewels of the North Carolina Mountains: Day 2& 3 -- June 11 - 12."

Red Crossbill -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Pine Siskin -- Richland Balsam Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Though certainly not my best Pine Siskin shot, I was delighted to see it and shoot it.  I had not yet seen a Pine Siskin on this trip!

           As the morning warmed, Carl and I decided it was time to hike to the summit and so we drove up to the trailhead at the very next overlook, Jackson-Haywood Overlook.  From the parking lot, we spotted more Red Crossbills, a Broad-winged Hawk, a few more Cedar Waxwings, and some American Goldfinches.

More Red Crossbills -- Jackson-Haywood Overlook -- Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

          About 50 yards up the trail, I figured out that my sore toe was not going to tolerate the hiking boot.  I decided to return to the car to change into sandals.  The trail appeared to be the kind that you could easily hike in sandals.  Ah, but the beginning of all these trails appear deceptively smooth -- rock- and root-free!  Ha!  As I climbed up the steep, rocky, well-rooted slope, I prayed that I would not destroy my only pair of sandals.  For the most part, this trail was heavily wooded and very cool.  We heard and saw quite a variety of species:  a few Veery, a couple of families of Dark-Eyed Juncos, a feisty couple of Canada Warblers (we must have been very close to the nest), more Black-Throated Green and Chestnut-sided Warblers, American Robins, a slew of Golden-Crowned Kinglets and singing-for-territory Winter Wrens.  The Golden-Crowned Kinglets responded with great curiosity to our phishing in the darkest areas of the trail.  Though they came close, they were exceedingly difficult to photograph.  Carl finally managed to nab this one in a photo.

Golden-Crowned Kinglet -- Richland Balsam -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013 -- Photo by Carl Miller

         We thoroughly enjoyed our very birdy hike!  And my sandals survived the descent to continue to propell me through my summer.  Our plan for the rest of the day included a return to the cabin for showers and napping and then a sunset photo shoot from the Waterrock Knob Overlook (milepost 451.2) for the evening.

           Waterrock Knob Overlook lies on top of a ridge line with a trail at the far end that leads to the top of the knob. Those visitors looking for a great place to shoot either sunrise or sunset will find it here.  Thus far, we have only tried sunset!  Though it was raining when we left the cabin that evening, we expected that perhaps the weather would be different on the knob.  The summer time weather in the mountains changes so very quickly from place to place.  Indeed, last summer, we had arrived at this same overlook for the same activity just as a shower was ending.  We were awed by the sight of a double rainbow as the sun broke through.

Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway -- June 16, 2012

Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway -- June 16, 2012

A few more photos from last year's sunset visit merit posting.  Along the trail, for example, I photographed this beautiful speciman of a Purple Fringed Orchid.

Purple Fringed Orchid -- Waterrock Knob Trail -- Blue Ridge Parkway -- June 16, 2012

Here are the best of my early evening and sunset shots from here.

Late afternoon sun breaking through rainclouds -- Waterrock Knob Overlook -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 16, 2012

Cloudy sunset -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 16, 2012

          Those rainbows greatly compensated for the lack of spectacular in the sunset that followed.   We were quite happy with those rainbows but how would we do this year?  As we arrived, we found some tourists already parked there awaiting the sunset.  We also noted that with the drop in temperature, several birds were soaking up the final rays from the sun as they also seemingly awaited the show.

Cedar Waxwings -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Eastern Towhee -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Cedar Waxwings -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Finally, the sun began to descend behind the mountain tops...

Sunset -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

.... and the skies' hues deepened.

Sunset -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

Very quickly, more rain clouds moved in to change the scene a bit once more.

Sunset -- Waterrock Knob -- Blue Ridge Parkway, NC -- June 15, 2013

             This final sunset seems to have provided an appropriate closure to our wonderful North Carolina Mountain Jewels vacation.  To cap it all off, I finally heard (but sadly did not see) a Northern Saw-whet Owl -- my last new bird for this trip -- from the ridge top!  These spectacular jewels -- the birds, wildflowers, waterfalls, scenery, butterflies -- are all in one beautiful area.  How lucky are we to have this close-by!   I hope that my readers have enjoyed this virtual journey to some of our favorite sites in this fabulous area.  Perhaps some of you who have not yet seen these jewels will be inspired to visit.  Myself, I cannot wait to return again!