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| Fall Foliage -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
Cool and crisp temperatures have descended upon us and I, for one, am delighted! Shorter days mean we must make the most of our opportunities to go outdoors and enjoy the beauty that nature provides to those who look. And yes, you do have to look a bit to find Fall color in the SC Lowcountry. But seek and ye shall find it at
Caw Caw Interpretive Center near Ravenel, SC.
Saturday a week ago, I decided to join up with the Saturday morning bird walk conducted at Caw Caw. When I arrived, the temperature was down in the upper 30s but the morning was warming nicely. My friend and birding buddy, Keith McCullough, naturalist for the Charleston County Parks was leading the walk. Fellow birder and member of Charleston Audubon, Patrick Markham was also in the group. As always, it is good to bird with people you know! There were a few others that I did not know. It is equally nice to bird with the newcomers, novices and experts alike. The novices bring a wonderment to the experience as they ooo and ahh over common species, and the experts help all to see the birds! The cool temperature and the chilly wind initially kept some of the smaller songbirds at bay. But we enjoyed the views of wading birds, gallinule, and ducks along the dikes. A Great Egret and Bald Eagle treated us to a couple of nice fly-byes.
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| Bald Eagle -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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| Great Egret -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
A large flock of Fish Crows flew past the moon providing me with a nice photo op!
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| Fish Crows and Moon -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
As I became caught up in the photographic potential that morning, I began to lag behind the group. This was certainly not a problem as I know my way around the park.
I stopped to watch a beautifully lit Great Blue Heron fishing in a canal.
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| Great Blue Heron -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
My presence and the shutter clicks did not distract the heron from his mission one bit. On the other hand, I presume that my shutter clicks did disturb some critter in the woods that began rustling about. Both the heron and I stopped and looked in the direction of the noise ....which also stopped for a moment. Thankfully, it was too cold for a gator to be thrashing about like that. So we, the heron and I, continued to go about our business -- he, searching for fish, and I taking some portrait shots when, all of a sudden, there came much more thrashing and then loud wing beats. A huge Wild turkey flew out of the woods right over the heron. He was gone in a moment. He was much too quick and my field of view too limited for me to capture him in a photo. What a cool sight it was though! A beautiful, exciting memory made to be recorded in words rather than in image.
The heron had no luck in the shallows and thus waded out to deeper waters. Here, he found success!
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| Great Blue Heron head plunge -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 | | | |
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| Prey in beak -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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| A contented. well-fed heron returns to the shallows -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
The group had long moved on. Inspired by the scenery and the wildlife, I was happy to be able to move about at my leisure and to attempt to capture the artistic beauty in the subtle signs of a Lowcountry Fall. Before leaving the dike area for the woods, I shot this towering top of groundsel shrub in its last fuzzy, glorious moment shining brilliantly in the sun.
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| Groundsel, aka Sea-myrtle, a favorite with Monarch and Gulf Fritillary butterflies -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
Then, continuing to bird, I made my way towards the boardwalk in the swamp. By this time, it had warmed up a good bit. Out of the wind, the songbirds were a bit more active in the woods. I found plenty of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Blue-headed Vireos and Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets. But what really captured my attention and inspired my artistic impulses at the moment, were the bright red leaves of the Sweetgum and the Red Maple trees. A blend of red, orange, yellow and brown leaves carpeted the forest floor and the water's surface. The light shining through the red leaves with the blue backdrop of the sky reminded me of stain-glass masterpieces in the gothic cathedrals of France. Below you will find my attempts to capture Nature's annual chefs d'oeuvre.
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| Sweetgum leaves -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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| Sweetgum -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
A deeper hue of blue reflected off the dark water broken up by the fallen leaves reminded me of rich, dark tapestries.
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| Red Maple, Sweet Gum and Black Gum leaves -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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| I need some help identifying some of these leaves -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
A few brilliantly-lit leaves created enticing reflections on the water's surface.
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| Sweetgum -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
Making a circuitous route, I took the Swamp Sanctuary Trail towards the Laurel Hill settlement area and then the Rice Fields trail back towards the Interpretive Center. This choice provided me with even more opportunities to view and photograph Nature's colorful back-lit handiwork.
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| Red Maple leaves -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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| Sweetgum -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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| Sweetgum -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
I also found a small flock of White-Throated Sparrows who sadly did not cooperate for a photo. Nor did the Swamp Sparrow, the flushed American Bittern, the Common Gallinule or the Song Sparrows. Not willing to be outdone by a bunch of dieing foliage, this perky Northern Cardinal provided his own version of bright red, posing quite nicely for several shots. The best of which is below.
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| Northern Cardinal -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
This Ruby-crowned Kinglet either had no ruby crown to flash or was simply unwilling.
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
At this point, the birds began to garner more of my attention again. And this is when I got my Bird of the Day! Not 50 feet from me, perched on a short bare tree out in the marsh, I found this fabulous juvenile Sharp-Shinned Hawk!
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| Juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
I was pretty sure that he was a Sharpie due to his tiny size. But I looked for other features, which were difficult to discern due to the fact that he was grossly backlit. The notch in his tail was another indicator of Sharpie. And his small head and broad shoulders pointed to Sharpie. Thankfully, he accommodated me by flying to another nearby perch. His wingbeats were erratic and quick and in flight he looked to be the size of a dove. On his new perch, I was able to see the coarse striping on his breast and I caught a glimpse of his pencil-thin legs. By this point, I was convinced of my ID -- he was a beautiful Sharp-shinned Hawk who patiently allowed me multiple shots.
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
Though the next photo is not as sharp, it does give a peek at his pencil-thin legs.
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| Sharp-shinned Hawk with a view of his pencil-thin legs and coarse belly streaks -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
What a wonderful Fall morning! Caw Caw, as always, provided a feast for the eyes and the soul. My morning blend of being with birders and then being solo was perfect for me that day. My busy schedule has kept inside working more than I would like. Thus, this excursion was a wonderful reprieve -- time to share in a passion with fellow birders and then to also have solo time to contemplate nature's treasures -- the flora, the fauna and the scenery. I returned home, renewed and serene. Thank you Caw Caw!
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| Sweet gum leaves -- Caw Caw Interpretive Center -- November 15, 2014 |
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