Chill Start to the New Year

 

I was eager to get in an early 2025 nature outing so on Jan. 9 I cleared my schedule and headed south down to the ACE Basin.

It was clear cold day with temperatures in the 39-41 degrees range. I felt it in my hands while walking around looking for birds to photograph. 

I knew the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area might be closed, and it was for periodic hunting. 

But I also knew that I could still check out Mary’s House Pond, which is accessible after parking in the entrance area. 

Having been to Bear Island many times (see this post when we took bicycles out there!), the large pond attracts many birds, especially migratory ones in the winter. 

I would not be disappointed! Tundra Swans were the stars of the show. 

Tundras are North America’s most common swan but you don’t see them too often in the S.C. Lowcountry. They breed in Canada and Alaska and migrate to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts during the winter. 

Here at Bear Island is the only place I have seen this big beauty. 

Orange-crowned Warbler- A Lifer Bird!

 

This year is ending with a flurry of backyard bird activity. A highlight has been discovering a species I have not seen before (nor had ever hear of), what us birders call a “lifer.” Press play above to see what my camera captured. 

This is an Orange-crowned Warbler. It resembles the Pine Warbler and a few other small birds that are regular or occasional visitors to our feeders. The screenshot above is from the 15-second video below. The clip at the beginning shows a Brown-headed Nuthatch and the aforementioned Pine Warbler. 

Old Orangeburg House Succumbs to Time and Nature

FEBRUARY 2018

Since traveling to Orangeburg to teach at SC State- wow it has been 10 years now- I daily pass this old homestead. I see it when I take Exit 149, leaving Interstate 26 to get on Highway 33 (Russell Street) heading to Orangeburg. About a mile down on the left, there it stands in the distance just past the Garden of Prayer Church. 

I took these photographs in February 2018. It is accessible after parking on a piece of road in front of a gate that is easily walked around. The house is a few hundred yards back in the woods. At that time the road to the property was pretty open and clear. 

Whimsical Grave For a Boy Tragically Killed

 

This past Sunday I spent quality time at one of the Charleston area’s most unique and unusual grave sites. 

This is a story of a death that has taken a life of its own. 

I wrote about this colorful, elaborate grave in my 2022 book, “Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston.” It is in fact, deliberately, the last story in a 230-page book that has hundreds of stories about mostly 18th and 19th-century Charlestonians. Herbie’s story is among many I feature in the book’s last chapter that is about the Charleston Historic Cemetery District, an area anchored by Magnolia Cemetery that has 20 or so cemeteries. My book is available for order through this site and my Amazon author's site. 

Little Herbert Alonzo Brown was just a few weeks shy of his fifth birthday in 1983 when on March 14 he was struck and killed by a truck on Highway 174 near Edisto Beach. Herbie’s foster mother stopped at a gas station/market, and went inside without the boy who apparently wandered off onto the highway. 

What a cute boy he was! 

The background story, according to various sources, was that Herbie was at some point taken away from his parents by social services. I don’t know why. When he died in the horrible accident (called a hit and run by one news source), a social services worker sought to get him a proper funeral and burial. 

This YouTube video by a guy who posts "Fascinating Graveyards" is really good. 

Back on the Trail Deep in the ACE Basin

 

Two days before Thanksgiving worked out well for a visit to the ACE Basin, the Lowcountry treasure of vast wilderness and wildlife. 

With the Donnelley and Bear Island state nature preserves closed for seasonal hunting I made the 50-mile drive to the Ernest F. Hollings National Wildlife Refuge, which prohibits hunting.

This refuge near Hollywood and Meggett was established in 1990. It consists of 11,815 acres. The ACE in ACE Basin stands for three rivers- the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto that run and drain through a protected system of 350,000 acres representing one of the largest undeveloped wetland ecosystems remaining on America’s East Coast. Ernest Hollings (1922-2019) of Charleston was a longtime and colorful political figure as a South Carolina governor and U.S. senator. 

Among the features is the Grove Plantation house that was built in 1828 by George Washington Morris (1799-1834), grandson of Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The late Federal-style structure is one of the few antebellum mansions in the region to survive the Civil War. Today it serves as offices for U.S. Fish and Wildlife staffers who maintain the vast property. 

The front of the house faces toward the Edisto River. Back then the river was a key mode of transportation and transport so when friends, family, or business associates arrived by boat they would see the front of the home. 

New Bird Feeder Camera is Busy This Fall!

This weekend Baltimore Orioles have been frequenting my feeder that has a small dish of grape jelly just for them.

See the little pop of orange in the feeder? That’s an Oriole. 

Here’s a better look at the vibrant, beautiful male Baltimore Oriole and a better look also at the camera feeder I purchased in October. 

My first camera feeder was a gift last Christmas from my son Joseph. What a great surprise that was and I quickly got into seeing the daily short video clips it recorded of a wide variety of birds we have in the Charleston, S.C. Area. 

But that device stopped charging last summer. I finally bought a new one last month and I’m glad I did. Here is what I acquired. I’ve shared this link with a few folks who have asked after some bird video posts I’ve made on our neighborhood’s Facebook site. 

Here’s a fun screenshot I made today from an Oriole video. 

And below is a 15-second video recorded today. I like the picture and sound quality. 

Birds Galore at Magnolia Cemetery!

 

The photographer got photographed on Nov. 8 at Magnolia Cemetery! 

Gary Eaton snapped this image of me doing my thing from my perch on the bridge. A few years ago Gary founded the popular Facebook site “Magnolia Cemetery Photographer’s Group.” I was pleased to meet Gary on this day as well as another photographer named Catherine. 

There were quite a few birds to see from the long bridge at Magnolia Cemetery. Here are a pair of Wood Storks, a trio of White Ibis and a Black-crowned Night Heron. 

It had been a while since I’d seen a Black-crowned Night Heron. 

Fall Crafts Fair Fun!

Saturday, Nov. 2 was a bright sunny day- nice weather for my neighborhood’s annual arts and crafts fair. I was there with my books and sold eight, mostly copies of “Nature-ly Fun: Bird Photography from A to Z.” 
 

This is a fun book that I am so proud to have authored. I use the 26 letters of the alphabet to espouse nature, the great outdoors and, of course, birding as an interesting and enriching hobby. 

One way I promote the book is to say how it is a great way for young children to learn the alphabet, learn to read, and learn about the glorious variety of birds in the world. This is excellent material for parents and grandparents to read to their youngsters at bedtime. 

I’m so glad to have a small lightweight table perfect for events like this. 

To follow are photos I took of the 17 other Coosaw Creek neighbors who also had the chance to showcase their creative talents, creations and endeavors. 

Fall Magnolia Cemetery Visit

 

We stopped by Magnolia Cemetery last Saturday after a nice lunch downtown at Fleet Landing. 

It was such a pretty day I thought it would be fun to walk off our big meal at the cemetery.

Joseph took this photo of me at the iconic Smith Pyramid, eternal home to William Burroughs Smith, a wealthy banker who died in 1892. 

The pyramid and hundreds of other gravesites and the people interred in them are featured in my 2014 book, "In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston's Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry." Check it out as well as my other books for sale on Amazon. My book information is also available at the top of this blog. 

On this sunny fall day I also wanted Joseph to see the spot we are purchasing in the mausoleum at Magnolia Cemetery.

I still have a number of monthly payments to make. But once that is accomplished we can have our names inscribed on the outside. Kind of creepy I know, but kind of cool too! 

Here are some of the pictures I took as we walked around the venerable150 acre burial grounds. Someone put a tiara on the lovely figure on the tomb of "Little Annie" Aiken who was just shy of 3 years old when she died at 1856 of diphtheria, a bacterial disease that a vaccine today can cure and prevent. 

Home Talk a Neat Treat!

The calendar finally flipped to Oct. 1 meaning I would finally give my talk at Coosaw Creek Country Club. 

The “Meet the Author” event was originally set for early August but was postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby. The week before the new date, Hurricane Helene struck. The Charleston area got off easy from Helene compared to other parts of South Carolina not to mention North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

The clubhouse dining room was set up nicely for my talk and for the few dozen neighbors who RSVPed. light appetizers were served before I took to the podium. 

It was a good experience to speak to an audience of friends and neighbors! 

I delivered my “Tales of a Taphophile” PowerPoint, adding a part about the Ladson family, due to our neighborhood's proximity to Ladson and Ladson Road. 

The first Charleston Ladson, John, came here in 1679 from Barbados by way of England where he was born. Some Barbados men were granted large tracts of land in the Carolina Province and would become very prosperous with their rice plantations and enslaved African laborers. The Ladsons became very wealthy and prominent Charlestonians.

I signed and sold several books after my talk including copies of “Stories from the Underground: The Churchyards of Charleston” and “In the Arms of Angels: Magnolia Cemetery- Charleston’s Treasure of History, Mystery and Artistry.” 

The Ladson story is in the Charleston churchyards book. 

Many thanks to Ruth Norton for suggesting the “Meet the Author” event and to Coosaw Creek Country Club GM Chris Mitchell for inviting me and having such a nice AV and seating arrangement. Dan Montero, the club’s food and beverage director, made everything work just right. 

And thanks and ❤️ to Alesia for her help, support and photography. 

I'll have a table at the upcoming Coosaw Arts & Crafts Fair. It will be held Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.