Spring Break- Getting Back to Nature

 

Monday, March 9 had been circled on my calendar for several weeks. This was the first day of Spring Break from SC State University where I teach communication courses. Some of my students told me they would be heading to the beach. I headed to the Basin. The ACE Basin. 

The ACE Basin is hundreds of thousands of protected and undeveloped acres south of Charleston, along Highway 17. ACE stands for three rivers- the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto- that combine to form one of the largest estuaries on the U.S. East Coast. 

Tundra Swans (right) are among dozens of bird types that winter here. 

An indication of how special many people feel the ACE Basin is this sign along Highway 17, which calls it "One of the Last Great Places"- no argument from me! 

On this March day, Alesia and I trekkedto Bear Island, a 12,000-acre island in Colleton County. It’s a drive from our home of 50-60 minutes. Bear Island and nearby Donnelley are wildlife management areas owned and maintained by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. The actual address of these cool places is Green Pond- a name that tickles me for some reason. 

Several years ago I published this book, an expression of my passion for the birding hobby. The Barred Owl on the cover is a photograph I took in the ACE Basin at the Hollings National Wildlife Refuge. Want to see an amazing number and variety of birds in one spot? Click on the above link to the Hollings refuge. Wow! 

On the back cover, the “Birds Only” sign is also from the Hollings preserve, as are a few of the bird pictures in this image. In my book, I use the 26 letters of the alphabet to extol the virtues of birding, bird photography and the great outdoors in general. Many of the birds shown are ones encountered in the ACE Basin.

So it’s a special place to me that I try to visit at least a few times a year. Here are examples of my posts from the Donnelley Wildlife Management Area and the Hollings National Wildlife Refuge. Alesia and I rode bikes at Bear Island back in May 2017.  And this is one of my favorite experiences in the ACE Basin- finding an old family cemetery deep in the woods at the Donnelley refuge. 

You could call Bear Island a park but that might suggest benches and amenities, such as restrooms. No to that and yes to no frills. You can sit on the ground or in your car if you need a rest or a blast of air conditioning on a warm day. 

Here at Bear Island and its neighboring Donnelley WMA you can pick and choose where to stop and walk. Both are so vast that it’s best to drive a little, park and walk a little or a lot depending on your energy and interest level. 

Me? I’m going where the birds are. If I see one or more from a distance I take a picture then slowly and stealthy move forward to try for a closer shot. Four different species are in this long range image, from left, a Great Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, an American Crow or Boat-tailed Grackle, and, I believe, a Common Moorhens (lower right corner). 

My patient approach was rewarded with these images. Note the bright green coloring around the Great Egret’s eye. This is a courtship cue during mating season. Yes, single and ready to mingle! The tail feathers also become extra showy during this period. 

I was very excited to see a colorful Roseate Spoonbill. I snapped this image but then was spotted and it flew away. 

Fortunately for me, it landed in the water not too far away.

Note only is the Roseate Spoonbill pretty in pink, it has a most unusual bill that is shaped like a spoon, hence its name. See my video on YouTube of several feeding Roseate Spoonblls. This was also at Bear Island in March 2019. 

Today’s Bear Island visit was bountiful with birds. I photographed 20 different types in just a couple of hours. 

Bear Island is open during daylight hours from Feb. 9-Oct. 31. In November through early February, it is closed to the general public but open to licensed hunters. That’s part of the deal made by an array of state and local agencies and organizations such as Ducks Unlimited (I’m a proud member).

Upon entering Bear Island, Mary’s House Pond is immediately to the right. Often, birds are on or near the water. So you can start taking bird photographs pronto! From where I stood by the sign, I could see large white birds at the far end of the pond. I suspected Tundra Swans, which I have seen here before as recently as January 2025. Check my post from that chilly visit. 

We drove in for a closer look, and yep, Tundra Swans! Many birds have unusual collective names. For Tundra Swans, those would be bank, bevy or flock (not so unusual). 

When flying, the collective name is wedge. 

An  incredible fact about Tundra Swans is how they annually fly 3,725 round-trip, migrating to and from warm places like coastal South Carolina from their breeding grounds in the Arctic. 

The American explorer Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) called these well-traveled birds "whistling swans" for the sound they make while flying as air soars through their feathers and wings. 

Also at Mary's House Pond, a  Forster's Tern perched on an old post. 

In 1834 the American naturalist Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) named the species in honor of a German naturalist named Johan Reinhold Forster (1729-1798). Among Forster's claims to fame is that he accompanied the English explorer Captain James Cook on his second Pacific voyage. 

Two more Forster’s Terns found perches near where the Tundra Swans congregated. 

We’ll looky here beyond the Tundra Swans- a pair of ducks. 

Northern Shovelers are in the house at Mary’s House Pond. I was hoping to see migratory ducks. These two are males. Handsome fellows they are! 

Northern Shovelers are dabbling ducks, meaning they dip their heads into the water when feeding, their behinds sticking up in the air. Diving ducks completely submerge under the water. 

A female of the species trails her man. 

American Wigeon is another dabbler seen in the pond. This species, also here for the winter, is part of the goose family. The green-headed male is on the right, and the female is to his left. 

More ducks! In another part of Bear Island we came upon a few Mottled Ducks. This type is non-migratory, so maybe this is home year-round for the duo. 

OK, time to go the other way now. Male Mottled Ducks have a distinctive yellow/olive colored bill. Female bills are orange with black spots. 

The mottled name refers to the duck’s body, a blotchy mix of different colors or shades that do not form a regular pattern. That’s the definition of mottled anyway. 

Deeper into the preserve, I spotted this large black bird atop a utility pole. My bird identification app (Picture Bird) calls it a Fish Crow, considered a smaller edition of the American Crow. Fish Crows are common in the Southeast and are often found near water. That makes sense. 

That's an Eastern Bluebird to the lower left of the crow. 

Red-winged Blackbirds are one of the more common birds in the ACE Basin. Why don’t birds get electrocuted on power lines? Here’s the explanation: Because both feet are on the same wire, the bird and wire share the same electrical potential, and electricity only travels to an area of lower potential, such as the ground. If the bird was touching separate power lines at the same time, it could get fried. So there you go! 

We only saw a few alligators on this day. During the summer, they are out in force! 

The Bear Island, Donnelley and Hollings preserves all have lots of water, thus attract lots of birds, as well as alligators. There are many sites like this with large wooden trunks that are used to control water flow in and out of what used to be rice fields where slaves were enslaved Africans would toil in the planting and cultivation for the crop than enriched plantation owners. 

The look of the trunks have not changed over the centuries. DNR rangers build and maintain them today, not for rice cultivation but to keep the ecosystem healthy and vibrant for visitors like us, for the birds and other wildlife that live here, and for the hunters who can bag game a few months a year when hunting is allowed. 

The many trunks are a treat for birds seeking a safe 360-degree view. And they can also be a treat for photographers. Love that name: "Last Day Trunk." Maybe the ranger who put it here was his/her last day on the job. 

This is a Boat-tailed Grackle. Note its long tail feathers and blue sheened body and neck.

Double-crested Cormorants on a trunk had me seeing double. Check out the incredible photo on the Audubon site! 

Cormorants have a signature hooked bill, a can opener of sorts. This is a specialized adaptation that helps them catch slippery fish and crustaceans. Not just a pretty face! 

One of nature’s most beautiful birds, in my opinion, is the Snowy Egret. 

I captured a sequence of its moving across a pond, on the hunt. 

The Snowy Egret’s signature yellow “slippers” are muddy but you see a bit of yellow. Graceful and elegant is this bird, even with muddy slippers. 

What a pleasant surprise to also see a Glossy Ibis! I’m used to seeing 

its cousin, the White Ibis, in different Lowcountry locales, often in large congregations. The Glossy type I’ve photographed just a few times and they seem to be more of a solitary creature. 

Talk about a congregation or, in this case, a commotion, one of the collective names for American Coots. Bear Island, like I said, has many water options to explore. 

The big group of Coots is in contrast to the single Pied-billed Grebe in the background. 

American Coots are considered highly gregarious, known for forming large, noisy flocks. Hardly “old coots,” they can cause quite a commotion! 

I may have spooked the coots! 

This striking bird is a Little Blue Heron. Interesting bird in that when it is born and a juvenile, it is white. What a transformation it makes. 

At one point, my attention was drawn to a loud pecking sound coming from a tree full of holes. I was thinking woodpeckers had been a work, but instead I found a Brown-headed Nuthatch. 

A small social songbird of pine forests in the U.S. Southeast, these nuthatches will sometimes nest in cavities dug by woodpeckers. I have had Brown-headed Nuthatches at my backyard feeders. White-breasted Nuthatches are more common there. 

For my final shot this unusual capture of a Great Blue Heron that had captured a fish. This was near the Last Day Trunk sign at the back of the preserve. I tried to get closer for a cleaner photo, but the heron flew away, fish firmly in its jaws.

A great end to a great day at the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area!