South Carolina – Life Intrigued

Finally Blue…by Brad Marks

Greetings from the tundra – well, the Illinois tundra that is. We got a good 7 inches of snow yesterday on top of around 4 inches earlier in the week. My driveway looks like a classic West Point defensive position now being outlined by a 3 foot hardened ridge. The worst however is the temps came screaming down, bottoming out around -7F early this morning – windchills in the -24F range. If there was any hesitation to head south, that has been completely discarded. First a few more events to take care of. We had my families Christmas gathering just before this latest storm hit, Intrigued has their party coming up (lord help us ha), we have Linda’s family’s Christmas, then our Christmas and some final appointments to get out of the way first – one being hopefully the final release from my ankle surgeon (Bri needs to run). While I tend to all the logistics involved with those gatherings, I am going to have Brad take the helm and bring you another one of his adventures out east. Take care everyone, stay warm and may your hearts be merry this Christmas season.

Take it away Brad…

Being almost, but not quite, new to birding, I tend to trust the names of the birds to be descriptive. The more Jan and I go out capturing our feathered friends on “film”, the more I learn the names may or may not describe the bird at all. Or the characteristic described can only be seen when the bird has met its demise and is splayed out on a display board somewhere.

One of our first encounters with wading birds was in South Carolina a few years ago, we took photos of everything. It was the first time I came within 19 photos of filling up a very large memory card (at least that’s what the counter on my camera told me) successfully squeezing over 3,700 images onto the card that day. Downloading the photos later took quite a bit of time, as did recharging the camera batteries. Jan and I were shooting from about 8 am until 4:30pm. We weren’t shooting nonstop, but we did take nearly 7,500 photos from a single day’s outing spread across three cards. This was way before Jan got her 200-500mm lens and was stuck using my 70-200mm with a 1.4x TC attached. I was still using a monopod, which helped hold up the 200-500mm on my gripped D300; it does get heavy after a while.

Sorting and categorizing the photos once we were home was a marathon event. I ended up doing the sorting twice because I was only casually identifying the birds that looked different from the ones in the next set of images. That’s when I learned that many of the juvenile versions look completely different from the adults. Their names also do NOT help in the slightest in identifying juveniles. Rookie mistake on my part.

This year, Jan and I finally saw an adult version of today’s bird that does indeed look like its name.

The day started out rather chilly in spite of being in what I would call the Nearly Deep South in February. We had begun to traverse Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge on the state line between South Carolina and Georgia. Technically, we were standing in South Carolina by a couple hundred yards. A winter wind was blowing that day, so we didn’t start out spending much time outside the car. Near a small wind break Jan spotted something moving near the reeds at the edge the marsh.

Little Blue Heron found by Brad and Jan Marks at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina

Hit the jump to see more of this “little boy blue”.

Pounce…by Brad Marks

As you can ascertain from this post, I survived the ankle surgery! Quite the ordeal, but Brad and I have two friends going through heart valve replacements up at Mayo right now, so comparatively minor in context. Just wanted to give a quick update as some of you had reached out. Unfortunately, once they got everything opened up, the doctor discovered the injury was worse than expected – not what you want to hear as you are clearing the fog of anesthesia. I’ll get more details during the followup. From Linda’s understanding, in addition to the multitude of expected repairs, the tendon was torn severely beyond initial assessment and strongly suggested those extra 48 miles in the race …..were not helpful (I’ll spare you Linda’s commentary, there might be delicate ears looking over your shoulder). Been some rough nights so far, but Linda is taking great care of me and Brad and Jan are keeping good tabs on me. Won’t keep you any longer as I know you would rather get to another adventure from Brad. Oh, apparently there were some comedians in the operating room as Linda found this when we got home…admittedly, I do laugh out loud every time I see it!!

Take it away Brad…

It’s not very often that Wildlife Intrigued photographers are at risk from their subject matter. Not often, but it does happen. Upon reflection, it does seem to be that Jan is the one that most often steps into harm’s way for these stories.

It was a lovely February day on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. By lovely, I mean clear skies and no rain. The temps, however, were hovering just above the freezing mark. Sea spray overnight had frozen on the fences and seagrass near our hotel on the ocean. Jan and I decided to wait until the temperatures were at least in the 40’s before venturing outside. Cold fingers and cold camera batteries do not make good photos.

After lunch at one of the cool breakfast/lunch restaurants on the island, we chose to drive to Jarvis Creek Park. You may remember Jarvis Creek Park from last year’s visit. The park includes a nice pond/lake (depending on your definition), nearly one mile of paved walking and fitness trails, clean restrooms, picnic areas, a fishing pier, and even a bike repair station. On the other hand, before you let the children run amok in nature, it also has alligators. We’ve only ever seen the gators close to the water in the lake, but nothing stops them from crawling up the bank to the walking path, except maybe the effort to get uphill. (see here for gators from Jarvis Creek Park)

But that’s not what this story is about. This is a story about a threat not from the water, but from the sky. Well, almost a threat in retrospect.

Jan and I had been wandering around the lake trying to photograph some spastic flying blue streaks (tree swallows) when we paused under the pine trees near the water. Jan was a bit further along, still trying to catch the tree swallows (future story) and I was watching a gator try to get down it’s first meal of the season. It was rather gruesome, so no photos here. We both paused for a second to give our memory cards a chance to catch up, when there was a minor kerfuffle from a tree near the water.

Red-Tailed Hawk by Brad and Jan Marks at Hilton Head

Hit the jump to fly to the rest of the story!

Feather Tiara…by Brad Marks

Greetings all. I am a bit behind on a rather length (ever expanding) to-do list. I did have my MRI this week, but I am unable to get into the surgeon until the 17th to get the official readout. Should I be concerned that immediately after the procedure the MRI technician recommended I check with the reception to see if they can get me in before then!?! That was actually already in the plan so I’ll be calling from time to time to see if there are any cancellations I can jump on. Meanwhile I am “trying” to get the homestead ready in case I have a lengthy downtime. Less work for Linda! Also working on the latest haunt tutorial video which is taking way longer than expected – all these newfangled tools feels like drinking from a fire hose. . While I “try” to get caught up on everything, Brad is going to take you back to South Carolina for another type of “tri”.

Take it away Brad…

On our last full day in Hilton Head this year, Jan and I decided to drive a short distance (90 minutes or so from our hotel with stops along the way) to a new location suggested by Ted Jennings (see his site here). We visited the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands which appears to be right in the middle of the town of Port Royal, SC. It is a small body of water with limited parking, but we were able to find a parking space near the boardwalk overlook. The whole surface area of the water is only a couple of acres based on my estimate. Having said that, it took Jan and I a couple of hours to walk all the way around the half-mile boardwalk and trails. No, it’s not really larger on the inside. There were so many birds, and alligators, we really didn’t know where to start to point the cameras.

In the past, Jan and I have found the occasional Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor), or Great Egret, or Great Blue Heron in the marsh areas we visit. Normally we only see one, or maybe two Tricolors at a particular location. This time, there had to be a dozen Tricolors just hanging around in the trees on a small island in the middle of the wetlands.

The featured Tricolors today were all on the island, except for one recluse hanging out with the Yellow-bellied Slider turtles along the edge of the water. Even though they nest in trees, I’m always surprised to see a wading bird sitting on a tree branch. And seeing the amount of alligators cruising in the water around the island, this is a prudent strategy.

Tricolored Heron found at Port Royal Cypress Wetlands, SC by Brad and Jan Marks

Hit the jump to learn more about these Port Royal Tris.

Food Fight…by Brad Marks

Greetings everyone! It was a busy weekend at the HQ with all the haunt production activities now in full swing and yesterday we held our 3rd Intrigued Corporate Warbler Watch and Walk in the Woods (IC4W). I won’t say much about the walk as I am pretty sure there will be a story or two coming in the future. It was definitely a great time to be out in the field with the staff and doing what we love to do – shooting feathers (with our cameras, of course) and getting caught up on life, family, injuries, hobbies, endurance sports and definitely some bird knowledge bantered about. Now, some have eluded to this really being their annual birding-acumen assessment as part of their annual performance reviews. Crazy talk, just a fun time with the boss…now let me just grab my clipboard and we’ll be on our way. Going to let Brad take the wheel for today’s post while I finish up all my notes on the assessment forms…sorry, I mean wrap up submitting all the eBird reports from our fun walk.

Take it away Brad…

We are coming up on the end of my third-year writing (almost 100 stories) and photographing for Wildlife Intrigued. I’ve learned it’s not all about just taking photos. Oh sure, Jan and I take tens of thousands of photos per year, and sometimes we take that many on a single assignment (22k in Hilton Head in total). It’s really about observing wildlife and learning to anticipate what might happen next and then telling the story. Often the whole story happens in just a few moments. Now, if I can just figure out when the fun stuff is going to happen and take fewer photos of “boring” stuff. If you’ve figured this out, let me know in the comments.

Jan and I have taken a few trips to South Carolina during cold Illinois winter months. Like most who travel to the ocean’s edge, we try to ignore the hordes of seagulls. Although, I learned two years ago that there is more than one type of “seagull”, and that gulls can be quite entertaining (here) if given a chance. They can also be quite competitive.

Gulls found by Brad and Jan in South Carolina

Warning, one or more fish were likely harmed in the making of this post, but that’s gonna happen when in proximity to today’s featured feathered friends. Hit the jump to see who wins the “prize”.

One . . . Two-hoo . . . Three…By Brad Marks

With bittersweet feelings I can report that Linda and I are back from this year’s second migration to the southwest. I’ll miss southeast Arizona having found a number of new incredible birding location and Vegas, well that holds a special place in our hearts. With that said, it is good to be home even it means long days of getting the homestead ready for summer. Unfortunately, there is no way to just click our heels and wake up home – the haul back is a drain and we are both exhausted (admission, Linda has to do most of the driving due to her vertigo so it is definitely harder on her). While we recover, Brad is going to take us on an adventure in a completely opposite direction to our recent trek. His featured species actually holds a sad place in my heart due to an unfortunately incident with a local favorite I used to greet on my way to work every day (I’ll forego that link). He has a much better experience!

Take it away Brad…

Let me set the stage for you. It’s mid-February in South Carolina. Jan and I were at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge visitor center. The outside air temperature is about 40 degrees warmer than at home, but it is still only about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. You can do the math for how cold it might have been where we live. I had gloves on, so feeling the tiny control buttons on the camera were a challenge. I am very used to being able to navigate the buttons for focus point movements, ISO settings, partial shutter release, etc. Gloves take away all of that sensitive feel. My nose was cold and my breath was condensing into little clouds. But here we are, walking around looking for birds to photograph.

Jan had wandered ahead of me but taken a different fork in the path than I did. We can hear the traffic on the state highway a couple hundred yards away through the leafless trees. Did I mention my toes are already cold and I’ve only been walking about 15 minutes. The Visitor Center wasn’t open yet; it opens at 10am.

As I wandered around, looking for birds I happened on a standing tree trunk that had seen better days. I noticed a very large knot hole near the top and thought that would be a perfect place for an owl nest. A few feet away from me was a sign post with a small sign on top. The sign said “Barred Owl” and nothing more. At least that’s how I remember it because I didn’t take a photo. As I was staring at the hole for a couple of minutes, willing the owl to come out (not even knowing if there was an owl inside or not), I had the feeling I was being watched. I turned around expecting to see Jan waving me over for a bird find, but she wasn’t there. Instead, it was I that was being watched.

Who dost thou stare in my direction? Hit thy jump to reveal.

Can you see me now?…by Brad Marks

Greetings from the southwest! Linda and I made it to Arizona yesterday and as expected, today was a birding extravaganza going +14 for the year including +3 lifers. (that puts me only 27 birds from being in the top 100 in the US yeah!!). Climbing foothills has pretty much wiped me out (with a tenderized ankle), so Brad is going to close out the month with an adventure in the complete opposite direction.

Take it away Brad…

As many of our readers know by now, Intrigued HQ sent Jan and I to review the European operations in January. We were able to spend many days with Allyson and check out many of the locations she had been editing from. Once we were back in the States, Jan was going through her e-mail backlog and found a deal from a hotel in South Carolina we’ve used before. After a few minutes checking, their claim proved the special deal was legit. Jan then remembered that she also had airline miles to use, so we booked a quick trip to Hilton Head Island, non-stop from our local airport (expense report pending). This time we would take the big glass along and not rely on our smartphones for everything. While that usually means our shoulders get a workout, we get far more usable photos in the end. For those of our readers that choose to fly with their big glass, please leave comments on how you protect/package it for flights, especially if you have to use regional jets like Jan and I do.

As the departure date approached, the temps in Central Illinois began to flirt with 0 degrees Fahrenheit, or -18C for our international readers. Central Illinois can get rather cold during February. I know, I know, you folks in Wisconsin and Minnesota always say we know nothing about cold. Anything below zero degrees Fahrenheit is cold. Period. Jan and I have chosen to escape to warmer parts of the country for a week (maybe longer next year if the Intrigued accountants will approve it) during February, just to thaw things out a little bit. Plus, our camera batteries last longer when the temps are above freezing, so do our fingers. Jan and I weren’t very worried about the temps as long as Hilton Head Island held up its end of the bargain and kept true to the differential we have come to expect, meaning 30-40 degrees warmer than Illinois in February. Well, Hilton Head Island held up its end of the bargain . . . mostly. Temps when Jan and I landed were near 40F, a tad chillier than we normally experience, but still 40 degrees warmer than Illinois. Not to worry, by the end of our stay, regular daytime temps at Hilton Head were approaching the mid 60’s.

For our first birding day on this trip, we decided to go a bit further south in hopes of catching just 5 more degrees, maybe even into the upper 40’s. Once the rental car was loaded with cameras, Jan and I drove to Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) to see what we could see.

Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive (LHWD), a small part of SNWR, is a 4.5-mile “road” that meanders (their word from the brochure) through a small portion of the refuge’s freshwater impound system. Essentially, visitors drive in one direction on causeways and two-track roads through the marshlands (my words). Thankfully, temps did end up being about 5 degrees warmer, but that was all.

At our first repeat stop on LHWD from the prior year, about 0.5 miles in, there is a small pull-out area. Naturally, I parked the rental car (still trying to figure out how to expense the car on this trip) and started walking the grassy areas near the water. Remember when I said the temps were only in the 40’s? There was also a bit of wind that day making it hard to hold the camera still. That’s a good and bad thing. Bad because we were cold. It was certainly an experience to try to operate the camera controls with my gloves on. Good because alligators are also cold and very (to the third power, as in “very very very”) slow. Usually when the temps are this cold, they are busy sunning themselves (though it was cloudy and windy) and they really don’t want to waste precious heat energy chasing down photographers. After a few (hundred) clicks of the cameras for the few birds we could see, remember it was a bit breezy, Jan and I huddled up making a plan for our next stop. Really, we just wanted to go sit in the warm car for a few minutes. When all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, a clump of reeds near us moved.

These clumps are made for movin’
And that’s just what they did
One click of the jump, gonna reveal all to you (note, Brad is NOT responsible for this lame Sinatra reference)

Vulture Love…by Brad Marks

This has felt like an unusually long month for me. Pretty much been on the go since the start, dog shows, our annual medical appointments, family events, more dog shows and every time I managed to find a slot, I was out on the trail. With Ruger’s recent competition over the weekend, the back to back schedule pressure is finally lifted for a couple of weeks. This will give me more time to get ready for the upcoming ultra and finally make some progress on a mega Halloween prop taking shape in my basement (fingers crossed Linda doesn’t go down there and see her basement covered in foam shavings). In tribute to the Vultures circling impatiently overhead while on my long run today, Brad is going to bring us another adventure from their travels east. May I recommend putting on Meatloaf’s Paradise by the Dashboard Light while enjoying this “fresh” post (link here)! (…and still pissed they replaced Patti Russo with an actress for the I’d Do Anything For Love video).

Take it away Brad…

I bet the title conjured up one of two songs from the 1970’s. Jungle Love by The Steve Miller Band, or Muskrat Love by the Captain and Tennille. Both used synthesizers. I just wanted to see if I could get a song going in your heads, like the Gulls, Gulls, Gulls from last year.

Why does nearly everything interesting that happens in a tree, happen in the middle of a bunch of leaves and twigs? I mean, c’mon! Can’t anyone actually hop to the end of an exposed branch and go through the poses to make bird photography easier? It’s just a few photos and a microsecond of your day. No? Well, OK. See if I make your photos flattering or not.

Actually, with today’s birds, I’m not sure there is a way to make the photos flattering.

Jan and I were on a Bird Walk through the Audubon Newhall Preserve on Hilton Head Island. The guide was talking about cedar knees and the red-cockaded woodpecker nest hole we had just passed. There was a very slight breeze blowing through the treetops. But not quite enough of a breeze to make the noise that was happening directly above us. One of the other birders pointed overhead and said there was a large black bird in the tree. At first, I thought it was a crow. Naturally, Jan and I pointed our cameras skyward as the other birders grabbed their binoculars. The guide had lost all of us for a moment.

At first, all I could see was one large black bird through the viewfinder. I was happily snapping away when it “skooched” to its left, my right

Hit the jump to see what I saw.

Can be Bite-y…by Brad Marks

Howdy all! It has been a hectic time as of late, but starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel – granted, Linda frequently tells me to stay away from the bright light in the sky. Fortunately, this one comes from the lightening of the schedule. One more major dog show next week (Canine Performance Dog Nationals) in my hometown of Springfield. After that, home for a good spell so I can go into beast mode training for the daunting 50K in early July. In the bustle we did manage to hold an Intrigued bird outing last week that was quite productive…at the cost of HR berating me about an office full of “Warbler Necks”. More to come on that front. For now I am going to focus on getting packed while Brad takes you to the water’s edge. Quick note, one of the locations mentioned happens to be where a similar encounter left me prematurely grey!

Take it away Brad…

We learned a very valuable birding rule of thumb: Be very aware of your surroundings. There can be rocks, uneven ground, water, mud, camera equipment, snakes, holes, birds nesting on the ground, etc. All of the above can be an inconvenience if encountered, or perhaps even painful. But none of those can really ruin your day like today’s topic. Since we encountered this subject all over South Carolina, I’m going to take you to many locations for today’s story.

One of our first stops was Jarvis Creek Park. It is a very nice park with many hiking paths including a 1-mile paved walking path around the central pond. The park was full of families picnicking and having fun. Dogs were pulling their people all around the path.

After about halfway around the pond, Jan came across something that had its eye on the tourists and small critters on leashes. I was up on the footpath talking with someone walking their dog, a boxer named Oscar if I remember correctly. Jan walked down the bank by the water to get this photo.

Want to see more spiky creatures (you know you do), hit the jump!

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