Last of January!

Well, the postings are coming slowly. With only one line of dial-up service here at the park to share among all the staff, internet time is always at a premium. No more excuses - I will certainly strive to have more timely postings as Spring approaches and the swamp begins to awaken again!

Our staff conducted a bird count on the morning of Jan 8. While there was not an overwhelming amount of bird activity, we did hear or see a good number of species. We were especially pleased to see the 3 species of Nuthatches on one count, and to have a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks greet us early in the walk. The Yellow Warbler was a pleasant surprise, as well. We plan to make these bird counts routine, about every two weeks, so stay posted to find out what birds are moving through the area. If you are a birder, please feel free to contact us with any interesting sightings you have here at cypressgardens@co.berkeley.sc.us.

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret
Wood Duck

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture

Red-Shouldered Hawk

Mourning Dove

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Eastern Phoebe

Blue Jay

American Crow

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Carolina Wren

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

Eastern Bluebird

American Robin

Northern Mockingbird

Brown Thrasher

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Northern Cardinal

American Goldfinch
Eastern Towhee

Swamp Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle

If you enjoy birdwatching, you might want to consider participating in the 11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. The event is sponsored by the National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and runs Feb 15-18, 2008. You can participate regardless of your skill level as a birder. You can commit as little as 15 minutes of observation time to have your sightings counted. Visit http://www.birdcount.org/ for instructions, tips for bird i.d., a checklist for your area, and more. I will participate here at Cypress Gardens, as well as at my home. This is a chance for regular backyard bird lovers to get involved!

A butterfly count conducted on the afternoon of Jan 23 produced only two sightings - a Cloudless Sulphur and a Red Admiral. As usual, the Red Admiral was sighted at the Kittredge grave site - a favorite place for this species here. As with the bird walks, please feel free to contact us if you have any interest.

If it's winter blooms you're interested in, about half of our Camellia japonicas are flowering right now, providing a beautiful walk along our main paths. You'll also find sprinklings of paperwhites scattered about.

Last Counts for 2007

On the afternoon of Dec 31, 2007, we conducted the final butterfly survey of the year. Given the falling temperatures, we weren't very hopeful, but we did spot 4 separate species: gulf fritillary, long-tailed skipper, cloudless sulphur, and red admiral.

We also conducted an informal bird count that morning. Our goal is to reinstate the traditional bird surveys in 2008. Species seen or heard during the count were:

Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Wood Duck
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

Other birds not spotted during the count but seen during the week include:
Belted Kingfisher
Pileated Woodpecker
House Finch

The pair of Great Blue Herons that we saw were next to a nest. These birds don't generally start actively nesting until late February or March, and will usually nest in colonies. The nest is located on the western side of the Southern Nature trail, on the leg going to the Wildlife Garden.

We have quite an impressive vulture roost here. It is in the southern area of the swamps, near the Southern Nature Trail and the Perimeter Trail. Conservatively, I would estimate 150 to 200 black and turkey vultures roosting in the evenings. This is truly an unusual and impressive sight in the evenings as you can not only see but here these birds coming in to roost for the night.

If you have any interesting sightings out here at the gardens, please feel free to let us know where and when!

Butterflies are enjoying this warm weather!

Welcome to the Cypress Gardens wildlife blog! We will try to keep you updated on sightings of various creatures and critters so you know what to look forward to on your visits here.

Our staff conducted a butterfly walk yesterday. We try to run one about every 2 weeks, weather permitting, as long as there are still butterflies around. The warm weather encouraged the remaining butterflies to come out and give us a nice late-season show. There's not much flowering now, of course, so we found them nectaring on whatever was available, such as mustard, dandelion, and late-season azalea blooms. As usual, we saw quite a few Cloudless Sulphurs - their sunny presence is always a great pick-me-up. Also spotted during the walk were: Sleepy Orange, Little Yellow, Gulf Fritillary, Common Buckeye, Red Admiral, Long-tailed Skipper, and Painted Lady.

The butterfly house is also full of beautiful butterflies for your enjoyment if you don't have the time or inclination to search our paths. Take a trip to the butterfly house today and you can find: Crimson Patch Longwings, Banded Orange Longwings, Banded Peacocks, Julias, Gulf Fritillaries, Zebra Longwings, Gold-rimmed Swallowtails, Mexican Bluewings, Malachites, Cloudless Sulfurs, and Monarchs. The curator and his staff will be happy to help you with identification and answer all your questions.

Many interesting creatures have been spotted recently from our paths and trails. A pair of bald eagles has been sighted several times soaring over the gardens. These magnificent birds don't obtain their distinctive white head and tail until they reach sexual maturity at about 5 years of age. American woodcocks have been flushed near trail edges as they search through the leaf litter for earthworms to dine on. This is dumpy little bird about 11 inches long with an extremely long straight bill, commonly found along wooded edges of open water.

The current fall migration provides a great opportunity for observing many different species of birds. Our trails are very convenient for curious birders, with benches scattered throughout. Or, if you prefer, we maintain a feeding station which keeps a constant flow of hungry visitors coming by for easy observation.

With such beautiful weather, this would also be a great time to come out and wander our paths and enjoy Camellias, azaleas, and paperwhites in bloom.

Hope to see you soon here in the swamp!