Sunday, July 7, 2019

Lee State Park

June and July HOT, humid, and uneventful.   We locals have to endure it and lacking funds for travel right now we have to make what's close at hand an adventure.  It's been many years since I visited Lee State Park.  We made a fact finding run one day, then my sis and I came back after the holiday to spend some time, hike, picnic, bird, and have a float! There is no admission, and that means the Visitors Center is open for only one hr per day Su-Thur and 11-5 Fri n Sat. 



There is a campground, an equine camp, and a primitive camping area.   The main camp has water n electric and a dump station.  A host was present and those sites are $17 a night, according to the website.  I think you could get a site for one night without a reservation since they have a 2 day limit to make a reservation.  

There is a couple of artesian wells with icy cold water coming out... a great spot to cool off hot feet!


A small wetland is off this short boardwalk we heard common yellow throat singing all around us there...


There is a swimming area and we took a float after a hot walk on the main boardwalk! It is not a long walk, it hooks up with a trail around the ponds also.

Saw the green anole...one of the many lizard species found here





the blue grey gnatcatcher





NO crowds and that is the best part.  The trees are lush and mature this area is a flood plane so a little swampy...and there is def some good birding this Northern Parula came within arms length to check us out.  


A life bird for my sis!  And we both got this county bird the Wood Stork flying up high we spotted 8 all together.

                                                                        
We had a wonderful time and saw 22 species of bird.  

PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.


here is an aside:

There was a notice posted in the ladies room that I thought was very interesting,...it was about a study done in 2014 by the National Audubon Society at the Beidler National Forest, Dorchester County, SC.  That's in the low country of state.  Prothonotary Warblers were fitted with GPS leg bands.  One of the warblers was recaptured and the leg band was still in place and still working.   It had flown through Florida, Cuba, Central America, down the Pacific coast of Colombia and back to Four Holes Swamp — an odyssey of 4,000 miles.  The study found nearly all of the wetlands birds wintered in a relatively small area of coastal mangrove and inland forests in northern Colombia — an area that is being heavily logged.

This is why Protection of land is soooo important!  Mature woodlands are hard to come by anymore...I wish people who have the resources to bring land back to it's native state would do so because if they don't where are these wonderful birds going to live, nest, find food?

A national forest gets logged, the area in Columbia is being logged...this disturbance could cause the demise of many warblers...yes birds adapt but there is a tipping point.  Large areas HAVE to be set aside and left alone!!

11 comments:

  1. I saw more Prothonotary Warblers on a trip to Colombia a few years ago than all my other sightings combined. There were literally flocks of them. But you are right to be very concerned about loss of habitat at both ends of their lives. And logging is done for short term profit. Well managed woodlands would attract birders and other eco tourists and guarantee local jobs and revenue for the long haul.

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    1. You hit the nail right on the head! It's so clear to us, so foggy to them?

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  2. Im happy you and your sis got to go somewhere nice. Looks like a great park with lots of birds.

    I have signed so many petitions lately and you just wonder what good they do with this present foolishness with this present government. But I will keep signing them as they come my way.

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    1. Same here Jo, I'm dying of "conservatism in the air".

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  3. An interesting park and not too far to travel to. Its amazing how far the birds travel and gps tagging them gives us so much more accurate information. Hopefully this information can be used to protect their habitat. Nearby here a new extension to a motorway was rejected because it passed through an area rich in bird life. Hopefully it will stay rejected, but very often these stays are temporary and nature conservation is over ruled.

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    1. SO happy to see that nature won out in your area. We do have to ask ourselves when is it ever going to be enough expansion, growth, development?

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  4. Hello, the park looks nice. I like the boardwalk. The Parula is beautiful. I am not a fan of logging, they do not care that they are taking homes away from the wildlife. Enjoy your day and I wish you a happy new week!

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    1. I understand the idea of plant n harvest...but when it's HUGE tracts that are unbroken by "leave it be" that is the issue. strip cutting to me makes more sense...not clear cutting.

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  5. What a gorgeous spot and no crowds make it sound perfect to me! It's always interesting to read how far birds fly on their migration.

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    1. ...we nearly had it to ourselves...and the people we did see were all easy going and nice.

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  6. I enjoyed seeing your photographs the park looks very nice.

    All the best Jan

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