Diario de lindsaywalls

We took a trip to Sullivans Island, SC on January 17th, 2019. The weather on this day was very sunny around 59 degrees Fahrenheit with a little bit of wind. We walked around the south side of the island and searched along the waterline on our way to the tip of the island. On the way back we walked along the dunes in search of animals, plants, fungi and any other neat things that caught our eyes. On the way out we walked along a nature trail which was full of all kinds of plants and trees. One of the coolest things I found was an Atlantic Horseshoe Crab buried beneath the sand. It was freshly deceased but we rinsed it off and its full structure was in tact. Another cool observation I remember was encountering a beautiful tall Cabbage Palmetto in the middle of the woods. I though it was so neat to see just one of its species in a forest, and the sun was shinning through it perfectly. The last observation I remember distinctly was laying eyes on a Saltwort. This bush was absolutely covered in long thorns all the way around. It was so large for being a thorn bush I thought, and I remember how it was just propped in the sand. I will cherish this first destination we took as I learned a lot about the local organisms that are all around me.

On February 21st, 2019 our class decided to take an hour drive north in order to arrive in McClellanville, SC, at the Francis Marion Park. That Thursday was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 77 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 52 degrees. Around noon that day there was a high wind speed of 12 mph and a low of 5 mph later that night. The air pressure for the day was a high of 1022 MB around 10 a.m. that morning. When we first drove in we rode down a long winding dirt road covered by a canopy of trees, where we eventually reached a field with a map showing different nature trails we could walk along. The first path we went down was full of muddy, swamp like terrain where water seemed to of recently been. Our professor pointed out how the tree stumps we saw sticking out of the dried up forest were cedar trees, if I am recalling correctly, and they were peaking out like that in order to receive air. On this first path we encountered a Horned Passalus Beetle, it was hiding along a fallen tree. Its shell was very hard and it had what looked like horns at the top of its head. We concluded this trail by walking down a bridge area where we were trying to spot birds, but we unfortunately were not very lucky. The next path we adventured to encompassed a huge lake on the left and a small creek/stream on the right with a dirt path in-between the two. On the left we saw a baby alligator grazing along the water and a beautiful white egret searching for food. On the right, there was also a blue Heron in the water looking for food as well. This area was very unique to me because it seemed like a very suitable environment for local organisms in the area. The last trail we went to consisted of a woody pine like area full of pine trees. Our professor brought us to a pine tree that had a white slash painted on it which he indicated that it was painted for a reason. He explained how when pine trees mature they begin to develop a white sap like substance that oozes down the trees from a hole. The sap produced helps local woodpeckers to protect their nest and themselves from predation due to the sickness of the sap. I found some sap on the ground and shared it with our professor and both of our hands became sticky very quickly, it really was true! The last unique aspect to this trip I remember is when we spotted a Bald Eagle flying above mixed in with other turkey vultures. It was so fascinating to see all of the wild life that surrounded us and all we had to do was truly look for it.