March began cooler than normal temperatures, but warmed toward the end. Pear trees bloomed everywhere. Wild flowers added their beauty
to the landscape. I found Trout Lilies blooming on March 30th (below, left). They seemed to pop up in a day. The blooms were gone within
a week. I found a new (to me) wildflower blooming in the stream bottoms, Bloodroot (below, right).
Upland Chorus Frogs continued to sing throughout March. Surprisingly, Southern Leopard Frogs began singing before the Spring Peepers.
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During March, I continued to photograph many birds. On March 8th, I visited nearby Greenwood State Recreational Area. While
there, I photographed Lesser Scaups, Buffleheads, and Redhead Ducks. On March 14th, I was surprised to see a female Harrier
Hawk hunting the fields on my farm. It was a windy day. The hawk started a crossfence and harried into the wind. In this way it was able
to fly very slowly. Once it reached the end of the field, it would rise and fly back to the fence and repeat the hunt on a line about 30
feet from the last flight line. The hawk repeated this pattern across the width of the field.
On March 15th, I was able to photograph a Brown Creeper at the farm. The next day, March 16th, I snapped some images
of Wild Turkeys in a bottomland field.
On March 27th, I attended a fieldtrip with the
South Carolina Association of Naturalists (SCAN) to the property of The Oaks Retirement Community in Orangeburg. It was a warm
beautiful day. We found some herps, including a handful of Slimy Salamanders, an Eastern Mud Salamander, a Five-lined Skink, Anoles, an
Eastern Worm Snake, and a Ringneck Snake.
On March 31th, I was recognized at a ceremony in Columbia as one of the nominees for the 2009 South Carolina Environmental Awareness
Award. Although I did not win the award, it was nice to be recognized.
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