Charles Hawkins
Journal Entry #6
11/1/2024
The weather at the farm this week wasn’t exactly fall weather, but it was the closest we have come yet. On the drive over I had the windows down and thought, it may actually feel like fall today. But once we were out in the sun moving around it definitely got warm quickly.
We got to spend a lot of time in the field today which was awesome. The majority of the time was spent in Fireworks Prairie though so I will have to spend more time next week in Frances Meadow and Steele Prairie. Just to get a chance to hopefully observe and document some of the pollinators that are visiting the flowers in those places since the majority of my observations have been on one or two specific plants in Fireworks.
We started the day off with a pretty fun activity. We were trying to help Sasha find nesting sites for Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus). We went to the grassy fields at Cemetery Road because that is where they have been seen often. We spread out about 5 feet apart and walked across the field sweeping sticks in front of us to hopefully startle them into flying up from their nests, a technique she found in her research. We didn’t get lucky, but I highly enjoyed walking through the grass with everyone sweeping sticks around and talking, wondering if we were about to see any birds fly up.
We did a couple passes over the field, but Anna and I missed the last one. I had to get a quick ride back to the Learning Center because I forgot something I needed. We got a cool treat though. We startled two Bucks and two Does and saw them running in a full gallop across the grass near us, eventually crossing the road pretty much right in front of us. So that was really awesome to get to see them so close and also running at what looked like full speed.
Once we regrouped our next stop was Fireworks Prairie. This worked out well because I needed to be there to survey the plants and Sasha needed to be there to look for Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna). Jimmy and Morgan left for a while to work on the game cameras for Jimmy’s Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) research, but they were only gone for a little bit.
When we got to Fireworks Prairie, we started driving slowly around the perimeter so I could look for more Awl Aster (Symphyotrichum Pilosum). While slowly driving I noticed a couple butterflies resting on the Brazilian Vervain (Verbena brasiliensis), so I was really excited to get to observe a couple pollinators that were still visiting those flowers. One of them was a Firey Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) and the other one was a Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia).
We continued our slow drive around the perimeter, and I did find a couple other Asters. The most exciting one was a pretty substantial Awl Aster (Symphyotrichum Pilosum), and like the one I found the week before it was also a pollination hub. There were lots of flies and bees on this one as well, like a Ligated Furrow Bee (Halictus ligatus) and what I believe to be a Tachinid Fly (Archytas apicifer). The plant also had a couple beetle-like insects on it. One being a Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata), a really interesting looking green beetle with black spots, and a plant bug named Eastern Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus).
The best thing about this Aster was there were two Banded Garden Spiders (Argiope trifasciata) that made their webs side by side right next to the plant. It was really cool to see a little piece of this ecosystem at work; the Aster was supporting the insects by providing nectar and pollen, the insects were supporting the Aster by pollinating it, and the Aster and the insects were supporting the spiders, the Aster indirectly supporting the spiders by being a location for food and the insects directly supporting them as food. It was clear that the spiders were doing very well with their webs at this location. One of the spiders had a large grasshopper wrapped up in its web and in the short time I was standing there I watched an insect fly into the web and get wrapped up as well.
Before we wrapped up the day we visited a bird box where a Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) had made its nest. The squirrel wasn’t in there at the time, they are pretty sure the nest has been abandoned. So we opened the box so we could take a look at the nest. The squirrel builds up the sides and makes a little hole it can burrow down into to sleep, so that was neat to see the way the nests are made and really cute to imagine a little squirrel sleeping in there.
I can’t believe the internship is almost over! We have one more week of field research next Friday and then our presentations will be the Friday after that. This has been so incredibly fun, I feel so lucky I got to be part of this.
Journal Entry #5
10/25/2024
I had such a great time this week at the farm. This feels like the first week I did actual field research. Up until this week it has been a lot of brainstorming, getting to know the area, making observations, calculated and intentional exploring, research, reviewing data, but this week was the first week I went out with my research question in mind and studied the environment.
I was hoping to learn more about the Brazilian Vervain (Verbena brasiliensis) I saw last week. I was curious why it was attracting so many pollinators late in the season, despite there being other flowering plants around that were still in bloom. I also wanted to research its impact on the local ecosystem and what possible benefits or detriments it could be causing, since it is not a native plant to South Carolina. Unfortunately, the summerlike weather drastically changed the Vervain since I was there a week ago. There were little to no pollinators visiting the flowers this week. The plants still had flowers but looked quite dry and many were clearly nearing the end of their flowering period.
In Fireworks Prairie I stumbled across a plant that was like an oasis in a desert with the number of pollinators swarming around it. The plant was an Awl Aster (Symphyotrichum Pilosum) and appeared to be a late-season pollination hub of the prairie. I began monitoring all the species that were visiting it. In about a 30-minute period I observed a huge variety of pollinators. There were a lot of flies (which I didn’t know were pollinators so that was really cool to learn) and bees buzzing around it. They were really hard to get good pictures of, because they moved so quickly and didn’t stay in one spot long. Two of the flies I was able to identify were the Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata) and Hoverflies (Syrphidae). I also saw a number of Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) butterflies and a tan orangish moth or butterfly I am still working on identifying. There was a Red Legged Grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum) perched on one of the stems. In Steele Prairie I spotted an Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea) on some Awl Aster, a really beautiful moth that looks like a beetle when its wings are resting.
I measured out a 1 meter by 1 meter quadrant and recorded all the other plants that were growing around the Awl Aster in Fireworks Prairie. Found within the 1 square meter were Berkeley Sedge (Carex tumulicola), Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima), Sawtooth Blackberry (Rubus argutus), and Broomsedge Bluestem (Andropogon virginicus). There was also a noticeable difference in the way Awl Aster grew in Fireworks Prairie compared to Steele Prairie and Frances Meadow. In Fireworks, a quick survey revealed only one plant growing in the whole prairie. It’s possible some were overlooked, so a more thorough search will take place next week. However, in Frances Meadow and Steele Prairie, there were lots of little sprigs and shoots of Awl Aster seen growing all throughout the prairies. This was another quick survey so a closer look will be given here next week as well. It poses some interesting questions about why this same plant grows differently in these locations. Could it be related to the fact that Fireworks Prairie was planted with 20 species of native wildflowers that may have included Awl Aster, while the Aster growing in Frances Meadow and Steele Prairie are naturally occurring populations? Could it be the competing plants growing around it or the soil quality? Based on the landscape, could one area come by water more easily than another? Could it have something to do with sunlight? Some of the Aster in Frances Meadow was more shaded, but there were other places in Frances where the plants were still much smaller despite having plenty of sun. Next week I will be setting up more quadrats in each prairie, hopefully to determine what the limiting factor might be for growing into a fully-fledged plant versus little shoots growing here and there.
Another noticeable difference was the abundance of pollinators on the plants in Fireworks compared to Frances Meadow. The Awl Aster in Fireworks had a busy swarm of flies, bees, and butterflies constantly buzzing and whizzing around it, dropping in to feed and then lifting up again to move to another flower. While the Awl Aster in Frances, possibly because it was more spread out, didn’t have the same effect. There was one bit of Awl Aster I found in Frances Meadow that was closer in size to the Aster in Fireworks, and that one had a decent number of pollinators buzzing around it. But still less than Fireworks and also no butterflies or moths were there. It is possible the sunlight could be a determining factor in this case, because the Awl Aster in Fireworks Prairie was in the sun while the majority of the Awl Aster in Frances was not, so this is something to consider and look further into as well.
Journal Entry #4
10/18/2024
The weather this week felt like actual fall weather, but it was deceiving. We all started out in jackets and hoodies when we went into the field, but after just a few minutes in the sun we were shedding layers and talking about how hot it was. It was still such a great time though.
This week we visited different sites that correlated to our respective research topics. We started off in Fireworks Prairie, as this related to mine and Sasha’s topics, since this is where lots of the pollinator plants are growing and also Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) nest in this prairie. I downloaded a couple of species identifier apps and the one I ended up liking the most was Seek. It was really fun to use, I could literally spend hours just walking around and holding my phone over different plants, mushrooms, and insects to find out what species they are.
Sometimes the camera would have trouble focusing, which was frustrating, but I was still able to identify lots of plants.
The majority of the plants I was focused on identifying were flowering plants, and I found quite a few including Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum), Camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris), Groundsel Tree (Baccharis halimifolia), Awl Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum), Dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium), and Bushy Bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus). All of these plants are native to South Carolina and are also host plants for moths and butterflies.
There weren’t too many butterflies out there because we are nearing the end of butterfly season, however, ironically the majority of butterflies and pollinators I did see were on a plant that is not native to South Carolina. I was having trouble identifying it with Seek because the flowers are very small and my camera couldn’t focus on it well, but it appears it was either Purpletop Vervain (Verbena bonariensis) or Brazlilian Vervain (Verbena brasiliensis), both of which are found at Southern 8ths but neither of which are native. I am interested to learn more about why these non-native plants were attracting so many pollinators and I am hoping to include this in my research.
We also got to see a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) pretty close up, it flew away from us when we walked up on it, and then turned and flew in the opposite direction right back over us, so that was really awesome. Jimmy found a really cool-looking little Frog that looked like it may have been a Cricket Frog but we are not sure. We came across an almost fully formed skeleton that was guessed to be a Racoon or Opossum skeleton. When we went to the second location, Steele Prairie, we found an eggshell of a pretty large egg. It was the size of a large Chicken egg but there weren’t any Chickens at Southern 8ths and we couldn’t see any nests above us in the trees, so that was a mystery.
It was overall a really great day. We got to spend hours outside. Even though it was hot in the sun the weather was really beautiful and it felt really nice in the shade. It was also fun to get started on the actual field research for my topic. I am really looking forward to spending more time in the prairie next week and documenting the frequency of various pollinators found on different plants.
Journal Entry #3
9/27/2024
This week we could not meet at the farm due to Hurricane Helene passing through our area, so we met on Zoom instead. We talked about the beginning of fall and how we were each impacted by the storm. Half of us lost power. We also talked about possible research topics. Jimmy was interested in figuring out why Striped Skunks are seen so infrequently on the game cameras. Sasha really wanted to study the River Otters in the area, but since they are rarely seen, she might have to go for her second choice which was studying habitats and behaviors of Eastern Meadowlarks and Bobwhite Quail at the farm. I think both of those topics sound so interesting and can’t wait to hear what they end up finding out.
I was very intrigued by a couple of different topics. One of them was a soil survey which would involve sampling and analyzing the soil in different areas of the farm to learn more about the health of the soil, which is measured by the organic matter and microbiome of the soil. It may be possible to do this topic as well as another and that is where I am really stumped. Another topic that sounded interesting was studying the health of the water quality by comparing previous samples of benthic macroinvertebrates and fish population data. The other one was learning more about butterfly host plants growing at Southern 8ths and how the population size of these native plants can be increased. I am also curious to learn more about how seasonal changes affect reptiles. There are so many options that all sound equally fascinating.
One of my favorite parts of this internship is just getting to see what these Biologists and Environmentalists do on a daily basis, getting to be so immersed in nature that there is never a lack of something to learn more about or a question that can be studied and possibly answered.
It was really great to get to see everyone and talk about the research topics, but I am definitely bummed we did not get to go to the farm. I was really looking forward to being there, even with it possibly being very rainy because it was still warm outside this week, and being outside in the rain when it is warm can be fun. If it wasn’t going to be rainy then that meant we would get to be there post-hurricane which I can imagine would be pretty lively, with all the animals and insects running around to get food and recuperate whatever resources or meals were lost or missed in the storm.
The storm passed through my area fairly quickly which I am thankful for. I woke up Friday morning to a National Weather Service alert telling me not to leave my house unless it was an emergency or if I had been issued an evacuation. I looked outside and started assessing whether or not I felt comfortable making the 40-minute drive to campus. With the alert in mind, the answer was almost immediately “no.” You could see the wind was pretty high based on how the branches were moving in the trees. There were sticks all in my yard and you could hear one hit a window or the roof every five or ten minutes. It wasn’t raining bad but I know it had been raining since yesterday so there was no doubt the streets would be a mess with possible flooding in certain areas.
I decided to do a quick drive around my neighborhood to make sure though because I hate missing class and at that point as far as I knew class was not canceled. The drive around solidified it. There were a couple of whole trees down just right in my neighborhood, literally down the street and around the corner. The gutters had small creeks flowing through them and in one low area, the street was completely covered in water. It is so crazy when I think about the Earth as one giant ecosystem. It is so incredible to me how hurricanes and tornadoes occur just as a result of the right combinations of wind speeds and water and air temperatures.
They ended up having class on Zoom which I was really grateful for, but then I was much less excited about the Zoom meeting for the internship, although again still very grateful I didn’t have to drive. Because even though the storm had mostly subsided at that point, I am sure the roads were still terrible. More than I am scared of driving in harsh post-hurricane conditions, I am scared of fellow drivers who don’t know how to drive in harsh post-hurricane conditions.
Journal Entry #2
9/20/2024
Today was the second day for the internship. We met the founder of the organization Brad Turley which was quite an experience. I was caught off guard at first as he is quite a character, but it was a super fun meeting, and he gave us some advice that was very inspiring to me. He shared with us the importance of asking questions, storytelling, and attitude which I translated to conviction. All of which are extremely important when it comes to creating change that will benefit the environment. If we don’t ask questions and do research, how will we know what our environment needs? If we don’t tell the story well, how can we get people to care about these issues who aren’t initially inclined to care? And last but not least, if we don’t have attitude or conviction when discussing or writing about these issues, how can we expect people to take interest or believe us? It is great food for thought and something I am taking away with me for all aspects of my day-to-day life.
After discussing readings and different research ideas, we made our way outside to look at the water line of Thompson Creek. The weather was hot and humid. There were few clouds in the sky so if we weren’t in the shade of trees, we felt that sun beating down on us. Plus, we were all in our proper field attire, which is long pants tucked into our socks, so we were all feeling the heat. The short hike down to Thompson Creek was still really nice though. We saw lots of different fungi growing up in and along the path. A very interesting looking one we stopped to identify turned out to be Golden Spindles (Clavulinopsis fusiformis), also called Spindle-Shaped Yellow
Coral or Golden Fairy Spindle. There were several other mushrooms we did not stop to identify but all cool looking and all different from each other; short fat red ones, small golden-brown ones, and little yellow ones. I loved the variety seen as we walked along.
The water level of Thompson Creek was much higher than the week before, due to flooding on the 18th. There was four inches of rain that day from a tropical storm, and you could still see the effects two days later. Where we were standing on the bank, we would have been underwater at the height of the water level rising. You could tell by the leaves and debris that were collected in the branches of the trees growing along the creek. After this we made a stop by the Jump Shed to see if we could spot the Barn Owls (Tyto alba) who have been nesting there and were lucky enough to see one fly off. The wingspan was incredible, and it was so awesome to be that close to one, even though we were just watching it fly away.
We ended the day with each getting a shot at flying the drone. As someone who is not tech savvy, I was a little intimidated by this, but it turned out to be fun and I could have done it for hours. We also got a nice surprise when a doe and her fawn walked up just right across the field from where were flying. They looked very startled when they realized we were there and ran off, but it was really special getting to see them and we were pretty close as well.
On day two I am still in awe of the biodiversity and the wildlife that is exploding out of every area. While walking to the shed I saw a little lizard scamp across the path. A fellow intern Sasha was looking at a plant and found a substantial snail tucked under a leaf. An impressive spider made a huge web near the roof of the shed, from a distance it appeared to be a Redfemured Spotted Orbweaver (Neoscona domiciliorum). Yellow Crownbeard (Verbesina helianthoides), a native wildflower that is good for pollinators and migrating butterflies, was growing in abundance around the shed. A minute never goes by without witnessing a butterfly, bee, or grasshopper fly by. It was a great day. I am excited for the internship to continue and especially excited for next week as we are going to continue discussing and possibly be choosing research topics.
Journal Entry #1
9/13/2024
I feel so incredibly lucky I get to take part in this internship. Today was orientation for the Carolina Wildlands internship at Southern 8ths farm. I knew it was going to be beautiful because it is a nature preserve, but I was pleasantly surprised at the vibrancy and electric energy of the land. The weather was beautiful. It was a cool day. There was a nice breeze, and the sky was covered in white and gray clouds with spots and patches of blue peeking through. We did eventually get a little rain but only right at the end.
The farm has an unexpected eclectic quality, due largely in part to the immense sculptures carved out of whole tree trunks. They are impressive pieces of art that depict a range of subjects from biodiversity in nature, to the civil war, to the spiritual connections that exist between animals and ourselves. The sculptures are excellent examples of how through ingenuity and art we can find ways to repurpose something that would appear, at a glance, as waste. They are also preserving the history of the land which was heavily impacted by the civil war.
The land is a haven for biodiversity. In just a short tour we witnessed so many different plant, insect, and animal species. Ten acres of what used to be soybean and corn crops have been transformed into a field of wildflowers that is bursting with life. The air was thick with the sounds of grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids. Yellow and orange butterflies could be seen popping in and out of the dense brush. A variety of plants that supported insect and bird life were growing here. While walking along this trail next to the field some nesting Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) flew up as we got close, a bird that is experiencing serious decline elsewhere but is thriving at Southern 8ths. We also saw an enormous black snake that was thought to possibly be a Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus). Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) were seen circling high up in the sky. Dragon flies were chasing each other. It was truly a marvelous experience to get to be right in the center of this natural world growing around us. It was very inspiring to see how nature can flourish when given care and opportunity.
