# 4 Flora at the Audubon Swamp Garden

Music of the Swamp
a sculpture is situated at the entrance.

I have always enjoyed being outdoors and taking in nature. All sorts of nature is appealing to me from dry or arid areas to wet, humid spaces. The G-man and I enjoy visiting areas where marshlands are abundant because of the wonderful birds, plants and flowers that can be seen. We especially enjoyed the flowers, greenery, lichen and mosses located in Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation. Duck Weed touches or covers everything that moves through the waters here.

Squirrel having a snack

Unknown blue cluster of flowers
Noe Noe Girl stopped by & tipped that this is a hydrangea!
Cool, huh?

It would please me to be able to identify these plants but I have not been able to find photographs online to help me. The closest I have come to any is by looking in my book of Texas Wildflowers, but that is not very helpful for another part of the country.

I suppose I am doing good to be able to identify some of the birds I see, of course, most of that is with the help of the G-man, several bird books, and searching online.

Lily pads
(above & below)

Turtle (Yellow-belly Slider) partially covered with Duck Weed.
The Duck Weed is abundant in the waters here.

Purple Iris happily growing amongst
the lichen covered wood and rocks.

These yellow flowers could be Yellow Coneflower
but I am no expert of flora.

Common Moorhen floating in Duck Weed.

The flowers along with the birds, mammals and reptiles were a real treat for the eyes. The swamp garden is named for the ornithologist and artist John James Audubon, who visited the plantation before the Civil War and is said to have collected waterfowl specimens there as models for his paintings.

Toward the end of the walk one finds the plantation workers' graveyard.
Some of the graves are from the late 1900s.
I wondered how many were from slave families or descendants of slaves.

#3 The Audubon Swamp Garden - Herons and Egrets

Herons and Egrets visit this link for more information about the variety of Herons.

Here are a few more lovely birds from our Swamp trip. I never tire of seeing a Great Blue Heron even if they are abundant in our area. They are majestic birds, so stately. They can stand perfectly still and wait for that one little crab or minnow or frog to cross its path...such patience.

Great Blue Heron

The Little Green Heron is very beautiful in its coloration. Here is one in the marsh just looking for his lunch.

Little Green Heron
above & below

Several Egret species breed and raise their young in The Rookery (a kind of bird nursery) in The Swamp. It is difficult for me to know exactly which species is which. There is the Great Egret (which is the symbol for the Audubon Society), the Snowy Egret, and the Cattle Egret.

Adult Great Egrets foraging for themselves
and their young who are sitting in nests
in the Rookery.

Immature Egrets in The Rookery

Immature Egrets and Anhingas in the Rookery.

A shot of the Rookery at a distance with a normal lens.

Other birds nesting in The Swamp are a variety of Herons: Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Green Heron. I believe the little guy in the photo below is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron who has just fledged. We didn't see his nest nearby (although it could have been), but he is sitting on the tree limb either thinking about flying or waiting for an adult to bring food.

Immature Yellow-Crowned Night Heron in The Swamp

In Battery Park in Charleston we did see many nests of Yellow-crowned Night Herons with many babies peeking out from the nest. These were all located in a very busy area but in great Oak trees right on Charleston Bay where the adult can fly off and get food then return to regurgitate into the nest for the babies to eat. The photos below are also of the immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron, but these were taken in Battery Park in downtown Charleston.

Battery Park on Charleston Bay
and home to nesting
Yellow-crowned Night Herons

Waiting for Mama.


Out on a limb.

Baby peeking out from its nest.

In this photo several babies are eating regurgitated
food that the mother has brought.
They are in a frenzy to eat and all that
can be seen are tail feathers.

Storm clouds over Charleston Bay.
Hunting grounds for Night Herons.

#2 The Audubon Swamp Garden

The trail around this lake and swamp is so inviting to walk. There are stretches of sunlight and shadow/shade. Vines and limbs of trees reach over the walkway making it a cool and pleasant place to be.

Along the way there are birds and young alligators to stop and look at. We saw 3 or 4 young alligators along the edge of the water and were careful to make sure no adult alligators were there. I wonder if mother alligators hover over their young as do the ducks. I did read that baby alligators stay with their mothers for 1 to 1 1/2 years of age. It is always amazing to me how prehistoric alligators appear. They are the last of the living reptiles who are closely related to the dinosaur.

Trail leading around the swamp's lake.

The Lake at Magnolia Plantation

The lake is almost completely covered with green algae. I suppose the wood ducks who live on the lake and raise their young find much nourishment in their surroundings. If one looks closely an alligator or more can be spotted almost covered with algae when they are submerged. I am reasonably sure the parent Wood Ducks are ever vigilant in their hopes of keeping their young ones safe.

Wood Duck family

Alligator stealthily moving through the lake.

This swamp has more beautiful cypress trees and cypress knees that I have seen in many years. Of course the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia & north Florida has many, but those are mostly enjoyed by boating trips through the swamp. Here one can take leisurely walks over wooden walkways and natural paths to enjoy these beautiful trees.

Cypress Trees in the Audubon Swamp Garden
at Magnolia Plantation

The Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation #1

Silhouette of Anhinga

On a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, the G-man and I visited the Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation. We were here together in January a few years ago when the weather was pleasantly cool. This time the weather was hot and humid, but we saw more birds on this trip. The G-man told me that every trip he's made to Charleston has included a trip to this plantation.

Over the next few days I'll share some of the photos of the Swamp with you which will include photos of The Rookery where Anhingas, Egrets, and other water fowl raise their young. Today I share photos of the Anhinga, a water fowl. The link to Wikipedia has more information about this beautiful bird.

Stately Anhinga

Anhinga with wings spread to dry them.

The white wing feathers are visible from the rear of the Anhinga.

To the right are Anhinga in the Rookery and to the left Egrets.

Jekyll Island

If ever I move back to Georgia I think this is the area in which I would enjoy living. If I lived in Brunswick it is just a quick trip over the bridge to Jekyll Island where there seems to be peace & quiet most of the year. There are 4 golf courses, a myriad of wetlands to enjoy, and white sands on which to walk.

The area is also rich in history dating back to the 1500s when only the Spanish were in the area. Later came the British and Georgia was colonized. Forts were scattered along the southern coast to defend from the Spanish who were in Florida and encroached on what became Georgia.

Sidney Lanier found much beauty in the region and wrote a collection of poems about the Marshlands. The most famous of which is "The Marshes of Glynn".

This is one of the prettiest little islands on the Golden Isles.
It is Jekyll Island, GA

The sand dunes are sprinkled with grasses.
There are cedars and oaks growing along the beaches.

When we were there the area was rather quiet.
It seems to be a very private beach,
but with summer coming traffic may pick up.

A sailboat cruises out to the open water.
There are many inlets around where a boat can anchor
and its crew sit back and enjoy the marshlands.

A few folks walk the beach around the driftwood.
In the distance you can see the breakers caused
either by a sandbar, reef, or two rivers converging.
I'm not sure which causes this effect.

More beach walker, more driftwood, and beautiful white sands.
I want to come and stay for about a week and explore this little island.

Brown pelicans coming into shore.

A shrimp boat casts its net into the bay.

Idyllic drive through the oaks to the bay-side pier.

Round About St. Augustine

Architecture of old St. Augustine. It is Spanish in design.
The spires remind me of minarets seen in
southern Spain with its Arabic influence.

Man lazily fishing along the canal near
center of St. Augustine.

Interesting old car on the street.

This appears to be an old market square
located on St. Augustine's main street.
It reminds me of the markets in
Charleston and New Orleans
only on a much smaller scale.

We drove around the old town, but did not stop. There were many tourists about in the middle of the afternoon and we did not really feel like fighting the crowds. Seems I'm getting to like quieter destinations. Rather than stay in the town we drove to St. Augustine Beach to do a little beach walking and enjoy the Atlantic Ocean. It has been many years since I dipped my toes into the Atlantic. Photos of our beach walk are coming soon.