Diario de landsb

On April 28th I walked around the College of Charleston campus to observe the variety of species. The weather was sunny and warm with a high of 80. Majority of the plants I observed are not native to South Carolina. Cabbage Palmettos are native to the southern lowlands and are found all over campus. In front of the cistern are huge oak trees which of course hang with Spanish moss and have Resurrection fern on their trunks. In these oaks there are often squirrels, on Sunday I observed an Eastern Gray Squirrel who actually let me get pretty close. Behind the Cistern I spotted a Bigleaf Magnolia which certainly has a fitting name and a couple Oakleaf hydrangea bushes. I also saw the fruit of an American Sycamore tree which at first I thought was a fuzzy animal. Near this was a small garden with Tsutsus azalea of a light pink color, Virginia sweetspire shrub, and tons of bushes of common Lantana. I observed one Japanese maple which looked incredibly vibrant with the sun shining on its red leaves. In the yards near Green Way I observed a variety of organisms from a single Largeflower pink-sorrel, a Chinese privet plant next to Glossy privet, a small Princess tree, tons of Japanese stiltgrass which had an Asian Lady Beetle, Little quaking-grass, and a common oleander. Another interesting plant I observed was Silver ragwort. While walking toward the Addlestone Library I observed lots of green such as Japanese Pittosporum, Fatsia, an Acanthus plant, Stately Maiden Ferns, Climbing fig taking over walls, a Clematis plant which looked a bit droopy, and Slider Turtles in the small pond behind the Stern Center. On Coming street, I encountered a Common Five-linked Skink which I was not excited about. Behind the library I observed Roses which do not look like the typical roses you buy at the grocery store, common ivy, tropical milkweed which had very vibrant colors, and again many common Latana bushes.

On April 18th we went on a boat in the Charleston harbor to observe the various coastal organisms in these waters. The weather was warm with a high of 78 and beautiful clear skies. It wasn't too humid, we had a nice breeze on the water. We lowered a net four times, pulling up various organisms to observe. In every net there were tons of white shrimp and Spot Croakers, which the laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans swarmed to try to snatch. We also pulled up some Colorful Sea Whip which was a bright yellow. There were a couple Weakfish in the net which I thought were pretty funny with their one snaggle tooth. There were tons of these little fish which looked kind of like dragons with fins that spread out like wings, I attempted to identify them as Searobins but I have not gotten another identification on that post, so I'm not 100% thats what I observed. We also pulled up quite a few Atlantic Blue Crab which had such bright blue colors, I didn't know they were that vibrant. Our nets were filled with Hogchoker every time which I thought were very interesting, the first one I saw I thought it was missing it's other half. We pulled up a couple True Jellies and a couple different crabs, called Lady Crab which had a mesmerizing pattern and an Armed Petrolisthes which was very tiny. We got lucky and pulled up both a female and male Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, they were most likely mating when we caught them. It was neat to see them side by side and observe the sexual dimorphism in the species. We were also very lucky to catch an octopus! This was one of my favorite observations, I had never seen one in person and did not even think they would be here in the Charleston harbor. My other favorite observations was the Northern Puffer and the Striped Burrfish, it was cool to be able to hold them and I thought they had funny faces. We also pulled up one small Atlantic Stingray, I thought it was neat how it looks like it's smiling and seeing the stinger was cool as well. We caught several short-bodied squids as well which were mesmerizing to watch swim. Overall, it was so interesting to see the diversity of organisms that live in the Charleston Harbor and I hope I get the opportunity to experience this again!

On March 15th we visited the Dixie Plantation again, it was partly cloudy that day but still particularly warm at a high of 68 and little to no breeze. We observed various species here from fungi to fish to plants. From the water we observed a couple small Eastern Mosquitofish, a couple crayfish, a Green Frog in the tadpole phase, a Redfin Pickerel and a couple Ray-finned fishes. We also observed a Marbled Salamander which was really neat and kind of cute, along with a fully developed Green Tree Frog. There were tons of the American Sweetgum seeds along with a couple of the trees. There were also a lot of Red Maple trees and their seeds that I used to play with as a kid. Of course we observed several pine trees and Dwarf Palmetto through the woodsy areas. We also spotted a Baldcypress tree which has visually pleasing leaves. Along the water we observed a Black Willow tree in bloom which is beautiful and quite rare to see, it was my favorite part. Also near the water were various types of fungi growing, one was Hooded Sunburst Lichen which had rusty orange color, White-Pored Chicken of the woods which kind of did resemble chicken, and another was Gilled Polypore which kind of reminded me of mushrooms and i'd like to know why they have the name Gilled. An interesting one we observed has still not be identified, it sort of looks like an egg that cracked on the log. Among these organisms we observed various plants like . yellow Creeping Woodsorrel, Heath Speedwell, Water Pennyworts, Downy Milkpea, and a Southern Dewberry. The most intriguing thing about a lot of these plants is their names, I'd love to know how they got them.

On April 4th we waded to a small island at Grice that is only accessible at low tide. On April 4th it was partly cloudy with a high of 68 degrees. It was fairly windy out on the water. In the shallow water we used a seining net to observe the different organisms in the area. We didn't catch very much with the seining net but we did catch quite a bit of Atlantic Silverside fish, a few Swimming Crabs, a Sea Squirt, and a very small Planehead Filfish. Along the beach we saw many Eastern Mudsnails along with lots of Red Algae which kind of looked like hair washed up on the shore. We also a few Cannonball Jellies and one very cool Lion's Mane Jellies in a small pool of water. In the nets we also observed a few Plumed Worms which were pretty hard to distinguish, they blend in with the sand and seaweed. Besides the living organisms we found, we also found a lot of sharks teeth. I found around 20 just along the shore. I love sharks and looking for their teeth so this was easily my favorite part of this trip.

On April 11th we went to Sullivans Island, it was very sunny and the high was around 80 degrees. There was a good breeze this day as well. Along the board walk we observed Poison Ivy, a Wax Myrtle, some Cattails, a Willow tree and a couple Spiderwort plants. We planned to search the dunes for Texas Horned Lizards but only found some of their waste, which was full of ants. In the dunes there were a lot of different types of vegetation. There was tons of Dune Marsh Edler, Beach Evening-Primrose and Sea Purslane. There were also tons of Sandburs which my feet were a victim to. Despite not finding any Texas Horned Lizards, we did find an Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad which was pretty neat.

On Thursday, February 28 we walked through part of the College of Charleston campus and down Bull Street near a small pond. That day it was 71 degrees, partly cloudy with a little bit of a breeze. Starting our walk we saw an Umbrella Papyrus which has an interesting history that I never connected. The plant was used for paper. We then saw an Eastern Redbud which was really pretty and reminded me of a cherry blossom. Walking through the cistern yard we of course saw all the oak trees which had Resurrection Fern which were all pretty much green from the recent rain. Near the alumni services we saw a Saw Palmetto which if you look closely at the base, it has things that stick out that look like pine needles. Near it was a Japanese Camellia bush which was really pretty but the edges of the petals look like there was either some deficiency or something damaging it. We found a Sago Cycad in a yard in front of one of the office buildings of cougar mall. I noticed these leaves were a very dark green and had very defined leaves. Finally after all the Holly we've seen on our trips, we observed an American Holly tree. Across the yard was a Saucer Magnolia which was really pretty, I also wonder what makes it have that pink hue. In the yard we also observed some Buckeyes which a few had already sprouted tiny little trees, I found this interesting because I honestly did not know that Buckeyes grew into trees. Walking towards Bull Street, we observed an Tsutsusi Azalea which was gorgeous and I would love to plant in my yard one day. I then saw a Cabbage Palmetto sprouting by the base of a tree, I found this interesting that it looked like it was literally growing from the tree. The leaves kind of remind me of a taco shape. We saw a fence covered in Yellow Jessamine, they sort of looked like honey suckles to me. A few yards away I observed a single blossom Japanese Kerria which I found really interesting. Not too far from that was a tree with Carolina Laurelcherry and a Souther Magnolia tree right by it. I love Magnolia trees and how big the leaves are. We also observed a Red Maple tree and I noticed that it's 'veins' were red and wonder if thats why they named it Red Maple. A little further in a driveway I noticed a Japanese Camellia bush again, but this one looked a little different kind of in a bad way. I wonder why the ones in this are looks much more lifeless than the other ones. Right on the edge of the sidewalk we observed a Chusan Palm which is poisonous, so it's kind of questionable why someone would put that right next to a sidewalk. In some bushes we found a Green Anole, I usually hate lizards but this one was kind of cute and I think it was my favorite part of this trip.

On February 21, 2019, we walked through part of the Francis Marion National Forest. The weather this day was warm and very sunny with a little bit of a breeze. Along the trail I identified many Greenbriers and even Star Moss which I thought I had found at the Dixie Plantation. On top of two fallen logs, there were a couple of funguses, False Turkey Tail and Dyrad's Saddle. They both looked fairly similar with a round shape, irregular edges and grew off the log in the same way. The False Turkey Tail had interesting colors, I can see where it got its name from. Under the logs was a Horned Passalus Beetle which made a very weird noise and had a hard exoskeleton. Another interesting observation along the trail was an Airplant which really just looked like a ball of hay. There were many beautiful Oak Trees with Spanish Moss and some had Resurrection Ferns. Near an Oak Tree, I identified a Water Oak. At the edge of a creek we observed a Great Egret which I tried to capture with my phone through binoculars. A few minutes later, a small Alligator appeared near the Great Egret. I tried to get a photo but it was hard to distinguish the gator from the water and only the top of his head was above the water. Away from the water in the woods, I observed a lot more 'random' things. I spotted an Oriental False Hawksbeard, a Yellow Jessamine, a Gallberry bush, and a couple of Pineland Daisies. I thought this was interesting because most of them were single or there were only a couple in a small area. The woods were full of Longleaf Pines. At one point, above us were a group of birds flying above the tree line. We observed one to be a Bald Eagle and the others seemed to be vultures. I think this was my favorite part because I had never seen a Bald Eagle freely flying so closely and it was interesting to see it interacting with vultures.

On February 7th, 2019 at the Dixie Plantation in Hollywood, South Carolina, the weather was warm and partly cloudy. There was really no breeze and it was a bit humid. We wore waiters in order to walk through the swamps on the Plantation, retrieving traps for crawfish and any other possible specimens in the waters. We also walked through part of the woods and saw very many things. At the beginning of our walk, a single violet flower was spotted. I thought this was need seeing how we only one small violet flower through the whole trip and violets have a special meaning to me from my great grandmother so that was really neat to me. From the waters, we caught several crawfish from the Genus Procambarus. They were interesting in their claws and their abdomens. They kind of looked like mini lobsters to me. I also noticed that one claw seemed to be bigger. We also caught a Green Sunfish, a couple Pygmy Sunfishes, and a Southern Cricket Frog. The Green Sunfish was bigger than the Pygmy Sunfish and, unironically, had a more green hue to it. In the waters, a snake was spotted but we were unable to get a photo of it. It was most likely a Water Moccasin. Further down we observed more plants, the ones along a stream seemed to be a lot taller. I identified a Cane plant and Parrot's Feather. A little further down we found a Green Tree Frog, which I think was my favorite part of the trip. Walking through the woods I observed a mossy like plant on the ground and originally identified it as Star Moss because the leaves kind of form a star shape, but several other people correctly identified it as Atrichum. Through the woods we also spotted a trail of possible deer blood, which honestly made me concerned because just before we saw about eight deer run in that direction. A little further down were the bones of a deer. It had already been eaten likely by coyotes, but the skull was fully in tact and the ribs several other bones were still there, which was pretty neat to see. On the way back, there was a ton of Yaupon Holly which has a very interesting history.

On Thursday, January 17th I found these things on Sullivan's island along the beach. That day was very sunny and warm. We walked along the beach on access 11 and then through a trail through the woods behind the shore. My favorite observation was the tiny fuzzy crab. The specific species has not yet been identified. A couple weeks later I saw a much larger, similar crab on Folly beach and it was identified as an Atlantic Ghost Crab. I found the names of the observations we saw also particularly interesting. Names like Beach Suncup, Creeping Cactus, and Bitter Panicgrass stood out to me. Some of the names make me wonder who came up with that and why it is called that. We also spotted an Atlantic Horseshoe Crab but it was just the shell, near by was also a smaller one, which made me curious as to how or why those to Horseshoe Crab's were washed ashore with just the shell.