Carolina Sandhills NWR

The close of the season brings us to our final destination for 2022 as we visit Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge (CSNWR). This is one of my favorite locations but I’ve never been out in December so it will be interesting to see how things are different. I can see why SCAN has visited at least 5 times that I could find looking through previous newsletters. This time, Nancy Jordan a biologist in charge of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker population at CSNWR will be meeting us at 10:00AM at the visitor center off Highway 1, a little over 3 miles north of the stoplight in McBee, SC.

The Refuge was in very bad shape from poor farming practices and erosion had become a major issue when the land was purchased in 1939 under the Resettlement Act, part of the New Deal. Over the last 80 years many of the habitats and inhabitants have been restored to how it would have been before its degradation. Though historical species like bison, panther, wolves and bears have not made their way back to the refuge, mammals such as deer, turkey and beavers were successfully reintroduced.

Since the land was set aside initially for birds one of the first things they established were some manmade ponds that now total 30. There are a variety of habitats found within the property. The one that gets the most attention is the longleaf pine forest. Due both to the effort that is required because of routine prescribed burns and due to the endangered residents, the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCW). The burns minimize understory competition, the old tree population provide habitat, and artificial nesting cavities have helped the refuge population of RCW to grow to well over 100 family groups.

Other interesting finds at the refuge include: Pine Barrens treefrog, white wickey, Well’s pixie moss, sweet pitcher plant (one of 6 carnivorous species), Swainson’s warbler, Atlantic white cedar, Pine Barren Gentian, Bachman’s Sparrow (breeding population), and a dense nightjar breeding population. We could also start to see the return of some waterfowl on the ponds or quail in the less dense vegetation.

Besides the numerous dirt forest roads and wildlife drive that we may be able to see wildlife from, there are numerous trails ranging from 0.1 miles (Martin’s Lake Overlook) to roughly 4 miles (Tates Trail one way).

The link to the interactive maps can be found here:
https://www.fws.gov/…/carolina-sandhills/visit-us/trails

There should be pamphlets and visual aids at the kiosk at the visitor center and there is good signage at the trails also. Typically the visitor center is closed on Saturday and not sure if that will still be the case with Nancy Jordan meeting us. However restrooms can still be found at the Lake Bee recreation area on the NE side of the property. Other areas of interest are Pond A, Martin’s Lake, and the Oxpen recreation area.

Bring a lunch, water, binoculars and prepare for the variable weather expected for Saturday.

We are meeting at 10am at the visitor center. Google Maps lists the coordinates as:
34.50410449522909, -80.22510546392525

Todd Johnston
Eastern Regional Director