This beautiful state park in the state's capitol covers 1,500 acres and has a 30 acre lake around which we hiked on Thursday. The park was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal Program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program was designed to provide employment during the Great Depression while addressing national needs in conservation and recreation. The CCC was instrumental in the development of many of South Carolina's state parks and a number of the buildings built by the CCC in the 1930' are still in use at the park today.
Handsome Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Foraging in the same tree was a Golden-crowned Kinglet
Each of the nostrils of this aptly-named diminutive little guy is covered by a single, tiny feather
Resident to medium-distance migrants. Those in the Appalachians and mountainous West tend to stay in one place year-round, while birds that breed across Canada move south to spend their winters across the U.S.
The tiny Golden-crowned Kinglets are hardier than they look, routinely wintering in areas where nighttime temps often fall below -40 degrees F.
Mallard (Drake)
Resting with eye closed
And now with the eye open
The Mallard is thought by many to be the most abundant and wide-ranging duck on Earth.
A wide-spread range
A Hen Mallard closing her eye to rest
The females are handsome birds too.
Canada Geese
With eyelids (that come over the eye horizontally rather than vertically like ours) in various stages
Some migratory populations are not going as far south in the winter as they used to. This northward range shift has been attributed to changes in farm practices that makes waste grain more available in fall and winter, as well as hunting pressure and weather changes.
At least 11 subspecies have been recognized, although only a couple are distinctive.
Thursday evening's fingernail moon.
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