Snags in a Cyprus Swamp

Snags: While down in Georgia in Daniel Coffee State Park over break , I walked along the Nature trail observing bird activity and snags on March 17th. It was around 4-5:00 and the sun wouldn’t set for a few more hours. It was about 65-70˚F out and clear skies. The trail took me along the campground through a mixed forest with long needle pine, live oaks, holly, and other wonders of the south. Then the trail swerved by a swampy river and took a boardwalk over the water. The swamps here are comprised of cypress trees and possibly tupelo; the roots of the cypress trees bend upwards like knees for extra support and oxygenation. At the start of the walk i noticed a few of the pine trees as dead snags with cavities in them up high. Additionally there was a tree with small sapsucker holes all along it. The birds were singing off in the canopy. Once we crossed the boardwalk I saw the action; the birds were noisier here and very active flying close to the water in the saplings. There was one large snag (probably a cyprus) in particular with a mix of large and small holes in it. Unlike Vermont which is covered in two feet of snow currently, sheltering in the small remaining songbirds in tree cavities, here the birds don’t rely on the cavities as much. At night the temperatures dip down into the 40s but during this time of day their biggest concern seems to be singing the day away and feeding. The fall hurricane has taken a tole on the trees though and many fresh blowdowns have left behind snapped trunks and upturned rootballs which will make great nesting sites and the rootlets will provide great nesting material.

Posted on March 19, 2018 03:12 AM by jnorris2