Tag Archives: Bathrooms at the meeting place

Kalmia Gardens and Cheraw State Park – Hessel’s Hairstreak and Elfins (Hartsville, SC)

We will begin the day at Kalmia Gardens. The address on their website is listed as 1624 West Carolina Avenue, Hartsville, SC 29550, but that is the mailing address for the building in the center of the gardens. We will meet in the parking lot; the entrance to the parking lot on West Carolina Avenue is located at GPS coordinates 34.36548, -80.11746. At Kalmia we will be looking for the stand of Atlantic White Cedar which is the host plant for Hessel’s Hairstreak.

After spending some time in and around the gardens, we will drive approximately 30 minutes to Cheraw State Park. Our target species at Cheraw are all the elfins and, again, Hessel’s Hairstreak.

Marty and Dave Kastner will lead this walk. Please RSVP to Marty at the email address below if you plan to participate. Please bring water, lunch, binoculars, cameras and field guides. Sunscreen, bug spray, long pants and close-toed shoes are highly recommended.

Reynolda Gardens 2023 (Winston-Salem, NC)

On Saturday, September 23, 2023, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at the FORMAL GARDENS area of Reynolda Gardens.

After the CBS walk through the formal gardens, attendees are welcome to stay a little longer and visit other areas of the 134-acre grounds. These other areas include two miles of scenic walking trails, wetlands, paved pathways, thick woodlands, an expansive meadow for visitors to explore and enjoy and a waterfall, located along the Reynolda Village trail. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information.

Meet at the garden entrance greenhouse at 100 Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106 (or for those who prefer GPS coordinates, 36.12564, -80.28474). Please RSVP to Barbara Cullen at the email address below if you plan to participate.

Reynolda Gardens 2023 (Winston-Salem, NC)

On Saturday, September 23, 2023, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at Reynolda Gardens which serves as a 134-acre outdoor horticultural oasis open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. Revive your senses as you connect with nature and immerse yourself in this peaceful landscape complete with lush, colorful gardens, two miles of scenic walking trails, wetlands, paved pathways, thick woodlands, and an expansive meadow for visitors to explore and enjoy. There is also a waterfall, located along the Reynolda Village trail but we will initially be exploring the gardens listed above. Refer to the website below for a map and additional information.

Meet at the garden entrance greenhouse at 100 Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106 (or for those who prefer GPS coordinates, 36.12564, -80.28474). Please RSVP to Barbara Cullen at the email address below if you plan to participate.

Francis Marion National Forest (McClellanville, NE of Charleston, SC)

SAVE THE DATES

This is a full CBS walk. Exact locations for butterflying within the FMNF (Francis Marion National Forest) will be determined after the NABA count the weekend before this scheduled CBS walk. We will go to the most productive areas in the FMNF based on NABA count results.

On Saturday, we will meet at the Circle K convenience store at the intersection of Highway 17 and Route 45 in McClellanville, SC (GPS coordinates 33.09514, -79.47558). Restrooms are available at this location. From there we will drive to the areas within the FMNF to butterfly. We will be on forest roads within the national forest. There is a fairly large area to explore so we will be driving to specific sites, parking and walking along the roadside, then driving to other areas to explore on foot. There are no facilities within the FMNF. The meeting location for Sunday will be determined at the end of the walk on Saturday.

Make sure to bring plenty of water, bug repellant and a lunch. You can attend either or both days. Please contact Alison Smith at the email address below if you plan to participate.

NABA Count – Congaree National Park (Hopkins, SC)

On Saturday, September 16, 2023, the Midlands Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will participate in a NABA (North American Butterfly Association) count at Congaree National Park near Columbia, South Carolina, to look for mid to late-season butterflies.

Meet at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center (GPS coordinates 33.82984, -80.82343) where we will divide into smaller groups. Some groups will have larger areas to explore than others. Some of the trails will have roots and/or may be overgrown. There are no restaurants nearby. You do not have to be an expert to participate and may come for a whole or half day. Please bring water, lunch, snacks, and if you have them, binoculars, a camera and field guide. Sunscreen, bug spray, long pants and close-toed shoes are highly recommended.

Refer to the national park website link below for additional information and maps of the property. Please RSVP to Theresa Yednoc at the email address below if you can help with this important count.

Salleyland – Late-Summer Butterflies (Salley, SC)

The Midlands Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at Salleyland near Salley, South Carolina, to look for late-summer butterflies. Please note that this is a Sunday walk.

Salleyland is an approximately 100-acre undeveloped (except for a small cabin) tract of land that includes a hardwood forest, a sandhills area, a stream and a swamp. Our host and Salleyland co-owner, Whit Gibbons, is a renowned naturalist and editor, author or co-author of more than 20 books. He also has written numerous articles that have been published in scientific journals.

We will meet at the Salleyland cabin. The address is 2838 Firetower Road, Salley, South Carolina, 29137 in Orangeburg County. GPS coordinates for the entrance to the access road that leads back to the cabin are 33.53716, -81.27444. Parking at the cabin is limited and the access road is difficult for low ground clearance vehicles.

Restrooms are available on the property. Please RSVP or send any questions to Tom Austin at the email address below if you plan to participate.

NABA Butterfly Count (CSRV, Aiken County, SC)

On Saturday, July 8, 2023, NABA (North American Butterfly Association) will hold a butterfly count in the CSRV (Central Savannah River Valley) at the Silver Bluff Audubon Center in Jackson, South Carolina. Audubon’s Silver Bluff Sanctuary is a 3,400-acre woodland overlooking the Savannah River. Here you’ll find extensive pine forests and bottomland hardwood forests; beautiful walking trails; 50 acres of lakes and ponds; 100 acres of grassland; and all manner of birds, butterflies and wildlife. Refer to the website below for specific directions and additional information about Silver Bluff Sanctuary.

Meet at the Silver Bluff Audubon Visitor Center in Jackson, South Carolina. The GPS coordinates for the gate just outside the visitor center are 33.32451, -81.84501. Please RSVP to John Demko at the email address below if you plan to participate.

Important note: Using the street address, some GPS systems tell you that you’ve arrived one mile before you actually reach the Silver Bluff gates. At that point, Silver Bluff Road transitions from a paved road to a well-maintained sand/clay road. Continue driving for one more mile and you’ll see the gates on your right. As stated earlier, the GPS coordinates above are for the gate located just outside the visitor’s center.

On this same date, there will also be another group conducting the NABA count over on the Georgia side of the river. If anyone is interested in participating with this other group in Georgia, contact John Demko at the email address below for more information.

Loretta Lutman’s Home Butterfly Garden 2023 (Randolph County, NC)

On Saturday, July 8, 2023, the Triad Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) has been invited to a butterfly walk at Loretta Lutman’s extensive private butterfly garden in Randolph County that has many nectar plants all around her house. In addition, she has installed her “blue garden,” a sculpture garden of butterfly images with blue being the dominant color. This is a beautiful addition to all her planted beds.

Loretta has previously stated, “The tour of my garden includes photos of what was once a scrubby wooded lot with no sun, to a full-fledged butterfly garden full of nectar plants with the surrounding woodlands supplying host plants. Around and in back of the house are several butterfly sculptures in the ‘blue’ garden. After your tour, sit a spell in the gazebo (with fans), view the garden, and enjoy butterflies, skippers, and the surprise goldfinches that come to forage on coneflower petals. Listen to the delightful sound of the waterfall sprinkler.”

As well as developing her own extensive butterfly garden, Loretta has spent many years as a volunteer working at the nearby NC Zoo in their butterfly gardening efforts. She also is the author of a scientifically accurate children’s book on the butterfly life cycle.

If you would like to attend, please contact Loretta Lutman at the email address below to RSVP and obtain her address (which, for privacy and security concerns, is not published here). If it happens to rain (banish the thought) on July 8, this walk will be rescheduled to July 15.

NABA Count – Congaree National Park (Hopkins, SC)

On Saturday, August 17, 2023, the Midlands Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will participate in a NABA (North American Butterfly Association) count at Congaree National Park near Columbia, South Carolina, to look for seasonal butterflies.

Meet at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center (GPS coordinates 33.82984, -80.82343) where we will divide into smaller groups. Some groups will have longer areas to walk than others. Some of the trails will have roots and/or may be overgrown. There are no restaurants nearby. You do not have to be an expert to participate and may come for a whole or half day.

Refer to the national park website link below for additional information and maps of the property. If possible, bring water, lunch, binoculars, cameras, sunscreen, and bug spray. If you do not have binoculars, Congaree may be able to provide a set for the day. Long pants and close-toed shoes are recommended. Please register on the CBS website or RSVP to Marty Kastner at the email address below if you can help with this important count.

REVISED DATE – Super-Sod Farm and Surrounding Area – Common Sootywing (Orangeburg, SC)

REVISED DATE – Moved to Wednesday, May 24 (from Monday, May 22) due to expected weather conditions.

The Carolina Butterfly Society Midlands Chapter will explore areas around and possibly inside the Super-Sod Farm in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Please note that this is now a Wednesday walk. Our target species is the Common Sootywing which has been recoded here in the past.

Meet at the Super-Sod office at 3086 Five Chop Road, Orangeburg, South Carolina, 29115. The GPS coordinates are 33.4594, -80.7433.

Please bring water, lunch, binoculars, cameras, sunscreen, and bug spray. Long pants and close-toed shoes are recommended. Dennis Forsythe will lead. Please register on the CBS website or contact Dennis at dennis.forsythe@gmail.com if you can attend.