Tag Archives: Porta Potty available

SI Group Hundred Acre Woods – Goatweed Leafwing (Orangeburg, SC)

TIME CHANGED (from 10:00am-3:00pm to 1:00pm-4:00pm)

DATE CHANGED (from September 30 to October 14)

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, the Midlands Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at the SI Group Hundred Acre Woods in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to look for the Goatweed Leafwing (we believe there is an existing, ongoing colony) and other fall butterflies. There will be a short drive on an unpaved road to get to our staging point, and, after parking, we will walk around the property. This site was last visited in 2019.

There is a porta potty on site. Restaurants and gas stations are nearby. The walk will be on flat ground, but some field areas may be overgrown.

The address is 725 Cannon Bridge Road, Orangeburg, SC 29115 (GPS coordinates 33.465095, -80.884050). Traveling south on Cannon Bridge Road from Highway 301, go past the railroad crossing and come in the third entrance on the left just after the main parking lot area for the SI Group and just before the fenced-in electrical substation enclosure. After turning in, look to your right and follow the short dirt road, on the east side of the electrical substation enclosure, towards the tree line where we will meet and line up our cars. After everyone has arrived, a safety officer from the SI Group will lead the caravan of cars back to the Hundred Acre Woods parking area.

Please register online at the CBS website or RSVP to Diane Curlee, our trip organizer, at the email address below if you plan to participate.

CANCELLED – SI Group Hundred Acre Woods – Goatweed Leafwing (Orangeburg, SC)

=== CANCELLED ===

This walk has been cancelled due to expected rain almost all day in Orangeburg. If at all possible, we will try to reschedule for a later date.

On Saturday, September 10, 2022, the Midlands Chapter of CBS (Carolina Butterfly Society) will hold a butterfly walk at the SI Group Hundred Acre Woods in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to look for the Goatweed Leafwing (we believe there is an existing, ongoing colony) and other fall butterflies. There will be a short drive on an unpaved road to get to our staging point, and, after parking, we will walk around the property.

There is a porta potty on site. Restaurants and gas stations are nearby. The walk will be on flat ground, but some field areas may be overgrown.

The address is 725 Cannon Bridge Road, Orangeburg, SC 29115 (GPS coordinates 33.465095, -80.884050). Traveling south on Cannon Bridge Road from Highway 301, go past the railroad crossing and come in the third entrance on the left just after the main parking lot area for the SI Group and just before the fenced-in electrical substation enclosure. After turning in, look to your right and follow the short dirt road, on the east side of the electrical substation enclosure, towards the tree line where we will meet and line up our cars. After everyone has arrived, Arthur Sweatman from the SI Group will lead the caravan of cars back to the Hundred Acre Woods parking area.

Please register online at the CBS website or RSVP to Diane Curlee, our trip organizer, at the email address below if you plan to participate.

Carolina Sandhills NWR, Cheraw SP and Horseshoe Mountain

The first walk for the CBS Midlands Chapter will be on April 3. We will visit Cheraw State Park and Horseshoe Mountain. Due to a recent controlled burn and lack of nectar, we will NOT explore Carolina Sandhills NWR; we will only meet there in the parking lot at 10:00 (which, due to the expected cool temperature, is later than the original time of 9:30 ). The main entrance is on US Highway 1, about 4 miles northeast of McBee, SC.  The address is 23734 U.S. Highway 1, McBee, SC 29101. We will caravan to Cheraw SP and then to Horseshoe Mountain.

Please note that masks and social distancing are mandated on all federal lands (Sandhills) and masks are only required in areas where people congregate at Cheraw SP. If you want to explore the Carolina Sandhills NWR, a youth turkey hunt is taking place on this date and our permit limits us to either side of Wildlife Drive from Hwy 1 to RT 9. Please bring an orange hat or vest to wear in the NWR other than the parking lot.

Please note that the area at Cheraw SP is not a trail and we will be walking on uneven ground covered with pine needles and some vegetation. Also, at Horseshoe Mountain there is a walk with some steps to get up to the top. The high temperature is only supposed to be 59 on Saturday, but we did see butterflies while scouting when it was only 55 degrees. It is supposed to be sunny.

As before we will practice social distancing as much as possible during the walk. Be sure to bring your mask since the area will be more crowded on a holiday weekend. Bathrooms are available at Horseshoe Mountain.

The target species are Henry’s Elfin, Brown Elfin, Frosted Elfin and Hessel’s Hairstreak. Please bring your binoculars, camera, field guides, lunch, snacks and water. We will end around 3:00. Marty and Dave Kastner will lead the walk. Please sign up on the CBS website or contact Marty and Dave if you plan to attend. kastners@aol.com

CANCELLED – SI Group Hundred Acre Woods

CANCELLED

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the SI Group is currently not allowing any groups to visit their Hundred Acre Woods habitat conservation and management area.  Consequently, this walk has been CANCELLED. 

The target species is the Goatweed Leafwing and other fall butterflies. There is a porta potty on site. The walk will be on flat ground, but some field areas may be overgrown.

The address is 725 Cannon Bridge Road, Orangeburg, SC 29115. Come in the second entrance after crossing the railroad tracks coming from Hwy. 301. Look to your right and go towards the tree line. We will line our cars up near the tree line. After everyone has arrived, Arthur Sweatman from the SI Group will lead the caravan of cars to the Hundred Acre Woods. Restaurants and gas stations are nearby.  Marty Kastner is our trip organizer; please contact Marty if you are coming. kastners@aol.com

Edisto Island including Roxbury Park and the Hutchinson House

Note that this trip is scheduled for Sunday (instead of the normal Saturday). Our target species will be the Great Southern White.

The Midlands Chapter of the Carolina Butterfly Society will hold a walk on Edisto Island on Sunday, August 30.  Due to Covid-19, social distancing will be practiced.  Please have a mask at hand for necessary times that may arise.  Please note that we are not going to Botany Bay as previously planned due to the large crowds that visit there.  Tom Austin will lead.  Contact him if you plan to attend.  tbausti@g.clemson.edu

We will meet at Roxbury Park at 10:00am in the parking lot. (There is a portalet in the parking lot.) Traffic should be low and social distancing shouldn’t be an issue. We’ll spend the morning at Roxbury before heading to the Hutchinson House after lunch. We’ll roam the trails there until we disband. We should be the only ones on the Hutchinson House property. (There is a portalet behind the house.)

Address for Roxbury Park is: 4494 Hwy-174, Meggett, SC

Address for the Hutchinson House is: 7666 Point of Pines Rd, Edisto Island, SC

Hutchinson House, which is now owned by Edisto Island Open Land Trust, is a freedman house constructed circa 1885 by a former slave. Efforts are in place to restore the home and grounds.

SI Group

This is a joint trip with SCAN (South Carolina Association of Naturalists). The address is 725 Cannon Bridge Road, Orangeburg, SC 29115. Come in the second entrance after crossing the railroad tracks coming from Hwy. 301. Look to your right and go towards the tree line. We will line our cars up near the tree line. When everyone is there, Arthur Sweatman from the SI Group will lead the caravan of cars to the Hundred Acre Woods. Dave Kastner is our trip organizer. The target species is the Goatweed Leafwing and other fall butterflies. There is a porta potty on site. Restaurants and gas stations are nearby. The walk will be on flat ground but some field areas may be overgrown. Register online or contact Dave if you are able to attend.

Crackerneck Wildlife Management Area and Ecological Reserve

Jackson, SC, Aiken County. Please visit their website for directions. This area is only open during designated dates and times. Meet at the gate where you will have to sign in and out. We may carpool on the property leaving the other cars in the parking area. We will drive to various areas to look for butterflies. The main roads are gravel, the smaller roads are grass but unless you get way off the track they are in pretty good shape and are well maintained. There is a port-o-let at the gate. The nearest town is Jackson, a mile or two from the front gate. There is a Subway there and possibly other local restaurants, but you should probably bring lunch because the property is huge and if you get back to the areas where we’re going to be, it can take as long as ½ hour just to get back to the gate. Intricate Satyr, Texan Crescent and Appalachian Brown have been found at this site.

SI Group, Orangeburg, SC

We will again go to the Hundred Acre Woods of the SI Group to look for the Goatweed Leafwing as well as other butterflies.  We have often found caterpillars and eggs as well as adult butterflies.   Please bring your lunch and water.  We will be eating at some picnic tables.  Wear close toed shoes and long pants.  Bring your binoculars, cameras, field guide, sunscreen and bug spray.  Enter at the second entrance after crossing the railroad tracks coming from Hwy. 301.  Look to your right and go towards the tree line. We will meet there.  Restaurants and gas stations are nearby.  There is a porta potty on site.  Arthur Sweatman will be our leader.