# South Carolina 2013



## Shrike (Aug 8, 2013)

This was primarily a beach trip, but I managed to turn up a few things.  There were a few times when I didn't have my actual camera with me so some of these are via Instagram.

Wish I was still there 












The low country






mirror pool






boardwalk view






beach treasure






"Angel Oak," one of the oldest live oak trees (Quercus virginiana) in the US
























Ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata.  These suckers can really move.






Saying hi to an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus












knobbed whelk, Busicon carica












brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis






beach walker






black crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax


















tricolored heron, Egretta tricolor
























green tree frog, Hyla cinerea












green anole, Anolis carolinensis






This loggerhead sea turtle nest hatched the night before.  You can see the babies tiny flipper prints in the sand.






A non-viable loggerhead sea turtle egg.  Each morning, approved volunteers would dig up nests that had hatched naturally a few days prior.  Sometimes there were a few stragglers still in the nest.






Bucket of babies!


















loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta
























American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis






I _think_ this is a species of assassin bug, Gminatus australis






orchard spider, Leucauge venusta












Southern house spider, Kukulcania hibernalis






Parasteatoda tepidariorum












Dolomedes?  Maybe you guys can help me out here.


















golden silk spider, Nephila clavipes.  Check out the size difference between the males and females!

That's it!  I was hoping to get a few snakes to throw into the mix, but the lone black racer I spotted took off like a lightning bolt.  Hope to get back there sooner rather than later.

Reactions: Like 6


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## ShredderEmp (Aug 9, 2013)

Wow. I faintly remember seeing a couple of those pictures when I was younger. Where in South Carolina were you?

I can attest to the speed of the Ghost Crab. They are lightning quick and they pinch harder than anything else that I've been pinched by. Amazing crab species though.


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## advan (Aug 9, 2013)

Awesome finds Matt!


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## rob0t (Aug 9, 2013)

Beautiful pics!  Thanks for sharing.


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## tarantulagirl10 (Aug 9, 2013)

Great pictures! You weren't near Hunting Island by chance?


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## Shrike (Aug 9, 2013)

ShredderEmp said:


> Wow. I faintly remember seeing a couple of those pictures when I was younger. Where in South Carolina were you?
> 
> I can attest to the speed of the Ghost Crab. They are lightning quick and they pinch harder than anything else that I've been pinched by. Amazing crab species though.


Kiawah.  Yeah, I loved watching those ghost crabs.  I brought my headlamp down to the beach at night and they were everywhere--a real murderers' row if you're a baby sea turtle.

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advan said:


> Awesome finds Matt!


Thanks Chad.  I only wish I could have spent more time there!

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rob0t said:


> Beautiful pics!  Thanks for sharing.


Thank you!

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tarantulagirl10 said:


> Great pictures! You weren't near Hunting Island by chance?


Looks like I was pretty close!  How's the state park there?


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## ShredderEmp (Aug 9, 2013)

I want to say I have been there, but the time I went to South Carolina was so long ago I can't be certain.


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## Plissken (Aug 10, 2013)

Nice pics!  Makes me wanna post some of my pics from Door County and Baraboo Wisconsin!  I'm pretty sure that second to last spider is a Heteropoda venatoria.


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## JadeWilliamson (Aug 10, 2013)

Was this in Charleston?


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## Shrike (Aug 11, 2013)

About 45 minutes from Charleston. Kiawah Island.


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## tarantulagirl10 (Aug 11, 2013)

Hunting Islands State park is awesome. We love camping there. It's. One of our favorite places.


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