Author: Ogeechee Riverkeeper

Blog Post, Educational , ,

Draw a watershed

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 16, 2020

Description of a Watershed: A watershed is a system of how water flows through an area moving sediment, water and dissolved materials into a common point. Think of how a river or creek flows into or out of a lake. The Ogeechee Watershed has many types of ecosystems within it including freshwater from the Piedmont region, to blackwater rivers and swamps in the Coastal Plain region and runs all the way to the Georgia coast.

Materials needed: a piece of paper and any type of drawing or painting tools. Be creative using what you have at home! Draw a river, creek or swamp system flowing into a lake or the ocean in the middle of your paper (see drawing example).

On either side of your river/creek/swamp create an environment that you make up (it doesn’t have to be realistic!) It can be a city, small town, the mountains, a fantastical place, something from your favorite movie, etc. Remember to include plants and wildlife. Be creative! 

Don’t want to post on social media? Email to info@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org. Please include first name, age and hometown.

Activity is open to all ages and meets the needs or can be combined with other activities for the following Georgia Standards of Excellence in vocabulary, science and art.

 

  • S2E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how weather, plants, animals, and humans cause changes to the environment.
  • S4E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to demonstrate the water cycle.
  • S6E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to recognize the significant role of water in Earth processes.
  • VAHSDR.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art.

 

 

 

Blog Post, Creature Feature , , , ,

Fauna: Odonata

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 7, 2020

DRAGONFLIES
Odonata anisoptera

DAMSELFLIES
Odonata zygoptera

Dragonflies and damselflies are closely related insects. Sometimes called ‘mosquito hawks,’ they are aerial predators that feed on insects such as midges and mosquitoes. They don’t have a stinger, but they can bite. None are known to be harmful to humans.

Wings of odonata, dragonflies and damselflies, Manual of Entomology, Maxwell Lefroy, 1923

Dragonflies and damselflies can be distinguished by the shape of the their wings. Anisoperta means “unequal wings” as dragonflies have slightly different pairs of wings. Zygoperta, meaning “equal wings” refers to damselflies. Both sets of wings are the same size and shape.

In the world there are about 5,000 species of odonata, with about 450 in North America. The Ogeechee and Canoochee Rivers are home to a few species, including some uncommon ones.

Sparkling Jewelwing (Calopteryx dimidiata), Santa Rosa County, FL, USA

Sparkling jewelwing
Calopteryx dimidiata

A damselfly (note the aligned wingsets in photo above), it is large and easily found in Georgia and across the southeast. It’s typically found in sandy forest streams, particularly acidic ones like the blackwater Ogeechee and Canoochee rivers.

Blackwater clubtail, Gomphus dilatatus, Big Hammock Natural Area, Tattnall Co., Georgia

Blackwater clubtail
Gomphus dilatatus

This dragonfly is fairly uncommon and only found in the coastal plain regions. They tend to live near slow-moving rivers or streams with sandy or silty bottoms and perch on leaves or branches close to the water. The genus gomphidae is noted for its club-like tail and clear wings. There are fourteen of this genus in Georgia, but are difficult to study due to their rarity and short season.

*click any image for source information

Blog Post, Creature Feature , , , , , , ,

Fauna: Passerina ciris

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 1, 2020
Painted Bunting by Dan Pancamo

PAINTED BUNTING
Passerina ciris

The brightly colored bird is a member of the cardinal family and lives in the southeast and south-central United States, including coastal Georgia. Females and immature males are a parrot green color. At about two years old, the male’s feathers turn multiple tones of red, indigo, yellow, and more.

Color engraving by R. Havell, after drawing by John J. Audubon – Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington

They breed in maritime hammocks, scrubland, briar patches, woodland edges and swampy thickets. The females typically lay 3-4 eggs, twice a year. The fledglings take just a couple of weeks to leave the nest after hatching. The population is estimated at about 4.5 million, but that number is decreasing.

Painted Bunting (Female) by Dan Pancamo

The painted bunting was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his eighteenth-century work Systema Naturae. The Swedish naturalist did a taxonomy of plants in 1753 and followed up with animals in 1758 and 1759.

Cover of Systema Naturae, 10th edition

Painted buntings are territorial and can be seen throughout the Ogeechee River watershed and nearby areas like Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge.

Listen to the call of the Painted bunting.

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Flora: Nyssa ogeche

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper March 24, 2020
Tupelo, ogeche trees on the north Suwanna River north, Florida.

The Ogeechee Lime (Nyssa ogeche), also known as the Ogeechee Tupelo, is a member of the dogwood family. It lives in damp areas, near rivers and swamplands in the American southeast, including the Ogeechee River basin.

Native range of the Nyssa ogeche

With wide trunks and knobby roots, it produces a small fruit in late summer or early fall. Called tupelo limes, the fruit is often used in the place of traditional limes, including to make a lemonade-type drink and to make preserves.

WSAV image of specimen on Armstrong campus

The flowers appear from late March to early May after the new leaves have grown. These fruit blossoms are pollinated by bees which then produce the famous tupelo honey. Some beekeepers have planted the tree in order to encourage greater honey production.

Nyssa ogeche was named by renowned botanist William Bartram in the book Arbustrum Americanum published in 1785. Bartram visited the southeast, including Savannah, in 1773. In his travels he documented more than 200 new species of birds and more than 150 plants.

 

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Prep Talk: Tools and Tips for Your Next Paddling Adventure

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper March 22, 2020

Updated: December 2022

The Ogeechee and Canoochee are truly remarkable rivers that teem with life and drastically changes from season to season. If you happen to miss out on one of our trips or you want to organize your own, our hope is that you will benefit from these tools and tips while planning your own Ogeechee River basin adventure.

Gear

Canoes work very well on this river, although you may have a tougher time getting past some logs that are close to the surface of the water. Also, I don’t recommend taking canoes into coastal waters, as they are very difficult to get back into if you flip over and can’t scramble up onto a bank. If you’re looking for a kayak that works anywhere in the basin, we recommend a boat somewhere between 10 and 16 feet in length – anything longer and you’ll be frustrated in tight turns upstream; anything shorter and you’ll be miserable bobbing in open water closer to the coast. If you are on a tight budget, consider a used boat on Craigslist from a reputable company rather than a cheap new boat from a big retail store.

Other than a seaworthy vessel, here’s a list of other things you should consider bringing, starting out with essentials then moving into some more specialized pieces of gear.

  • Personal Flotation Device, aka life jacket (required by law – get it and wear it)
  • Drinking water (I know it’s not gear but people forget – bring at least 2 liters if you’re going to be out for more than a couple hours)

    Chaco Outcross Evo 2
    Chaco Outcross Evo 2
  • Whistle
  • First aid kit
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat
  • Dry bag (for phone and keys)
  • GPS and/or paper map (I recommend both; GPS doesn’t have to be a dedicated handheld – more in the Apps section)
  • Spare paddle
  • Bailing pump
  • Paddle leash (make your own with some bungee cord)

    Salamander Retriever Throw Bag
    Salamander Retriever Throw Bag
  • Folding saw
  • Duct tape
  • Paddling gloves
  • Sponge (for cleaning your boat out and getting those small amounts of water out)
  • Toilet paper (or baby wipes since it won’t matter too much if they get wet)
  • Closed-toe shoes (they could be old tennis shoes or dedicated river shoes)
  • Battery pack or power bank for your phone (especially on multi-day trips or if you are using a GPS app)
  • Dry suit or pants (a must if you are paddling in cold water)

    NRS Captain Rescue Knife
    NRS Captain Rescue Knife
  • Paddle float (specifically for coastal paddling – probably requires some training)
  • Tow/throw rope (for groups – also a good idea to get trained or watch some YouTube videos. Use this combo rope)
  • Knife (an absolute must if you are using any kind of rope or webbing. Try this one since it doesn’t have a tip.) 

Planning

The key to a smooth paddle trip is planning. Beyond looking at the weather forecast, have a very good idea of where you are going and how many miles you plan to log. There are several guide books that can help you plan your route (and make copies for paper maps to throw into a map bag). Both Google Earth and Google Maps (you can make your own map under “Your Places”) are excellent free resources for planning a route and measuring the distance.

Check out ORK’s recreation map to find out locations of landings. ORK also has a few suggested paddles with historical information to make the path more informative.

There are many places that are difficult to paddle at certain times of year due to low water levels (particularly on the Canoochee and Upper Ogeechee). The USGS site is an excellent way to check on water levels, although it’s important to know that those figures are relative and don’t exactly correlate to how much water is in the river. For instance, three feet of water at the Rocky Ford gauge sounds like a lot, but that’s about the minimum you’d want to look for to have a relatively portage-free day of paddling. Long story short, you’ll need to do some trial and error to get to know your local waterway and how it relates to gauge data. In some cases, you can use NOAAs predictive models to let you know what the water level will look like in the near future.

If you are paddling near the coast, you must pay attention to the tide. If you read this and then think to yourself, “Yeah, but I’ll be fine,” you’re wrong.

Don’t cut corners when you plan. There are a bunch of great sites for looking at the tide but Tides4Fishing is great. It provides a ton of information in very aesthetically pleasing graphics that are very easy to understand. Also, if you like fishing, it provides a good deal of info on the fishing forecast.

With good planning, all that’s left is keeping track of where you are and enjoying your beautiful surroundings, which leads us to…

Apps

There are tons of incredibly useful apps out there for paddle enthusiasts. Here’s a short list of the ones that I think are most useful:

Discover and explore Georgia’s more than 30 unique water trails using the free Georgia River Guide mobile app powered by Georgia River Network. Georgia’s network of water trails comprise hundreds of miles of navigable waterways and stretch to every corner of the state. Like the water equivalent of a hiking trail, each water trail has safe public access points and are suitable for day-trips. 

This is an incredibly simple app that just pulls gauge data to your phone. Set up favorites so you do not have to search for your river every time. Also, this app has a feature where you can set up custom alerts to notify you when conditions are nice or if the river is approaching flood stage – whatever you want. 

I have this one on my phone in case I’m in a pinch but I NEVER use it. Very similar to RiverApp, Tides Near Me is an incredibly simple app that lists tide charts, you guessed it, near you. This app includes more points on the map than Tides4Fishing (mentioned above), but T4F is much easier to interpret.

Spark is a lightning detection function within this app that shows you, in real time, where lightning is striking. It’s very useful in seeing where the worst part of a storm is actually moving and in knowing when it’s time to get out of the water and crouch down next to some shrubs (not in the open and not next to tall trees either – but I’m sure you already knew that). This is a good one to have on your phone when those sudden storms take you off guard.

Let’s end on one of my favorite paddling apps. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology developed Merlin Bird ID. It utilizes your location and a brief set of bird descriptions (size, color, behavior) to then give you a list of what you might be looking at. Each option on that list has several pictures, birdcalls and distribution maps to help you identify the avian friend you’ve spotted. It’s incredibly easy to use and a must have for anyone who is even moderately interested in birding.

Safety

As you explore the wonders of our aquatic environment, you will undoubtedly run into a number of hazards that I won’t even attempt to outline – everything from motorboat traffic to strainers to wasp nests to children swinging canoe paddles in tight quarters. You will never be fully prepared for every possible threat, but you will come out just fine if you slow down, take a breath, and calmly deal with the situation. Stay calm and breathe. Also, wear your PFD. PFDs are like a bicycle helmet (cue eye roll from everyone who has ever paddled with me). Your PFD does you no good stuffed under your seat or in a storage compartment if you are taken off guard by a sudden hazard.

 Paddling in cold water or in flood conditions is no joke and should not be attempted by novices. It’s also not a good idea to paddle alone. Most importantly, when you are planning a trip, lose your ego for a minute and accurately assess your abilities and the abilities of those joining you. If, during your planning, the hairs on your neck ever stand up or you feel butterflies in your stomach, do yourself a favor. Cancel your trip. Gather more information. Get the experience you need. 

In the meantime, stay safe and have fun,

Adapted from a post by Jesse Chapman, 2016.