With binoculars in hand, the group of children strolled along the creaky 1.75-mile boardwalk, often stopping to take in their surroundings. As they winded along the wooden planks, walking just a foot or two above a swamp that surrounded trees up to 1,500 years old, the boys and girls marveled at the abundance and uniqueness of the wildlife.
The young campers were in the heart of Francis Beidler Forest, located in the Harleyville area. Many weren’t sure whether to point their binoculars and cameras toward the sky at the yellow birds flying overhead, or if they should look toward the swamp where a large snapping turtle rested just below the surface of the water.
As Audubon Center Education Director Mark Musselman led the tour, he pointed out different species of plants and animals to the aspiring naturalists, taught them how to identify a bird by its sound and explained how to determine the age of a tree.
Not long into the excursion, Musselman spotted an Eastern Cottonmouth camouflaged on a log floating in the swamp about 12 feet from the boardwalk. The children lined up along the edge of the boardwalk to grab a glimpse of the snake – the only venomous snake of the more than 30 species that inhabit Beidler Forest.
Musselman, who has walked the boardwalk hundreds of times, hoped that the campers, many who had never been on the boardwalk before, would acquire an appreciation for the outdoors.
“Most of this camp is about exposure,” Musselman said. “We don’t expect them to walk away and be ornithologists, but we’re hoping that by being outside, they will get a chance to see how complex nature is and because of that complexity, how interesting it is.”
Hiking along the boardwalk was just one of the many activities the children engaged in during the weeklong camp, of which birds were the focus.
Campers built and painted birdhouses, were taught how to identify birds and learned how to band birds – a process in which a 40-foot net is used to catch birds so they can be tagged and tracked.
The campers also received a behind-the-scenes peak at Project PROTHO, a Beidler Forest initiative to band Prothonotary Warblers, a bright yellow bird that breeds in the swamp during summertime.
The children watched as birds were captured and tagged. Later, while on the boardwalk, they observed some of the banded birds, each of which is given a unique color sequence so it can be identified.
On the final day of camp, children were encouraged to invite their families to walk the boardwalk and to share with them what they had learned in previous days.
“We hope (the campers) will think this is interesting, unique, worth preserving and say ‘there are other places in my community that I think should be preserved,’” Musselman said.

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com