Silver Bluff Geoart - Wood Stork 06
Double-crested Cormorant
Plate 257
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
"The flight of this species is strong and well sustained, although not so rapid as that of the Florida Cormorant. It sails at times in a beautiful manner, and at a great height above the waters. Like other species, the Double-crested Cormorants are fond of sunning themselves, with their wings spread out. They walk awkwardly, and cannot run without the aid of their whigs. In order to arise from the water, in which they sink so as nearly to be covered when swimming, they are obliged to run and beat the surface for many yards, before they get fairly on wing. Their food consists of shrimps, lents, capelings, codlings, and other fishes, scarcely any kind coming amiss unless too strong or of too great a size. Of the codlings especially they devour vast numbers, they being in astonishing shoals on the coast of Labrador at the time when the Cormorants are breeding, and indeed remaining until the departure of the birds, when they retire to deeper water. I never saw a Cormorant plunge from the air after its prey, but should be much gratified by such a sight, which, if we trust compilers, is nothing uncommon; nor have I ever seen a bird of this species perched on anything higher than the top of the low island on which the nest is placed, none having been observed by me on any of the high rocks on which the common species breeds in America." John J. Audubon
The Double-crested Cormorant can be found in almost any aquatic environment from the rocky shores of Connecticut; to the lakes, ponds and cypress swamps of South Carolina; to the saltwater mangrove forests of Florida. Audubon identified the Florida Cormorant as a separate sppecies and included an entry for it in his illustrations (Plate 252). Today, however, the Florida Cormorant is simply a double-crested cormorant that happens to live in Florida.
The container is a magnetic keyholder attached underneath the only object that would hold and hide a keyholder. Be careful with the host, especially in the spring.
Sliver Bluff Geoart Information
The geoart was created at a sanctuary in the area along the Savanna River called, Silver Bluff. The sanctuary is open from dawn to dusk, and permission for this hide was granted by the sanctuary manager. If you see sanctuary personnel during your visit, please thank them for supporting geocaching. The geoart consists of 55 geocaches in the shape of a wood stork. This sanctuary annually has hosted the largest inland concentration of foraging endangered wood storks in South Carolina. There were some caches already existing at the sanctuary, and they were incorporated into the geoart. The difficulty/terrain ratings of the 55 geocaches are all different and provide a diverse geocaching experience. When combined with the related geoart of 26 geocaches, all 81 possible D/T ratings are included.
Searching Guidelines
As you are searching for Silver Bluff Geoart caches, please follow the following guidelines.
- Parking along roads: There are dirt roads in the area. They are not heavily used, but please be careful. Please do not block the roads or park on the roads. Be sure to pull off of the dirt roads completely.
- Access to Authorized Personnel Only Areas: You are authorized to go past the signs that say, "Authorized Personnel Only" when searching for geocaches. Near the main office, there is a dirt road that has such a sign. There are some Terrain 1 (wheelchair accessible) caches down the road, and people are welcome to drive down that road into the authorized personnel areas for disability access. If you are asked about entering that area, just kindly mention that you are a geocacher who needs to take advantage of the disability access.
- Bird Boxes: There are many bird boxes in the sanctuary. No geocaches are hidden in bird boxes and there are no fake bird boxes. There might be some containers attached magnetically to the metal baffles below the boxes or on the ground by the boxes. Please be careful when approaching bird boxes, because there might be birds actively using them in the spring.
- Main Office, Trail Heads and Parking: You are welcome but not required to stop by the main office during your visit. Access to the trail heads is from the main parking area. There is also parking at Kathwood providing access to the walkways around the ponds.
John Audubon Drawing Information
The image on the cache page is from the original drawing by John James Audubon and was printed between 1827 and 1838. The bird-name link will take you to the complete information about the bird as originally written by John Audubon and have access to a free download of the plate. The description of the bird on this cache page is an excerpt from the original entry in Audubon's field guide.