Great Horned Owl at Ace Basin NWR

Talk about opportunistic wildlife watching! A great horned owl basically fell out of one of the angel oaks as we explored the grounds at Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge. The magnificent Grove Plantation House at ACE Basin is on the National Register of Historical Places and looks like Scarlett O’Hara could have greeted us on the back steps. But with a great horned owl ten feet from where we were filming, our lenses turned from the refuge mansion to the wildlife.  At first we thought it might be injured, but after 15 minutes of turning his head in circles and squawking slightly, he took off into the tall grass.  

Grove Plantation House

ACE Basin is on the way to Hilton Head, SC where we were staying for the night. It was our day off but when we drove by Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, located in Hilton Head and saw the popular public fishing pier managed by the state, we decided to drop a line.  Saturday afternoon was spent on the pier, hoping for a bull or tiger shark to take our cut bait.  We brought along the camera and captured weekend warriors pulling in puffer fish, skate, and blacktip reef sharks. We weren’t so lucky, but are looking for better results at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.

Anna Harris is the Vision Coordinator for Conserving the Future and a member of the team taking vision on the road.