Wood's Bay

 


Cypress Knees by NEO

Cypress Knees in the Swamp at Woods Bay
(A Sketch by Our Web Group Artist)

Cypress Tupelo Swamp

      Woods Bay Sate Park features a natural formation known as a Carolina Bay. The way these bays formed is as unique as their inhabitants. There are many theories to how these bays were formed. One theory states that a meteorite had fallen although no particles or chemicals from meteorites have been found there. There are also other theories that include the undersea spring theory, tidal eddy theory, artesian spring theory, and the best theory according to the rangers was the prevailing wind theory. This theory states that the southeastern wind blew the sand and made the bays.  
     Woods Bay was protected because of what happened to a neighbor bay, Dyles Bay. Dyles Bay was logged and drained out by humans in the late 1920s and early 1930s. There once were many bays in this area, but now 90% of these bays have been destroyed. That is why the protection of these bays is so important.         

     The different regions at this park also have different habitants. The East edge area has evergreen shrub bogs that are a little dryer than the evergreen trees. It has the Wally Bay, Sweet Bay, and the Red Bay. These trees are what the bays are named after, not for the term meaning a body of water. The Cypress Tupelo swamp is 60ft wide. The plant life there mostly includes cypress and tupelo trees, Virginia crain fern, and water lilies. The grass sedge marsh is overgrown. There are not a lot of trees in this area, but mainly bushes. The honey cup fetterbush is one of the main bushes that grow there. Rangers there believe that this area may be raised and may have rare fish and amphibians to this area. Another area at Woods Bay is the Carolina Bay Sandrium. Inhabitants are the turkey oak, long leaf, pine, and a bobcat that has been spotted by a camera.     Learning from the Woods Bay Rangers
The Ranger's Candid Camera      Rangers set up a camera to take pictures of the animals when they come by, so they can keep a list of animals there. Some animals captured by these cameras include Southeastern Shrew, Shorttail Shrew, Cotton Mouse, and Firelined Skink. How they take the pictures is pure genius. The rangers put a small plate that is scented with a smell that will draw the animals’ attention. Once the animals are on this plate, which is covered by sand, censors send a signal to the camera and the camera snaps the picture and the animals don’t even notice.      
     Other wildlife there includes a large alligator population and a few snakes, none of which can be seen on the trail or boardwalk. They also have drift net fence. The rangers set up a fence in a certain area. They open up buckets at each post at night and when a creature tries to find their way through the net they fall in the bucket. No animals are harmed in any way. Then the rangers, in the morning, go a record what animals are in and let them free. This too is another way that they keep track of the animals there. Some creatures found in the buckets are eastern fence lizard, southern toad, southern leopard frog, and a black racer. Sun-bathing Turtle
© S. Debebe-Kumssa, J. Grindrod, V. Lyles, N. Osmanski, and M. Poarch

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