Photo by Sylvia Bacon
Photo by Kathy Keane habitat species include Carolina basswood , sugarberry , Carolina buckthorn , red buckeye , and tough bumelia . Rare coastal stands of southern sugar maple are found on some islands with shell deposits , mostly in the ACE Basin .
Animals of the maritime forest are similar to those generally found over much of the coastal plain . The animal fauna recorded in the SCDNR hammock study included 11 species of amphibians . The most common were the southern leopard frog , slimy salamander , green treefrog , narrowmouth toad , squirrel tree frog , and southern toad . An earlier study of Kiawah fauna found the same species , as well as the spadefoot toad .
At least 23 reptile species have been documented on South Carolina ’ s hammock islands . The most common include the Carolina anole ( a small green lizard ), southeastern five-lined skink , ground skink , and the legless eastern glass lizard which is often misidentified as a snake . Venomous snakes found in maritime forests are the eastern cottonmouth , diamondback rattlesnake , canebrake rattlesnake , and copperhead . However , nonvenomous snakes are much more common , including corn snake , southern black racer , garter snake , yellow rat snake , rough green snake , southeastern crown snake , eastern king snake , southern hognose snake , and the scarlet snake .
Turtles species documented on hammocks include the box turtle , yellow-bellied turtle , eastern mud turtle , and the diamondback terrapin . The diamondback terrapin occurs primarily in shallow coastal waters associated with the barrier islands , but makes its way to edges of the maritime forest to lay eggs . Nest sites were found on many coastal islands .
The SCDNR study found a total of 171 bird species on hammocks . These birds were classified into four designations : permanent resident , winter visitor , summer resident , and transient . Permanent species included the northern cardinal ,
Carolina chickadee , blue-gray gnatcatcher , Carolina wren , and red-winged blackbird . Some of the more common winter visitors were yellow-rumped warblers , American robins , cedar waxwings , and belted kingfishers . Representative summer residents were painted buntings , great crested flycatchers , northern parula warblers , orchard orioles , and Acadian flycatchers . Significant transient species include the common yellowthroat , prairie warbler , American redstart , black and white warbler , ovenbird , and spotted sandpiper .
The painted bunting is not only notable for its vibrant colors , but also because it is a species of high conservation concern . Until several decades ago , the painted bunting was very rare on most of the southeast islands of the coastal zone . It is thought to have predominantly used coastal islands and the near-coast mainland for breeding . Habitat loss from coastal development is presumed to have promoted the relatively recent movement into the interior coastal plain . It builds nests in shrub thickets and tangles of vines , preferably in shrub tickets on the outer edges of maritime forests and in evergreen shrub thickets within maritime forests . Excellent foraging areas include transitional habitats between tidal marshes and maritime forests .
Mammals that may be commonly found in maritime forests and much of the coastal plain as well , include whitetailed deer , raccoon , opossum , eastern grey squirrel , fox squirrel , and bobcat . Feral hogs can be found in some coastal forests and goats have occasionally been left to roam on hammock islands . Black bears have become increasingly common in coastal forests particularly in Horry , Georgetown , and upper Charleston counties . In recent years , nuisance species like coyote , and nine-banded armadillo , have become common in island forests as well as coastal towns . Aquatic mammals like mink and northern river otter can be seen in
22 Naturally Kiawah