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Pollocks Ferry trip



Carolina birders:

Today, Harry LeGrand and I spent the day birding and botanizing around the
2600-acre Pollocks Ferry tract, located on the Roanoke River near Tillery,
Halifax County, NC.  This tract contains a diversity of brownwater river
floodplain communities including levee forest, cypress-tupelo swamp forest,
bottomland hardwood forest, and ag fields.  Recently acquired by The Nature
Conservancy, the property will be transferred soon to the NC Wildlife
Resources Commission to be managed as a public gamelands.

We recorded 64 species; highlights included an American Anhinga soaring
overhead (this species breeds in several heronries along the river), at
least 10 Mississippi Kites including several up close hawking for
dragonflies over the ag fields, about a dozen Wild Turkey, about 15 singing
territorial males each of American Redstart and Kentucky Warbler (alas
couldn't find any Ceruleans!), a Swainson's Warbler on territory (heard
only), singing Northern Waterthrush and Swainson's Thrush (of only a handful
of bonafide migrants), and a late Northern Harrier.  Also at least 16 spp of
butterflies including a dozen or so Silvery Checkerspots (Harry says this
may be the first Coastal Plain record!).  Plus many dragonflies, several
Black Racers and Black Rat Snakes.  The strangest sighting for both of us
was a mass of transforming tadpoles along the edge of a small pool,
literally thousands of tadpoles/toads all in a writhing mass several inches
thick!  Not sure of the species; possibly narrow mouthed toad?

Great day in the field.

J. Merrill Lynch
The Nature Conservancy