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black crowned night herons at jordan lake



On Sunday 9/12 Judy Murray and I put kayaks in at the Hwy 751 bridge at
Jordan Lake. This is the point where Northeast Creek enters the lake. The
former mudflats were under several feet of water, thanks to hurricane
Dennis, but there were still at least two dozen great egrets present at the
north end of that little bay. They hide back in the trees. 

We explored the mouth of Northeast Creek. Judy spotted a doe swimming across
the channel. Some large, wary birds flew ahead of us, mostly out of sight
but giving occasional tantalizing glimpses. We finally caught up with them
and got a good look:  black crowned night herons. There were 5 or 6 in all.
A couple of them were adults with black crowns; others appeared to be light
gray all over, without any crowns.

The lake was high -- about 217.5, or a foot and a half over the normal
operating level. This was great for us, because it let us follow the winding
channel of Northeast Creek upstream. We glided over who-knows-how-many
submerged beaver dams and passed many lodges. Usually in low water these
creeks are just a series of beaver ponds, and you can't get up them. So in
high water birders might want to throw a canoe in and go upstream. It's a
different world -- feels like eastern NC, but without the cypress.

The down side:  in a couple of places the water smelled like a sewage
treatment plant. There is a plant upstream that discharges treated
wastewater into Northeast Creek near Hwy. 55. I wonder if hurricane Dennis
caused some untreated sewage to get away. First thing I did when I got off
the lake was take a shower! 
Ginger_Travis@unc.edu
Chapel Hill, NC