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merchants millpond NC



Hi,

Sorry for such a late posting, but i wanted to get in
a plug for Merchants Millpond in Gates County, NC.
We've been birding there about 20 yrs, and i still
think it one of the most truly enchanted places i've
ever been. You can rent canoes there, or bring your
own. Only electric troll motors are permitted, so it's
always quiet. There are a lot of trails and a
campground also.

We birded there from our canoe and along the fire
road, the part that is accesible from the group
campground, which can be accessed from canoe. on May
1: some highlights:

prothon. warbler (nest here)
yellow throated warb. (nest)
common yellow-throat (nest)
yellow rumped warb.
pine warbler (nest)
parula (they nest here)(nest in Spanish moss)
praire warbler (nest here)
blue-gray gnat catcher
blue grosbeak
summer tanager (2 males and female, they nest here)
pee wee
quail
eastern bluebird
red-eyed vireo
green heron
chimney swifts
hairy woodpecker
mallard with ducklings

three allligators roam the pond; we've never seen
them. They're believed to have migrated via connecting
waterways from Alligator River.

don't miss this place: you canoe thru bald cypress
hanging with Spanish Moss, water tupelo (I forgot to
list the orchard oriole, we saw three, they nest in
the tupelo trees on the pond), and old stumps from
very old cypress are hosts to pine trees, blueberry
bushes and swamp roses that bloom all over the pond in
June. During the heat of the summer the pond often
scums over with weed pretty bad, making it hard to
paddle or move with a troll motor. Go before the end
of June to avoid that and the mosquitoes on land. It
was bug-free May 1st and it always is on the pond (but
not trails).

linda

=====
--Linda Jeannette Ward
--P.O. Box 231
--Coinjock, N.C. 27923
--U.S.A.
--tankapoet@yahoo.com

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