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Flora and fauna on Cane Creek Reservoir

2010 October 28

PHOTO BY MARGARETTA YARBOROUGH. A great blue heron takes refuge in foliage of pine and tulip poplar on the edge of Cane Creek Reservoir.


By Ken Moore
Flora Columnist

I thank UNC librarian and Flora reader Margaretta Yarborough for sharing stories and pictures of her frequent Cane Creek Reservoir paddling adventures. As a kayak-birder, she manages to capture some engaging images from her kayak. Those images influenced me to go paddling on the lake this past Saturday.

When I arrived at the lake office to check in, pay the modest fee for boat rental and get suggestions from the helpful lake wardens, I encountered Lucretia Kinney, another Flora reader and an avid birder. She had already enjoyed a morning of birding. Unlike Margaretta, Lucretia birds on foot, and I see her frequently at Mason Farm Biological Reserve beyond Finley Golf Course. She posts her bird sightings on eBird.com, where I learned that OWASA’s Cane Creek Reservoir (ccreek@owasa.org) is one of North Carolina’s birding “hotspots.”

Lucretia’s description of Saturday morning is noteworthy: “I had an excellent birding morning, with 33 species identified – very exciting. One thing that makes the reservoir special is the habitat diversity, including pines at the entrance, mixed hardwoods along the nature trail along the creek, the agricultural fields, the well-kept lawn and the lake. No wonder it’s a ‘hotspot’ birding area.”

Though I didn’t match Margaretta’s spring wood duck sighting, the bald eagle that launched into flight from its perch high above my canoe definitely made my day!

In spite of other paddlers and a number of fishermen, the lake was so quiet and peaceful that I felt that I had it all to myself. Everyone out there, engaged in different interests, seemed to be sharing a special moment in time “at nature’s pace.”

My own attention moved back and forth from bird movements and sounds to wishing I had brought my fishing pole. But, for me, the true adventure was that wide-open vista, from water to sky, of the beginning of what some folks like to call “peak” fall color. Lake warden Eric Barnhardt, who grew up in the Carolina mountains, describes the color around the lake as being as beautiful as any in the state.

It’s just beginning, folks, and you have three more Saturdays before the lake closes for the winter season to get out there and experience a paddler’s view of fall color.

You may enjoy challenging yourself by trying to identify trees by their colors. Those bright yellows are most likely tulip poplars; golden yellows are probably hickories; burgundy reds are dogwoods or sourwoods; and brilliant, shiny reds, blackgum. Sweetgum can present a palette of colors, and sassafras is just too beautiful to describe. You’ll have to paddle nearer to make certain. A really useful guide is Fall Color and Woodland Harvests by Anne Lindsey and Ritchie Bell.
If you visit the lake, make certain you check in with the lake wardens. In addition to providing lots of friendly assistance, Eric, Allen Smith and Ben Nichols will want to show you the buckeye collection. Ask for some stories from “Buckeye” Ben.

Email Ken Moore at flora@carrborocitizen.com.

PHOTO BY KEN MOORE. Paddlers have great views of fall color.

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