On Saturday, April 3, 2010, my husband, our kiddo, and I visited—and spent the night at—Pettigrew State Park in Creswell, North Carolina. If you’re interested in camping there, be sure to reserve a spot in advance. As usual, the park did not disappoint: interesting bird, amphibian, and reptile sightings began almost immediately. Below is a list of species we saw and heard, along with notes from the trip.
Birds
(An asterisk indicates species we saw. Species without an asterisk were identified by ear.)
Boat-tailed Grackle*; Mourning Dove*; Blue Jay*; Northern Cardinal*; Northern Flicker*; White-throated Sparrow*; Carolina Wren*; Downy Woodpecker*; Red-bellied Woodpecker; Ruby-crowned Kinglet*; Tufted Titmouse*; Common Yellowthroat*; American Robin*; Northern Mockingbird*; Eastern Meadowlark; Yellow-throated Warbler; Northern Parula; Eastern Towhee*; Eastern Screech-Owl*.
Amphibians
Southern Leopard Frog; Fowler’s Toad; Spring Peeper.
Reptiles
Northern Black Racer; Copperhead; Eastern Garter Snake; Eumeces spp.
Butterflies
Zebra Swallowtail; Falcate Orangetip; Polyommatinae spp.; Polygonia spp.; Tiger Swallowtail; Papilio spp.
Plants in bloom
Jack-in-the-pulpit; Viola spp.
Other notable plants
Devil’s walking stick.
Field notes (from photos and observations)
Highlights from the day included a Zebra Swallowtail, an Eastern Garter Snake, and a copperhead, as well as a black racer. The cypress at Lake Phelps was especially striking, and Lake Phelps itself—seen in the morning mist—was one of the most atmospheric moments of the trip. One insect photographed was tentatively noted as a mantid lacewing (identification uncertain).
Sense of Place 