Tag: Durham County
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Flat River Impoundment (Durham, North Carolina)
This past weekend, I brought my family to a lepidopteran wonderland: the Flat River Waterfowl Impoundment in northern Durham County, North Carolina. Butterflies (order Lepidoptera) abound at this small wetland rimmed with goldenrod. The impoundment was originally created to help mitigate the loss of bird habitat after the Neuse River was dammed to form Falls…
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Eno River State Park – Few’s Ford Access: Birding Trail (Durham, North Carolina)
Overview: Eno River State Park offers several easy-to-moderate trails (plus a few more challenging options) for weekend hikers. If you want a short, easy loop through a variety of habitats, try the Birding Trail at the Few’s Ford access. Starting from the Few’s Ford parking loop, the route can be completed in about 40 minutes.…
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Glennstone Preserve (Durham, North Carolina)
Overview: Glennstone Nature Preserve is an 82-acre natural area in Durham, protected by the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association. It offers a short but rewarding hike through early successional habitat favored by American woodcocks, as well as bottomland forest underlain by diabase-derived soils that support some unusual plant species. Directions: From northbound I-85, take the Glenn…
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Backyard Nature: Treefrogs & More
One humid evening last week, I stepped out into my own backyard to commune a bit with nature. I was greeted by a vociferous chorus of gray treefrogs looking for love. I was also surprised by a Fowler’s toad, hopping furiously away from me, as well as a beautiful sphinx moth. Sometimes nature really is…
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Eno River State Park, Cole Mill Access – Cole Mill Trail (Durham, North Carolina)
Overview: Eno River State Park, a much-beloved destination for Durham families, hosts a number of easy to moderate trails for the weekend hiker. If you’re looking for an easy hike with spectacular views, try the Cole Mill Trail. This 1.2-mile trail follows the Eno River and then loops back to the parking lot through upland…
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Neighborhood Nature: Snakes in Autumn
n our own backyard and neighborhood in north Durham, I am always delighted to find snakes curled up next to a rock, basking in the sun, or making their way to winter hibernacula in autumn. October and November are usually the last months in which we see snakes in the North Carolina Piedmont, but the…
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West Point on the Eno (Durham, North Carolina)
Overview: On Sunday, November 2, my husband and I took a long walk at West Point on the Eno, a 388-acre park bordering the Eno River in Durham, NC. Our walk emphasized local geology and was taken from an excellent publication produced by the North Carolina Geologic Survey (see pages 49–56 for the guide to…
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Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve (Durham, North Carolina)
On Sunday, July 6, my husband and I explored Penny’s Bend in northeastern Durham. As a native Midwesterner, I especially enjoy visiting this unique preserve because I can find a little piece of home there, in the form of prairie. Penny’s Bend is an 84-acre preserve, surrounded on three sides by the Eno River. It…
Sense of Place 