North Carolina county #52

Merchants Millpond State Park

In Gates County, I went to Merchants Millpond State Park.  This is a wetland heavy park with canoe rental for paddle trails and areas that you can camp in that you need a canoe to get to.  I took the 2 mile long Coleman hiking trail which was a nice and easy one.
I remember thinking that migration was over and I wish I had done more birding for the two weeks that it was really busy in North Carolina, but then I saw five warbler species while walking so I am still catching the tail end of it I guess.

Hooded Warbler

As usual it was hard to get a clean shot on the dark path but I was happy to catch a few usable ones of this Hooded Warbler, whose song I followed for a while before finding him.

The trail was nice and enjoyable with benches along the way in case you wanted to stop and read a book or just relax.  There was a large quantity of birds around – I pretty much heard Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Northern Parula everywhere I went.  The Acadian Flycatchers were out in full force also.  I caught a glimpse of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird which can be hard to spot in a forested place like this.

Eastern Pondhawk

I am still watching the dragonflies – some of them have very interesting colors.  I was able to identify this one as a female Eastern Pondhawk once I got home.

This is a great spot and I have a feeling it was really hopping about 2 weeks ago.  It would be interesting to try out the boating here.

ebird checklist

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