What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a swamp?
Is it a thing of beauty, or fetid quagmire — a place to be dreaded and drained?
If you're a birder or other nature lover, swamps are beautiful. That's why a small group of Forsyth Audubon members recently spent a weekend in some of the best swamps on the East Coast.
If you think swamps are places to be dreaded, your opinion probably isn't helped by the name of one of them. The Great Dismal Swamp, the largest swamp remaining in the eastern U.S., is on the border of Virginia and North Carolina near Elizabeth City.
Most of the swamp, a national wildlife refuge, is in Virginia. It is most easily reached from Suffolk, Va. Several trails start near the headquarters. Two of the trails include boardwalks that make it easy to experience the swamp without getting your feet wet.
Sunlight is filtered through the bald cypresses and tupelos. A hooded warbler sings its song: wee-see, wee-see, wee-SEE-you. Spotlighted by a sunbeam amid the shadows, the yellow-breasted, olive-winged bird with its black hood is framed elegantly by the green leaves and red berries of a holly tree. An Acadian flycatcher sings its emphatic spit-a-KEET from a bare branch, pausing occasionally to sally out and snatch an insect from the air.
A historical marker at one of the trailheads says that George Washington surveyed the swamp in 1763, 26 years before beginning his first term as president. Today, many of the refuge trails follow ditches dug in the 18th century to try to drain the swamp.
The Dismal Swamp State Park, contiguous with the refuge and in the North Carolina portion of the swamp's ecosystem, is 22 square miles of forested wetlands.
As in all the swamps we visited, the great-crested flycatcher is ever-present. Its boisterous "breep" drew our attention instantly. The bird's prominent crest, yellow belly and rusty wings and tail make it easy to identify, unlike some of the other flycatchers. A 2,000-foot boardwalk and 18 miles of trails enable you to enjoy the park, one of the best places in the state to see the elusive Swainson's warbler.
But I've saved the best for last. The award for most beautiful swamp in the state goes to Merchants Millpond State Park in Gatesville. This swamp, with its graceful bald cypresses garlanded with Spanish moss and surrounded by lily pads, is picture-perfect.
Trails meander through the forest and around the pond. The easy walks make it comfortable for birders and butterfly enthusiasts to concentrate on the animal life. A great blue heron — rather like a pterodactyl in appearance — perches on a log, looking very much a part of this primeval scene.
The prothonotary warbler is holding court, singing loudly: sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet. While the name derives from yellow robes of certain clerks in the Catholic Church, I prefer the bird's nickname: golden swamp warbler. Golden it is, and a swamp is the best place to find it.
In Forsyth County, you may find this bird at Tanglewood Park in the wetlands along the road to the BMX course.
•The Audubon Society of Forsyth County will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Historic Bethabara Park Visitors Center. John Conners of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will be the guest speaker. He will speak about chimney swifts and their long history with people.
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