The Yadkin River flows past Winston-Salem, forms the eastern boundaries of Yadkin, Davie, Davidson, Rowan and Stanley counties, and is joined below Badin Lake by the Uwharrie to form the Pee Dee River.
A great blue heron following the river south from there would pass over Lake Tillery and soon arrive at Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge.
Those of us unable to fly find it easiest to get to the refuge by driving two hours south on U.S. 52 to the headquarters, about 7 miles north of Wadesboro.
Established in 1962, the refuge is 8,500 acres of bottomland hardwoods, upland pine forests, croplands, old fields, ponds, streams and 5 miles of the Pee Dee River frontage. These habitats are home to herons, wood ducks, turkeys, increasingly scarce bobwhites, beavers, otters, white-tailed deer and the rare Eastern fox squirrel. Pee Dee is one of 10 National Wildlife Refuges in the state, but the only one in our area.
The refuge was inspired by a small, private wildlife sanctuary. Lockhart Gaddy's Wild Goose Refuge, started in 1934, was home to thousands of Canada geese each winter. This was a time when the geese were scarce in the state.
A 1969 edition of Wildlife in North Carolina magazine says "it is probably the only place in the country where visitors can observe Canada geese at really close range." This seems unfathomable today when geese nest in abundance at every pond, park and golf course.
But Canada geese aren't the only waterfowl that find the refuge appealing. During winter, Northern pintails, gadwalls, hooded mergansers, black ducks, green-winged teal and beautifully plumaged wood ducks dabble in shallow impoundments while snow geese often feed alongside Canada geese in fields managed just for their benefit.
Sparrows usually appeal only to more advanced birders, and Pee Dee offers a variety of habitat for these more challenging birds as well. In winter, chipping sparrows, white-throated sparrows, song sparrows, fox sparrows, swamp sparrows and Savannah sparrows find nutritious seeds and shelter from predators and winter weather in the dense grasses of fallow fields.
The variety of habitats attracts several kinds of hawks, as well. Northern harriers can be seen floating over fields, while red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks perch patiently in the trees along the border. American kestrels, our smallest falcon, survey the fields for prey from power lines.
Great-horned owls, barred owls and little screech owls are common in the refuge, and refuge staff members have seen a rare barn owl roosting in an old silo.
The Audubon Society of Forsyth County led a day trip to the refuge recently. It was bright and sunny, and temperatures were approaching 70 degrees. The promise of spring was in the air. The cheerful songs of cardinals seemed to float on a warm breeze, and little flocks of goldfinches flitted across the weed fields. Even a few butterflies ventured forth: mourning cloaks, American snouts, question marks, an Eastern Comma and anglewings added shades of orange and yellow — more portents of spring.
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The Audubon Society will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Historic Bethabara Park Visitor Center. Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin riverkeeper, will speak on "Keeping the Yadkin River."
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The Bird's-Eye View column will move to the first and third Friday of every month beginning April 1.
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