Blue Goose ~ Day 113

September 20, 2014 ~ Nags Head, NC to Williamston, NC

Before leaving Nags Head, I watched the early morning surfers, relishing the fresh ocean air, and then drove east across Roanoke Island to the mainland. The bridges across these watery places are impressive…several miles long, close to the water but with an elevated piece to allow for boat passages. 

WWW.ROANOKEISLAND.NET

In 1584 an English fort and settlement with more than 100 men was established on the north end of the island, but it was abandoned the following year due to weather, lack of supplies and poor relations with the Native Americans. The colonists and natives didn’t get along despite the fact that the two local chiefs, Manteo and Wanchese, had been taken to England in hopes of forming good relations.
In 1587 another party of 110 English colonists, including women and children, set sail for the New World, reaching Roanoke Island in July of that year. On August 18, one of the colonists, Eleanor Dare, gave birth to the first English-speaking child in the New World, Virginia Dare. A week later, the baby’s grandfather, Capt. John White, was forced to return to England for badly needed supplies. Due to Spanish attacks on England, White was waylayed in England for three years, and when he returned to Roanoke Island in 1590 there was no sign of his granddaughter or the other colonists. Their houses were gone, and the only sign of human presence was the letters “CRO” and “CROATOAN” carved on two trees. This led some people to believe that the colonists had sought the help of the Croatoan Indians on Hatteras Island, but they were not there. The fate of the lost colonists is as much a mystery today as it was then, and their story has been retold in the outdoor drama The Lost Colony since 1937.

The railings were lined with Great Black-backed Gulls; none had yellowish legs so none were Lesser BBs. 

This was a swamp day. Really, it was alien (to me) and dank half the time, reminiscent of my limited Louisiana experience, and I didn’t expect it here. I started with Alligator River NWR and drove slowly for 10 miles on the refuge roads.

Alligator River NWR - NC

Great Egret - Alligator NWR - NC

I still have not totally given up on settling in one place for an hour and do try now and then. I sometimes try six 10s…stopping 6 times for 10 minutes each in a particular locale. And I did that twice...the 10-minute deal. I THOUGHT I saw a Prothonotary Warbler (very common in NC) but which then dipped into the weeds along the ditch never to reappear. The refuge is home to the only wild Red Wolf population in the world and Howlings are held throughout the year - a Full Moon Howl in November and a Holiday Howl in December for instance, very cool for a kid (or an adult), and certainly not intrusive for the wolves. I met two women peering through cameras into the brush. They were out today hoping to see Black Bear, also on this refuge and usually seen at dusk or dawn. They didn’t know much about what birds might be present and gave me some other places to try, which wasn’t going to happen, but I’m learning not to blather on about why not. I just nod and act like perhaps I will try this or that. 

Almost always a pleasing little encounter occurs while on these back roads. Today it was Great Egret Standing in the Road, zen-like, and calmly keeping an eye on me. It finally did fly but only into the ditch joining two other, more timid egrets which flew much sooner as I very slowly approached in the car. 

No Red wolves; no Black Bear, but knowing they were here was nice. 

On to Pocosin Lakes NWR with its impressive VC on Ludington Drive in the town of Columbia, NC. 

But first I had to eat and randomly chose Mike’s Diner. I love these unpretentious little eating establishments in small towns. One never knows if the food will be dismal or acceptable or extraordinary. My very basic eggs, toast, bacon and “chopped” hash browns were more than acceptable; less than extraordinary. The potatoes were very tasty, small crispy fried cubes with a hint of garlic. A lady I took to be the owner’s wife (Asian or Samoan...I wasn't sure of the ethnicity) came and sat by a frail elderly customer for a long time, giving her a lot of attention and then a gentleman (the owner?), a large man with a Fu Manchu mustache, came and also sat and talked with her. There was an eclectic collection of objects all over on shelves and walls: a soft, black leather Harley-Davidson head bandana, glass birthday dolls (for sale), what looked like a carved ivory tusk (could it actually be that?), a beautiful old framed poster/print of ducks - these were just a few of the items. The harried middle-aged waitress apologized for taking too long as “I am the only one here…” The ambience grew on me; it had a good neighborly feeling. It is "ma'am" country, for sure...

There was a short boardwalk, partly along the Scuppernong River and the rest through swamp. Weirdly, given my generally negative southern swamp love, it was quiet and green with the peacefulness evoked by some Oriental art. In fact, I saw an Asian lady walking slowly along with nothing in her hands: no kids or camera or phone or purse or backpack or binoculars. 

I drove through a brief but torrential rainstorm as I drove south to Mattamuskeet NWR, a refuge that pretty much surrounds the large, very shallow Lake Mattamuskeet, described as "18 miles long, seven miles wide, and a swan’s neck deep." What is interesting is that the origin of the lake is unknown. Speculations include a meteorite shower or underground peat fires. It is the largest natural lake in NC and was drained and diked for agriculture in the early 20th century with the creation of the nearby community of New Holland (named after similar reclamation projects in the Netherlands). But one of the owners eventually sold his portion to the government, effectively ending all of this. It is now a haven for migratory birds. The VC was open and I checked out the adjacent muddy brown river but didn't linger. I am not drawn to this landscape; it feels creepy to me, and weekends especially are just too quiet. I guess this water seeps rather than flows. 

I now need to be aware of  four species of venomous snakes: copperhead, cottonmouth, canebrake and Carolina pigmy rattlers. The website says these are the "only venomous snakes" of a population of 31 snake species.  

Mattamuskeet NWR - NC

There was one more refuge in this area, namely, Swanquarter NWR on the shore of Deep Bay in the bigger Rose Bay in huge Pamlico Sound. As I said, water, water everywhere....My visit consisted of driving 2-3 miles down a perfectly straight gravel road through an open marsh / swamp, which ended in a parking area next to the Bell Island Pier. People were arriving to fish, including a van full of Baptists. I did a 10-minute sit and saw a kingfisher and a wren. I am definitely in between bird seasons in this part of the country this time of year. 

I am tired of swamp and low ground and black/brown water but do recognize the true refuge nature of such for flora and fauna.  

Driving these back roads and through small towns, I thought of race a lot. One town had a group of African-American teenagers lounging on bikes at one end of town while a man across the street was fussing with what looked like a burning 4-wheeler on a lowboy. Lots of acrid smoke and people looking from up and down the street. The other end of town had bigger homes and mowed lawns. There are many modest brick one-story dwellings along the country roads, usually with screened porches and comfortable chars. I passed a man sitting on his front lawn typing on an Apple laptop. I drove through tobacco (not positive about whether I was seeing tobacco) and cotton fields with white bolls and wondered when this is harvested...(just googled and it's October in NC). The land was totally flat most of the time with ditches everywhere and, if not drained, it was swampy. Do these people just live with the snake/chigger/tick presence as we in Michigan live with the mild annoyance of mosquitoes? 

There was one more place I wanted to see, although I was really really getting irritable and out of sorts and questioning (again) this whole BG idea. It was Phelps Lake, the northern boundary of Pocosin Lakes NWR; how could I not check this out? But getting there required some navigating skill, and while checking roads on my phone to Pettigrew SP, there were calls from Kzoo about the latest issue, distracting me. I found myself in a waste disposal dead end, turned around and found myself at The Somerset Place (plantation with slave quarters) which is an Historic Site and ON the shores of Phelps Lake.

It was 5:00 on a Saturday, the buildings were closed but I wandered the grounds and thought more about race. 

I saw several abandoned houses and often couldn't resist a photograph. 

North Carolina near the James River

I slept in Williamston, NC, in a parking lot where cars cruised intermittently with radios thumping. And it was raining.