Pettigrew State Park: photos and species lists

On Saturday, April 3, 2010, my husband, little boy and I visited and spent the night at Pettigrew State Park in Creswell, NC. If you're interested in camping at the park, be sure to reserve a spot in advance. As usual, the park did not disappoint: interesting bird, amphibian and reptile sightings started almost immediately. A list of species seen and heard, as well as some photos of our trip, follows.

Birds.- boat tailed grackle*, mourning dove*, blue jay*, northern cardinal*, northern flicker*, white throated sparrow*, Carolina wren*, downy woodpecker*, red-bellied woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet*, tufted titmouse*, common yellowthroat*, American robin*, northern mockingbird*, eastern meadowlark, yellow throated warbler, northern parula, eastern towhee*, eastern screech owl* (note: * marks birds that were seen, no asterisk mean the birds was identified by ear)

Amphibians.- southern leopard frog, Fowler's toads, spring peeper

Reptiles.- northern black racer, copperhead, eastern garter snake, Eumeces spp.,

Butterflies.- zebra swallowtail, falcate orangetip, Polyommatinae spp., Polygonia spp., tiger swallowtail, Papilio spp.

Plants in bloom.- jack-in-the-pulpit, Viola spp.

Other interesting plant species.- devil's walking stick

zebra swallow tail

eastern garter snake

cypress at Lake Phelps

Lake Phelps in the morning mist

black racer

mantid lacewing?

copperhead