Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
129 <br /> (Liquidambar stvraciflua) , white ash (Fraxinus, americana) , <br /> and red maple (Acer rubrum) are mixed with white oak (Ouercus <br /> alba) , blackjack oak (Q. marilandica) , mockernut hickory <br /> (Carya tomentosa) , sweet pignut hickory (C. evalis) , northern <br /> shagbark hickory (C. ovata) and tulip poplar (Liriodendron, <br /> tulinifera) . Subcanopy and shrub species include red cedar <br /> (JuniDerus virginiana) , dogwood (Cornus florida) , ironwood <br /> (Carpinus caroliniana) , hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) , <br /> redbud (Cercis canadensis) , slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) , and <br /> possum haw (Ilex decidua) . <br /> As with the plant community, many of the animals found <br /> here are more typical of bottomland situations than of upland <br /> habitats. The woodcock (Scolooax minor) , red-shouldered hawk <br /> (Buteo lineatus) , acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) , <br /> yellow-throated warbler (Dendroica dominica) , Kentucky <br /> warbler (oporornis formosus) , and muskrat (Ondatra zibethica) <br /> are all species that would be expected to occur in alluvial <br /> or swamp forests but not in a site located at the very head <br /> of a watershed. Most noteworthy of these species is the <br /> four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) , which nests in <br /> the early spring under the saturated sphagnum clumps <br /> occurring next to windthrow pools; normally this animal is <br /> restricted to the vicinity of seepage areas at the junction <br /> of a slope and bottomland. <br /> Mixed in with this group of lowland animals are species <br /> more characteristic of open forests in the uplands. These <br /> *I include bobwhite (Colinus virainianus) , yellow-throated vireo <br /> (Vireo flavifrons) , ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) , summer <br /> tanager (Piranaa, rubra) , eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) , <br /> gray fox (Urocyon cineroargenteus) , and fence lizard <br /> (Sceloporus undulatus) . The presence of these species, along <br /> with the frequency of hooded warblers (Wilsonia citrina) , <br /> scarlet tanagers (Piranaa olivacea) , white-breasted <br /> • nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) , and box turtles (Terraoene <br /> capolina) , additionally attests to the maturity and <br /> extensiveness of this tract of forest. <br /> Protection Status: Duke Forest multiple use lands <br /> Surrounding land use: <br /> N: Forest, agriculture <br /> E: Forest, clearcut, and landfill <br /> S: Forest, residential <br /> w: Residential, Old NC 86 <br /> Threats: <br /> Immediate: Timbering <br /> Potential: Possible impact on Cornus racemosa site by <br /> expansion of Old NC 86 <br /> Recommendations for management or protection: Deserves <br /> complete protection as natural area; should be registered <br /> 1 with NC Natural Heritage Program. <br /> Ownership: See Appendix A <br /> 150 <br />