MEARS FORK WALK
January 5, 2008
Twelve PBC and Pearson Audubon members walked the Conrad tract on Mears Fork on January 5th. The property, purchased by Guilford County in 2006, was the first acquisition as part of its Open Space Program. Approximately 50 acres, the tract is composed of bottomland forest and wetlands through which the main creek and several tributaries meander. On the south side are mixed oak/hickory/beech bluffs up to 100 feet above the wetlands below. The county is working to acquire several other parcels along Mears Fork with the intention of protecting a corridor along what has been called the cleanest creek in Guilford County.
Birding was not the primary purpose of this field trip. Rather, it was simply to spend some quality time outdoors with friends while at the same time becoming better educated about the status and goals of the Open Space Program, an initiative vital to the protection of this rapidly diminishing resource. Our group enjoyed a leisurely amble along the wide paths out to the farthest extent of the tract and down to the creek, marveling at the wonderful view out into the tops of the bottomland trees. The Conrad tract should provide superb birding and wildflower viewing during the spring.
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Puttyroot Orchid (Aplectrum hyemale) photo by Ann Walter-Fromson
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