the Firefly (Photinus pyralis)

The Carolina Ladle Crayfish (Cambarrus davidi)

The Carolina Ladle Crayfish (Cambarus davidi) is endemic only to the upper Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers including the Eno. C. davidi existed unrecognized until 1993 when 16 year-old-naturalist David Cooper plucked one from a creek in Northern Wake County.

It was first described to the scientific community in the year 2000 by John Cooper - curator of crustaceans- N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences (& also David’s dad). The unrecognized presence of the Carolina Ladle Crayfish amongst us for all such time serves as a warning of the risks of reckless loss of our natural spaces as well as a testament to the rich diversity of natural life still thriving in this ever-growing region.

THE EASTERN RED BAT (Lasiurus borealis)

Bats are the most numerous group of mammals present along the Eno River. Of the several species of bats that occur here, the eastern red bat is probably the most common and definitely the easiest to identify. Seen in flight over the river after sundown in the warm season, this four inch bat with a mottled, rusty red to orange color is easily discernible in the evening afterglow. It zigzags and swoops overhead feeding on moths and other airborne insects.

The red bat is a tree roosting bat in contrast to cave roosters, which compose the majority of bat species in our region. When roosting, they hang upside down on a twig, cryptically disguised as dead leaves, dried fruit or cones. In winter they hibernate in the same position on the south facing side of a tree and reduce their metabolism to a fraction of normal. The red bat has a heavy furry tail that it wraps along the underside of its body to maintain its warmth.

Red bats live a solitary life except when mating or migrating. In the cold season they do head south along the eastern seaboard of the United States, but their patterns of movement are not yet understood. Up until the late 1800s, sightings of large migratory flocks passing over areas of the southeastern US were reported. No such occurrence has been confirmed since then, but numerous individuals continue to make the Eno River Valley their home.

Dave Owen
Resident Field Naturalist
West Point on the Eno Park

THE AMERICAN BEAVER (Castor canadiensis)

Life along the Eno River cannot be fully appreciated without an awareness of our bank burrowing rodent the beaver. This animal makes its meals by gnawing off the inner bark of trees causing them to slowly die and rot. But as the forces of life and death are balanced in nature, dying trees become an essential ingredient to every healthy forest. As they hollow out and rot, they provide homes for many other forms of Eno wildlife. A standing dead tree will furnish cavities for warblers, woodpeckers, swifts, owls and opossum.

If the beaver's partner in creativity, the hurricane, blows up from the South, the weakened tree will come crashing down. If the tree falls on land, everything from rabbits to bobcats will den inside. Underneath the log will be a haven for snakes, salamanders and a myriad of invertebrates. If the tree falls in the river, it will provide a perch for basking turtles and water snakes. Fish will seek shelter around it. At every point, trees sacrificed by beavers are both nourishing and sheltering many other river and forest creatures. In ecology, such an important animal is known as a keystone species, in that its habits inadvertently become the basis for an entire community of complimentary wildlife. Trapping by humans eradicated the beaver from the South in the last century. But the extent and quality of our Southern riparian waterways have improved in recent years as beavers were reintroduced.

 

Dave Owen
Resident Field Naturalist
West Point on the Eno Park

Yellow Billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americansis)
“The Rain Crow”

The Yellow-billed cuckoo is as "Eno" as it gets, yet most of us are not familiar with this bird because we rely primarily on our eyes. This timid bird would much rather be heard than seen. It rests on the branches of trees, watching and listening for its favorite diet of caterpillars, preferring not to reveal itself visually to a passerby. Then, without warning, the cuckoo will cry out with its "cu-cu-cu-cu-cu koo-koo-koo", rivetting the still, heavy air of a sultry summer day. Such outbursts often come as thunderstorms approach and have earned it the title of rain crow.

What makes this cuckoo even more special to the Eno is its migration from wintering grounds in the Amazon River Basin, arriving here around the beginning of May to breed. Without jaguars, boa constrictors and monkeys marauding through the canopy, the cuckoo can nest here in more security and peace.

So, be listening for this bird who sojourns with us through September. To hikers or paddlers, the voice of the cuckoo is both common and unmistakable. Sightings for us are few, but if you look quickly after the call you may find a medium-sized, brown bird with cinnamon wing tips, white below and brandishing prominent spots on the underside of the tail. Observing the yellow of the bill may require binoculars. I'm charmed simply by hearing its recondite call that seems to beckon me at serendipitous moments, reminding me of the infinite magic of the Eno.

Dave Owen
Resident Field Naturalist
West Point on the Eno Park

 

 

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American Elm

American Toad