Bladen Lakes

Location: Bladen, Cumberland and Columbus Counties             Total Size: 243,567 acres                Map

Site Description: The Bladen Lakes IBA encompasses a large area of Bladen County and southern Cumberland County, between the Cape Fear River and the South River, near Elizabethtown.  The site includes hundreds, if not thousands, of elliptical wetlands called Carolina Bays.  Carolina Bays are shallow, elliptical depressions generally oriented in a northeast to southwest direction, with an elevated sandy rim that is most prominent on the southeastern edge. They can range in size from less than one acre to several thousand acres. Vegetation in most bays is dense, almost impenetratable in some areas, while others are true lakes with open water usually less than 12 feet in depth.  These unique features are found only in the southeastern United States and are most common in North and South Carolina.
    The origin of Carolina Bays remains somewhat of a mystery, but it is most widely accepted that these formations were the result of a meteor shower or water currents caused by wind.  Whether water currents or meteors, it is known that Carolina Bays are important to many different species of birds.
    
Habitats: Dense wetland shrub/scrub and forest dominated by pines, bays, gum and, in some areas, Atlantic White Cedar.  The understory is typically dense bays, gallberry, fetterbush, wax myrtle and green-briar, among many other species.