Green Swamp
Location: Columbus and Brunswick Counties
Total Size: 20,000 acres
Site Description: The Green Swamp is a vast area of southeastern
North Carolina roughly located between Supply and Lake Waccamaw. At
a glance, the Green Swamp doesn't look like a typical swamp. It is an area
of open longleaf pine savannahs contrasted by dense, nearly impenetrable,
shrubby thicket called pocosin. The longleaf pine savannahs of the Green
Swamp are among the best examples of this community type in the United
States. The pocosins are also exceptional. The area is known for
it's great diversity of plants, many of which are significantly rare, but it
also harbors a great diversity of bird species.
Habitats: pocosin, longleaf pine savannah
Land Use: wildlife conservation, other conservation, forestry, hunting,
Primary Threats: drainage, tree cutting, conversion to agriculture/silvaculture, water diversion, channelization, Industrial and commercial development
Protection Status: The Nature Conservancy has protected about 16,000 acres.
Much of the Green Swamp is in private holdings with the majority being timber
company lands.
Conservation Issues: The Green Swamp area once included an area of
approximately 200,000 acres, but much of this has disappeared in the past few
decades. Alteration of hydrology by ditching and draining threatens the entire
system. In addition, logging, conversion to agriculture, silvaculture,
industrial development and commercial development are of great concern.
Birds: The site supports a great diversity of landbirds throughout the
year. In addition to those listed below, Prothonotary, Pine,
Yellow-throated, and Hooded are common. John Fussell,
in A Birder's Guide to Coastal North Carolina, writes: "The towhees
here are probably the 'whitest-eyed' of any in North Carolina." This
is one of the state's best examples of longleaf pine savannah and pocosin, and
supports birds typical of both habitats (Criteria 3).
Key Bird Species
|
Criteria |
Season |
Number |
||
| 1 | Red-cockaded Woodpecker | B | 5 prs. | |
| 2 | Bachman's Sparrow | B | -- | |
| 2 | Henslow's Sparrow | W | -- | |
| 4a | Black-throated Green Warbler | B | -- | |
| 4a | Swainson's Warbler | B | -- | |
| 4a | Worm-eating warbler | B | -- | |
| 4a | Prairie Warbler | B | -- | |
B=Breeding FM=Fall Migration
SM=Spring Migration W=Winter
Sources:
NC Natural Heritage Program
Fussell, J. O., III. 1994. A birder's guide to
coastal North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill,
NC.