There
is a natural area right in the middle of Boone that is home to a variety of
native plants, birds and animals. This
is a place where humans can explore and recognize that nature is protecting our
water resources. The constructed
stormwater wetland in Boone cleans the water coming off the roads, parking
lots, and ball fields before flowing to the New River. The
winter landscape offers many shades of yellows, browns, rusts, and greens,
which are a visual treat with the beautiful North Carolina blue-sky background.
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| Native grasses line the wetland edge |
The town of
Boone landscape division, specifically Doug Price and Jerry Lee Pennell have done an
incredible job maintaining the banks of the wetland while allowing the natural
vegetation to grow and provide habitat.
Curtis Smalling of the Audubon has seen a wide array of species there including some good diversity of marsh birds
including Virginia Rail, American Bittern, Sora, and a first county specimen
for Clapper Rail from just down river at the covered bridge. Waterfowl, especially Wood Ducks, Mallards, Blue-winged Teal, and a few
others use the wetland, as well as shorebirds including Solitary and Spotted
Sandpipers, Wilson’s Snipe, and Killdeer.
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| Male and Female Mallards foraging on a January afternoon |
On a recent
January visit, I noticed eight dabbling mallard ducks (4 male and 4 female) foraging
for food in one of the wetland pools, probably looking for snails, beetles,
dragonfly larvae, aquatic worms, seeds, roots, and tubers. They should have no problem finding all of
those in the wetland. Mallards life
expectancy is about three years, so these fowl seem to have picked a great spot
to enjoy their time.While walking
around the wetland I retrieved 23 pieces of trash, mostly food wrappers and
alcohol containers, but the most interesting was a little paratrooper complete
with his shoot. The nastiest litter was
a plastic bag full of dog poop. GROSS!
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