Fine Discoveries at Merchants Millpond

I am on the road this week visiting a number of sites long on my To-Bird list. (My gracious spouse indulged me on this one...but will wait at home to let me get it out of my system.) Today's highlight was Merchant's Millpond State Park in the northeast part of North Carolina. It was dammed for a mill in the 1800s and has since been allowed to lapse into a more appealing Cypress- and Water Tupelo-based aquatic paradise. Birders can either follow trails or take a canoe. I chose the former and despite record heat (it reached 92 here today) I obtained some good results. I found many recently-arrived Northern Parulas, at least two summering Ovenbirds -- one stayed with me for a remarkable distance!, and several Neotropical Yellow Breasted Chats, and flushed some Wood Ducks. The Chats have the most fascinating calls! I imagine results would be better still were I able to be here in a few more weeks' time, but such are the dictates of a busy schedule. Tomorrow I'll visit two sites on the Pamlico Peninsula, and then turn further south later in the week.