Lake Mattamuskeet
   North Carolina

As you venture along the pathways between the refuge impoundments, the sentinels who see you first thrust their heads into the air and honk at a low pitch. Then, as you approach, their honks become more strident. Flocks of ducks, which spook most easily, fly out toward the lake with rapid wing beats and become dots in the sky.

At some point along the pathway, you cross their comfort zone and twenty thousand Snow Geese take to the air, floating upward, whirling around in small spirals that become larger and larger, until the sky is filled with white black-tipped wings and deafening high-pitched screams.

The Tundra Swans are now alarmed. Outstretched necks are thrust far ahead of their tense bodies. The most timid birds bolt from the surface and a hundred follow suit. Slap -- slap -- slap -- slap, the wings and feet in unison as large, graceful birds pound along the waters surface, struggling to get airborne. You wonder if theyll make it, as the majestic birds pick up speed and gradually fold their legs backward and become horizontal white arrows in flight.

You soon pass beyond their territory. The ducks have flown in a wide arc and return to settle onto the impoundment again. Thousands of Snow Geese, too, begin to flutter downward in crisscrossing spirals. They noisily rearrange themselves in the marsh to feed again, only a few hundred yards from where they started. In pairs, Tundra Swans glide to the waters surface and splash down. Early evening calm returns following a ritual played out endlessly across the lakes and impoundments of the Albemarle Pocosin region of North Carolina.

When you first visit the Pocosin, the thing you notice most is the flatness of the coastal plain. The Pocosin stretches from the Outer Banks westward to the Piedmont and is dotted with many shallow lakes. The name is an Algonquin Indian term that literally means ''swamp on a hill.'' The Pocosins water surface area accounts for over half of the total area and its interior is particularly remote.

This habitat supports an immense community of plant and animal life that lives in a swamp or marsh environment and thrives on thick, dense vegetation. The Pocosin is one of the largest wetland areas in the central Atlantic states. Spring migration of warblers and other songbirds through the Pocosin lakes can be truly spectacular, and fall brings huge numbers of tundra swans, snow geese, and ducks to winter on the lakes and feed in the surrounding farmlands.

A Watery History

The Pocosin low country of North Carolina was originally inhabited by several American Indians tribes. European adventurers and settlers didnt arrive in the Albemarle from Virginia and Maryland until the early 1700s. The regions remoteness, swampy environment, and particularly pesky insects stunted exploration and gave the area the reputation of being uninhabitable.

During the mid-1800s, small plantations sprang up when early farmers discovered the rich soil along the higher ground of the Pocosin. The growth of the areas population slowed dramatically during and after the Civil War as the Pocosin languished with the demise of the plantation farming economy. The logging of vast virgin timber stands across the lowlands rekindled growth at the turn of the century.

The region now relies mainly on farming, fishing and, increasingly, tourism to fuel the local economies. Local residents enjoy an independent spirit and are proud of their homeland off the beaten path. ''Take the Road Less Traveled to a Place Where Time Seems to Move a Little Slower,'' touts the slogan of Hyde Countys Chamber of Commerce, which seems to capture the spirit of the area quite nicely.

Mattamuskeet NWR

Mattamuskeet Lake is the winter birding capital of the Pocosin. Tucked away in a sparsely populated corner of North Carolina roughly 170 miles due east of Raleigh, this is the favorite haunt of birders from the eastern part of the state as well as Virginia and South Carolina.

Starting around mid-September, literally thousands of waterfowl pour into the Mattamuskeet waters. They stay until late February and most are gone by early March. The refuge is actively managed to attract Canada and Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and twenty-two species of ducks. Along the southern and eastern edge of the refuge, a number of impoundments attract birds looking for shelter from the brisk winter winds and enjoying a smorgasbord of tall grasses and crops managed for their benefit. While ducks and geese usually remain in the impoundments, the swans more often leave in the early morning to feed in neighboring cultivated fields. Their return in the late afternoon, as the winter sun begins to set, is a picture to remember forever.

When you first visit Mattamuskeet, youll want to take a leisurely jaunt around the lake to get your bearings. Follow a circular birding route around the lake east along US Route 264, northwest on North Lake Road, and west and south on Piney Woods Road (both narrow and twisting roadways) back to US Route 264. Note two access sites, at Lake Landing Canal two miles west of Engelhard on US Route 264 and at Rose Bay Canal on the southwest side of Lake Mattamuskeet. State Route 94 bisects the lake via a causeway that will give you a great opportunity to bird from your car.

A visit to the Mattamuskeet NWR headquarters is the best place to start; the staff maintains a current sightings list and you can find an indispensable map of the refuge. To reach the headquarters, go north on State Route 94 roughly one-half mile from the junction with US Route 264 and turn right into the refuge entrance onto a gravel road. After youve crossed a small bridge near the entrance, park on the shoulder and look for birds along the impoundment edges on both sides of the road. The small pool to the north (left side) can be especially good for a close look at ducks.

The refuge headquarters building is located about three-quarters of a mile from the entrance. Youll skirt a large impoundment, in which there is usually a good selection of duck and geese, with Tundra Swans often close to the waters edge. The headquarters building will be on your left just before you reach a parking area. Looming into sight, with a very prominent tower, is the Lake Mattamuskeet Lodge, a local landmark with an extraordinary history.

The lodge was built in 1915-16 to house the worlds largest pumping station so that the shallow lake could be emptied and the area converted to farmland. Even though a settlement was built on the drained lakebed at one time, repeated attempts to drain the lake completely were unsuccessful. Following the poorly planned scheme and financial ruin, the pumphouse was converted to a hunting lodge in 1935 and operated as ''the Canada Goose Hunting Capital of the World'' until 1974. As the numbers of geese dwindled over the years, hunting declined. The property was converted to a refuge in the early 1970s and the lodge closed. After considerable neglect over the years, restoration is underway and the Lodge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A highpoint of the lodge is a spiral staircase in the old smokestack that creates a 112-foot observation tower for viewing the lake and surrounding area --well worth the effort to reach the top! The East Carolina University Field Station for Coastal Studies and the Partnership for the Sounds currently use the lodge for environmental studies, education, and ecotourism.

Birding Treks

Starting at the lodge, youll want to bird along the wildlife drive that leads east alongside the small canal. The wooded drive along the lakeshore is open to cars and is approximately two miles long. There are several small parking areas and access points to the lake. Turning around can be tricky at some parking areas, especially when the roadway is wet. The views of the waterfowl on the lake make the drive worth any inconvenience. Youll see plenty of Tundra Swans and rafts of duck feeding on the grass near shore.

Walking the wildlife drive will also bring good birding. Just across from the lodge, paths lead into the impoundments from the roadway, and the hoots and shrieks of geese and swans feeding in the tall grasses will soon surround you. A wide swing through the impoundments leads back to the scenic drive. If you continue along the wooded lane, look for White-breasted and Brown-headed Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Pine Warblers, Belted Kingfishers, and brush-loving birds such as Eastern Towhees, Song and White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, juncos, and Gray Catbirds.

Lake Landing Canal is probably the refuge showcase. To find the main eastern impoundments, drive east from Mattamuskeet Lodge on US Route 264 roughly seven miles to the entrance. Turn left onto a gravel road, go an eighth of a mile along the narrow canal, and park clear of the gates. As you can see from the refuge map, its possible to walk throughout the impoundments in several loops.

An especially good loop is to Waypoppin Canal, just over two miles one-way from the Lake Landing parking lot. Youre apt to see waterfowl here at very close range. Waypoppin Canal is reached by following the path beyond the gate nearest State Route 264 (east from the parking lot). Look for Great Blue Herons, Pied-billed Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, Ruddy and Ring-necked Ducks, and possibly Green Herons and night-herons. Loop back to the parking lot by turning left (west) from the canal and following the pathways east along the berms through the impoundments. Youre likely to see Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers overhead, as well as Bald Eagles, whose numbers have risen sharply over the past few years.

Rose Bay Canal, at the southwestern corner of Lake Mattamuskeet off Piney Woods Road, is also a good place to get close to waterfowl. Youll need to watch carefully for the entrance to the canal from Piney Woods Road. From the parking lot at Rose Bay, walk along the canal (roughly a mile) to reach impoundments around which you can make several loops before returning to the parking lot. The second and third impoundments often are the most productive.

A good time to visit Mattamuskeet NWR is in December, when the local birding festival, Swan Days, is in full swing. The festival, now in its sixth year, is located in and around Mattamuskeet Lodge and showcases the plentiful waterfowl. The unmistakable main attraction of the festival is a guided van tour around the various impoundments and pools. Waterfowl often spooked by humans on foot are less nervous when approached by vehicles. Tours last about an hour, during which time vans slowly wind through the roadways, giving ample time to view and photograph the thousands of ducks, geese, and swans nearby in the water. Besides birding programs, a highlight of the festival is an arts and craft fair that showcases some of North Carolinas finest painters, weavers, and other artisans.

Each February after hunting season is finished, Tundra Swans are banded on the refuge as part of a Federal research project that includes several other Pocosin refuge sites. Swan banding began in the late 1960s as a Johns Hopkins University research project and has continued over the years with little interruption under the direction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Over the past two years, nearly 850 swans have been banded at the refuge towards a statewide goal of 2,000 over five years.

The banding station is at Lake Landing Canal on a freshwater marsh. In the early morning hours, corn is spread over the ground as bait to draw in the swans. Refuge staff quietly wait nearby hidden in a small blind. The birds approach slowly, wary and vigilant. Caution is thrown to the wind when the swans discover the coveted corn. As they busily feed, a 40 by 70-foot net, developed to capture Wild Turkeys, is propelled out over the birds by eight rockets ignited by a pipe bomb. The net arcs over the feeding site and drops several hundred feet beyond, holding 50 to 100 swans, on the average.

A dozen refuge staff rush to recover the birds and quickly gather basic data needed for the research project. Each bird is checked for physical condition, age, and sex. An aluminum band is placed on the leg of each before it is released to return to its home in the adjacent impoundments. The whole operation takes only a few hours and the collected data is sent to the Bird Banding Laboratory in Maryland. Between five and ten percent of the swans captured during the banding operation carry a leg band from a previous encounter at Mattamuskeet NWR.

Area Amenities

The Pocosin area is not the land of fast-food restaurants and motel chains. Engelhard is probably the best choice for a home base because of its new restaurant, Martelle's, its supermarket, and the newly renovated Hotel Engelhard (PO Box 99, Engelhard, NC 27824; 800/290-5311). On the northern side of Lake Mattamuskeet, adequate lodging can be found in Fairfield at the Hyde-Away Motel (Fairfield Road, Fairfield, NC 27826; 926-8101), with Harris Seafood and Steak House next door. The unassuming Carawans Motel is nearest the Mattamuskeet NWR, at the junction of highways 94 and 264 (Swan Quarter, NC 27885; 926-5861).

Two important sources of information that will help you plan your trip to the Pocosin are the Greater Hyde County Chamber of Commerce (Box 178, Swan Quarter, NC 27885; 925-5201 or toll-free 888-HYDE-VAN or email hydecocc@beachlink.com) and the Mattamuskeet NWR (Rt. 1, Box N-2, Swan Quarter, NC 27885; 926-4021).

The Swan Days wildlife festival takes place in early December each year at Lake Mattamuskeet Lodge on the refuge. Details, a program, and registration materials are available either from the Hyde County Chamber of Commerce or Mattamuskeet NWR or visit their website www.albemarle-nc.com/hyde/events/swandays.htm