4. HABITAT FOR ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES . The red- 

 shouldered hawk, is a threatened species, limited to swamp 

 forests, and has suffered from destruction of habitat and 

 probably from pesticides such as DDT. A decline of populations 

 by as much as 75% over a few years was noted in the 1970 's. 

 The species is conspicuous here throughout the year (being 



an especially noisy denison of the swamp) . The size and 

 quality of this large feeding and nesting habitat makes it 

 the best in the county. Protection from logging will make 

 it the focal point of the region for this species. 



Many other birds and mammals listed as of special 

 concern or of undetermined status (Cooper et al. 1977) occur 

 here. Yellow-crowned and black-crowned night herons probably 

 nest on the site and numerous bird species use the swamp as 

 a feeding and resting area seasonally and during migration. 



Dryopteris celsa (logfern), a threatened peripheral in 

 North Carolina, has been reported from an area north of Barne's 

 Creek and along the canal bank adjacent to SR 1111 (Wilkinson 

 1978) . Construction related to extension of this road to the 

 Chowan River in 1979 may have eliminated the second site. The 

 presence of this species in these two areas was not investigated 

 during this study. 



Listera australis (Southern twayblade) is a small orchid 

 of moist, sandy woodlands, known only from two other counties 

 in North Carolina (Dare and Brunswick) . In Chowan Swamp a small 

 population occurs on Hermit Island. Similar habitat was 

 examined for this species on several other islands with no 

 success. 



5. VALUE AS A SITE FOR STUDY OF PEAT FORMATION . In contrast with 

 Dismal Swamp, which is losing peat through oxidation, there is 

 evidence that Chowan Swamp is in a state of active peat 

 formation. The presence of an organic horizon approximately 

 coincident with the water table indicates that peat formation 

 has kept pace with recent sea level rise. This should be an 

 excellent site for geological studies of peat deposition 

 under freshwater conditions. 



6. Such a large, high quality wetland also offers unlimited 

 opportunities for studies of any of its individual species 



of trees, other plants and wildlife species. The site also 

 acts as a buffer for the Chowan River which contains a 

 number of species considered rare or otherwise in need of 

 protection. The list and their status is from Cooper et al. 

 (1977): 



176 



