Wildlife

An abundance of wildlife can be found at the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve. Wildlife here comes in all shapes and sizes. From black bears and red wolves to lizards and songbirds, you never know what you might see on a trip to the preserve.

Mammals
Mammals found at the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve include black bears, deer, foxes, raccoons, rabbits, otters, bobcats, opossums, weasels, and an array of rodents. The endangered red wolf, once eradicated from the wild, has been reintroduced into this region and sometimes visits the preserve.

Birds
In addition to red-cockaded woodpeckers, many other birds live at the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve. Long-legged wading birds like great blue herons and egrets patiently stalk fish in shallow creeks and ponds. Red-shouldered hawks, osprey, horned owls, bald eagles, and other raptors, or birds of prey, swoop overhead hunting rodents, reptiles, fish, and other birds. During the winter tundra swans, snow geese, wood ducks, and other migratory waterfowl are commonly seen on the Albemarle Sound, escaping the colder northern weather.

In spring and summer the forests of eastern North Carolina are filled with neotropical migratory songbirds. These birds spend winters in the tropical forests of Central and South America, then migrate here in spring to breed and fledge their young. Neotropical songbirds need large, mature forests like the preserve to sustain their natural life cycle.

Reptiles
Reptiles found at the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve include turtles, lizards, and snakes. A few American alligators are known to inhabit eastern fringes of the Albemarle Sound, but none have been sighted on the preserve.

Common turtles to the area are box turtles, snappers, and spotted turtles. The eastern box turtle is the only "land turtle" found in North Carolina. Eastern box turtles have significant variation in their shell shape, pattern, and color, but can be identified by their hinged plastron (bottom of the shell) that can be shut completely to exclude predators. Other turtles have hinged shells, but they cannot be closed completely. The yellowbelly slider is a common aquatic turtle found at the preserve. They often sun themselves on logs along the water and can be easily identified by the yellow spot behind their eye.

You may also see color-changing anole lizards or five-lined skinks scurrying along shrubs and branches. The anole lizard, often mistaken for a chameleon, changes color in response to temperature, stress, and various other environmental and behavioral factors. Skinks are lizards with reduced limbs and an elongated body covered with shiny scales. They are more dependent on moisture than most lizards. The five-lined skink, one of four species of skink found in the NC coastal plain, has five light-colored stripes on its back, just as the name implies.

A variety of snakes live on the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve, almost all of them non-poisonous. Venomous cottonmouths, copperheads, and timber rattlesnakes are certainly here, but like all snakes they avoid people and are rarely seen. The quickest way to tell if a snake is poisonous is to look at its head - a pronounced diamond shape means danger.

Amphibians
With roughly 3,700 known species, toads and frogs are the most widely spread of all amphibians. Frogs typically have smooth skin and long legs, making them excellent leapers. Toads, on the other hand, have warty skin and shorter legs, which make hopping easier. Adult frogs and toads are carnivorous. Because of their moist skin, they tend to inhabit wet or moist locations. Breeding usually occurs in the water and generally eggs are laid in submerged vegetation.

Salamanders are a diverse group of amphibians. They can be found in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats, though water is essential for survival. Most salamanders are nocturnal and can be found under rocks and fallen trees.

Fish
The Palmetto-Peartree Preserve is bordered by the Albemarle Sound to the north and the Little Alligator Creek to the east and south. Estuaries are formed where these waterways (fresh water) meet the ocean (salt water), providing important habitat for fish, waterfowl and migratory birds. Many different habitat types are found in and around estuaries, including shallow open waters, freshwater and salt marshes, sandy beaches, mud and sand flats, rocky shores, oyster reefs, mangrove forests, river deltas, tidal pools, sea grass and kelp beds, and wooded swamps.

Estuaries are very high in nutrients and serve as nurseries for many fish species. The productivity and variety of estuarine habitats provides for a diversity and abundance of wildlife. Shore birds, fish, crabs and lobsters, marine mammals, clams and other shellfish, marine worms, sea birds, and reptiles are just some of the animals that make their homes in and around estuaries. Fish common to these waters include striped bass, shad, herring, Atlantic croaker, spot, catfish. Blue crabs are also abundant in the Sound. In addition to the ecological importance of these species, commercial fishing is one of the main industries in Tyrrell County and a significant component of the local economy.