Eno River State Park, Durham & Orange Counties, NC

The  Eno River State Park is a large state park consisting of lands in Durham and Orange counties enclosing the Eno River.   Two accesses, Fews Ford and Cole Mill Road, are shown here.  For directions, see this live map.

It includes the Occoneechee Mountain Natural Area in Orange County near Hillsborough.  More land is bought each year by money raised by the annual Festival for the Eno.

Bobbitt's Hole, an unusually deep part of the Eno River, where it takes a turn, 2/9/09.  Photo by Karl D. Gottschalk	Trout Lily, 3/6/08	Common Violet, 3/6/08	Coral Honeysuckle, 5/7/07	A part of the Eno River, viewed from Cox Mountain, 10/21/07	Loving graffiti, discovered (not written) by the photographer, 6/21/08

Cole Mill Road access, 4/14/17

Mining Bee near a nest entrance	Another mining bee			Four mining bees, two nest entrances

Mining bees: one leaving a nest, two about to enter	One mining bee leaving a nest, another about to enter one	One mining bee (near bottom) leaving a nest, while another hangs out	One mining bee is entering a nest, while another is near one and a third is hovering.	Two mining bees are leaving nests while another hovers nearby.

Orchard Spider	Another Orchard Spider	River Cooter	Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)	Turtles

Broad-shouldered water striders (Veliidae family), very tiny and active	Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasca)	Another Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasca)	Bowl-and-Doily Spider	Carolina Satyr

Clubmoss	Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia)	Giant Chickweed (Myosoton aquaticum)	Common Goldstar (Hypoxis hirsuta)	Mayapple

Two mining bees entering nests

Cole Mill Rd. access, NC 4/14/16

White M Hairstreak	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	Scarab beetle	River Cooters	Other River Cooters

River Cooters	Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)	Pink Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis violaceae)	Mining Bees, two leaving a nest in the ground	Mining bee on Spring Beauty

Mining bee (Andrena genus) hovering outside nest entrance	Another mining bee landing at the nest entrance	Mining bee leaving the nest	Mining bee entering nest	Another mining bee entering a nest

Juvenal's Duskywing	Another Juvenal's Duskywing	Giant Chickweed (Mysoton aquaticum) flowers	Fly on a Spring Beauty	Different flies on Spring Beauties

Common Baskettail	Carolina Chickadee	Carolina Satyr	Adult male Blue Corporal

Cole Mill Rd. access, 3/30/13

Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)	Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)	Hepatica (Hepatica nobilis)	Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

Caddisfly, one of many seen flying around near the river's edge just beyone the formal end of the trail

Cole Mill Road access,  6/3/12

Fish, maybe a trout, about 6 inches long, near Bobbitt Hole	Breeding male Five-lined Skink, actually oriented vertically at the time	Toad bug, near Bobbitt Hole	Horse fly (Tabanus fulvulus)

Dion Skipper	Young mantid (about 1 inch long)	Northern Pearly Eye

Cole Mill Road access, 3/1/12

Great Blue Heron	Great Blue Heron in flight	Great Blue Heron, again in flight

Cole Mill Road access, 5/18/11

Dark variant Silvery Checkerspot	Silvery Checkerspot	Great Spangled Fritillaries	Asian Multi-colored Ladbybug Beetle larva	Male Zabulon Skipper

13-year periodical cicada exuvia and adult.  Notice tiny beetle? on the exuvia.	13-year periodical cicada exuvia	Another 13-year cicada exuvia	13-year periodical cicadas emerged through these holes.  Two exuvia are shown.	Mason Wasps (Monobia quadridens), Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 5/18/11

Cole Mill Road access, 4/24/11

Eastern Tailed Blue	American Lady	Common Snipe Fly	Worm Snake	Jumping spider (Habronattus decorus)

Female Juvenal's Duskywing	Male Juvenal's Duskywing	Carolina Satyr (dorsal view)	Long-jawed orb weaver	Alderfly, Sialis genus

Cole Mill Road access, 3/24/11

Dark Fishing Spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus), seen near river bank.	Juvenal's Duskywing	Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)	Rue Anemone	A group of Cutleaf Toothworts

Plum blossoms? Certainly the Prunus genus.	Giant Chickweed plants	Female Falcate Orangetip (the only one I saw that day) on Cutleaf Toothwort.	Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea)	Clouded Sulphur wing

Cole Mill Road access, 10/3/10

Female American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana).  See other damselflies.	Northern Pearly Eye	Carolina Satyr	Sleepy Orange

Asian Multicolored Ladybug Beetle larva

Cole Mill Road access, 4/24/10

I was accompanied by Lori Musick, a fellow naturalist, who helped me spot some of these plants and animals and was generally a great help.

Juvenal's Duskywing on Ground Ivy	Adult female Eastern Fence Lizard	Pink Wood-sorrel.  See other wildflowers.

Blue-eyed Grass	Stream Cruiser (Didymops transversa)	Coral Honeysuckle	Pinxter Flower (Rhododendron periclymenoides), a member of a wild azalea species

Fowler's Toad	Owlet moth	Broad-shouldered Water Striders (Rhagovelia obesa).  These tiny insects, no more than 1 mm long, were in frantic motion at Bobbitt's Hole.	Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), held upside-down by Lori.

Immature black widow spider	Awl fly (Coenomyia ferruginea) being attacked by the black widow on the left, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road, Orange County, NC, 4/24/10	Woodland Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum), Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 4/24/10	Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasca)

Cole Mill Road access, 3/27/10

Other side of Crane Fly Orchid leaf	Toothwort	Early Saxifrage	Ground Ivy

Rue Anemone

Cole Mill Road access 3/6/08

Bowl and Doily Spider	Another Bowl and Doily Spider with different colors.	Question Mark, photo taken by Karl D. Gottschalk	Perhaps a midge, found on a Trout Lily petal.

Fews Ford access, 11/25/06

Gray Squirrel, Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access, Orange County, NC  11/25/06.  See other mammals.	Spider wasp, Cox Mountain, Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access, Orange County, NC  11/25/06.  This was the only insect I saw that day except for a few grasshoppers and some tiny flies.

Fews Ford access, 9/16/06

Cox Mountain was almost insect-free, but those that showed up were relatively unusual.  That combination of circumstances, however, is not unusual at all!

Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria), Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access, Cox Mountain, 9/16/06	Rice Stink Bug, Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access, Cox Mountain, 9/16/06	Green Lynx Spider with egg sac, Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access, Cox Mountain, 9/16/06	Crossline Skipper, Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access, Cox Mountain, 9/16/06	I guess this white critter (⅛ inch long) is an aphid, to judge from the attention it's getting from these ants.  Eno River State Park, Fews Ford access,  9/16/06

Fews Ford access, 4/12/06

Ashy Clubtail, Eno River State Park, Few's Ford access, Cox Mountain, Orange County, NC, 4/12/06	Same Ashy Clubtail as on left.

Fews Ford access, 5/27/06

Ground Skink.  See more lizards.	Purseweb Spider.  See more spiders.	One-spotted Tiger Beetle (Cicindela Unipunctata).	Mourning Cloak.  See more True Brushfoots.

Fews Ford access, 4/12/06

Adult female Eastern Fence Lizard, Eno River State Park, Few's Ford access, Cox Mountain, Orange County, NC, 4/12/06

Cole Mill Road access, 10/9/06

Milkweed Leaf Beetle, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06	Another Milkweed Leaf Beetle, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06	Marbled Orb Weaver, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06.  See spider page.	Velvet Mite, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06	Flesh Fly (Metopia genus), Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06

Velvet Mite, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06	Robber Fly, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06	Ichneumonid Wasp, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC, 10/9/06

Cole Mill Road access, 8/5/06

Casebearer beetle larva, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC  8/5/06	Bush Cricket (Phyllopalpus pulchellus, Trigonidiinae subfamily, Trigonidiidae family, Ensifera suborder), Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC  8/5/06

Banded Tussock Moth caterpillar, Eno River State Park, Orange County, NC  8/5/06

Cole Mill Road access, 6/15/06

Early instar Leaffooted Bug nymphs.  See other True Bugs.	Late instar Wheel Bug nymph with prey (a Ladybug Beetle larva)	Asian Ladybug Beetle larva.  See other beetles.	Leafhopper.	Xylomid fly (Rachicerus obscuripennis).  See other True Flies.

White-tailed Deer.  See other mammals.	Little Wood Satyr.  See other nymphs and satyrs.	Black-shouldered Spinylegs.  See other dragonflies.	Fowler's Toad.  See other frogs and toads.	Horse Fly (Tabanus fulvulus)	Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta), Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Rd. access, Orange County, NC, 6/15/06

Wheel Bug nymph (late instar) with prey (apparently some kind of ladybug beetle larva), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/15/06.

Cole Mill Road access, 5/29/06

Halictid Bee (Agapostemon genus), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 5/29/05.   This green bee is one of the most obvious members of this family; however, most Halictidae are not green, although they are less hairy than other bees.	Mating Common Water Striders, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, 5/29/05.  You can see their wings if you look closely.

Cole Mill Road access, 5/19/06

American Snout.  Note the proboscis going down to the soil.  See more Snouts (and some Emperors).	Scentless Plant Bug (Rhopalidae family), a True Bug.	Bee Fly.

Eyed Click Beetle taking off	River Cooter, with a foot sticking out in back  See more turtles.	Assassin bug, genus Zelus.  See more True Bugs.	Great Spangled Fritillary, taken by Karl D. Gottschalk	Little Glassywing, taken by Karl D. Gottschalk  See more Little Glassywings.

Cole Mill Road access, 4/28/06  

Fruit fly (Tephritidae family).

Young mantid (less than an inch long)	Spider Wasp in action, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 4/28/06.  This wasp dragged this spider at least five feet while I watched.	Mating Water Striders	Ashy Clubtail	Mourning Cloak Caterpillar

Juvenal's Duskywing, I think!	Variegated Fritillary	Carolina Satyr	Common Buckeye	Common Whitetail

Earlier dates

Common Wood Nymph, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access (Orange County, NC), 7/6/05.  This one appeared in a power line cut through a wooded area.	Common Wood Nymph, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access (Durham County, NC), 9/20/04.  This butterfly had apparently seen a lot of action, with its eyespots nearly worn off.	Common Wood Nymph, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access (Orange County, NC), 7/30/05.  This butterfly showed up fairly deep in the woods.	Common Wood Nymph, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access (Orange County, NC), 8/17/05.

Northern Pearly Eye, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 7/30/05.  Viewer discretion advised:  note where the proboscis is going (and the interested fly in the background).	Carolina Satyrs mating, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 8/17/05.	Different Carolina Satyr couple, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 8/17/05.  I saw 45+ members of this species there and then.	Carolina Satyr, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access (near Bobbitt Hole), Orange County, NC, 8/31/04	Gemmed Satyr, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, NC, 8/31/04.  This one seems to have subtler features in general.

Tawny Emperor,  Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, 9/16/05.

Male Black-shouldered Spinylegs, Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/23/05	Female Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 6/11/05.	Painted Skimmer (Libellula semifasciata), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/11/05.

Pselliopus cinctus nymph, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/23/05	Wheel Bug nymph (late instar) with prey, perhaps Flatid Planthopper nymphs.  Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 6/23/05.	Wheel Bug, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 11/7/05.  This bug was very lively, walking very fast and then flying away.

Spined Assassin Bug (Sinea diadema) nymph, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/23/05.  This extremely small nymph may be an early instar.	Spined Assasin Bug (Sinea diadema) nymph, Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/23/05.  Also very tiny, and it's a good thing, too!

Dobsonfly (family Corydalidae), Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, Orange County, NC, 5/29/05.

American Toad, 5/2/03.   Superb camouflage! The three toads to the right were found in the same area.	Fowler's Toad, same day and place.  Pretty good camouflage here.	Fowler's Toad. Gray on the left, brown and the right: this toad seems to be having a little trouble sorting it out.	Eno River SP, Old Cole Mill Road access, 6/23/05.  I have heard that there American Toad-Fowler's Toad hybrids exist; this might be one.