A great place to visit that is close to Charlotte is the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge. If you want to see wildlife with out crowds of people this is one of the best places to go. Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge contains 8,500 acres in Anson and Richmond Counties, North Carolina. The Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge was established in October 1963 to provide habitat for geese and other waterfowl. In 1934 a local farmer and goose hunter named Lockhart Gaddy retired from hunting, and decided to establish a goose refuge on his private pond. The wintering flock steadily grew each year, and by 1954, over 10,000 Canada geese were wintering on his pond. “Gaddy’s Wild Goose Refuge” became a popular destination for people and geese. Now days the refuge continues to be a great place for waterfowl, and over 10,000 ducks and geese winter here each year. The Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge provides great photography for just about everything from Bird Photography to Macro Photography to Landscape Photography. There was so much activity and lots of birds starting to fledge and parents going around feeding their young.
The Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge has lots of Butterflies, Insects, Dragon Flies, Frogs and Flowers to photograph. You never know what you will find. We got a great photo of a Zebra Swallowtail on Pickerelweed and a Snowberry Clearwing (AKA Humming Bird Moth). Lots of the ponds are filled with lilly pads and so the flowers are just beautiful at this time of year. The Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge is only about and hours drive south east. It is a great place to go for the day and enjoy nature.