Among your active options for this weekend in North Carolina …
Coast
Wings Over Water may be over and the tourists may have left, but the star attractions — the birds — remain. Check out the nearly 400 species of birds who call the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge home — either year-round or seasonally — on a guided hike Sunday at 8 a.m. Specifically, the hike will explore the refuge’s North Pond. Bring a field guide and binos if you have them, otherwise you may be able to borrow. Meet at the Pea Island Visitors Center. It’s free, 252.987.2394 if you have questions.read more
I came to that conclusion this morning at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. The occasion marked a chance for the Foundation to look back — at the more than 440 grants totaling $67 million that the Foundation has given health-related non-profits since its inception in 2000 — and to look ahead — with the granting of another $1 million to 10 non-profits, ranging from the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and N.C. Association of Free Clinics to Access East and FOGGNC (Friend of GetGoingNC) Be Active North Carolina.read more
All signs were pointing to a lackluster display of fall color in the Piedmont this year: An exceptionally hot and dry summer stressing out the trees; a wet early fall, which in the leaf peeping world is akin to throwing water on a sparkling fire; a first freeze that came late, that freeze often being the light switch that turns on the fall show.read more
Wings Over Water, feet on cliff faces, heads in the sky and gorgeous fall weather. What better reasons for getting out this weekend?
Coast
If you’ve ever needed incentive to get outdoors, Wings Over Water is it. The appropriately acronymed “WOW,” in its 14th year, is a six-day celebration of the wildlife and natural history (as well as human history as it relates to the natural world) of Eastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks. Beginning this past Tuesday and running through Sunday, more than 100 guided programs are offered covering just about every element of the natural world in this surprisingly wild oasis on the eastern seaboard. Saturday alone, there are birding programs at Bodie Island, South Pond, Old Oregon Inlet, Cape Hatteras and Portsmouth Island; a tour exploring the natural and human history of Portsmouth Island village; digital photography workshops; an owl prowl; a sunset canoe tour of the Alligator River; and a night tram tour of the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.read more