In North Carolina, more than 50 bird counts are scheduled during the three-week period of the count, from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. The Tarheel count opens Sunday, Dec. 14 with events in Durham, Morehead City, Mount Jefferson State Natural Area and Lake Norman, The count concludes Jan. 5 with a count at Kerr Lake. In Virginia, nearly 60 counts are scheduled.

Resources

You can find a full rundown of CBC events at the Audubon website, here.
For more about the count in general, visit the Audubon CBC site here.

The post Three weeks that count for the birds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

An area such as Jockey’s Ridge State Park where, atop a dune you have an unobstructed 360-degree view that includes the Atlantic Ocean. And under a full moon? Can you imagine? Well, no need to simply have to imagine such luminescent lunar lusciousness when, on Saturday you’ll have a chance to experience it live, with Hike to the Light, an evening that will include s’mores and hot chocolate (courtesy the Friends of Jockey’s Ridge) and the lit Christmas tree atop one of the dunes. Hike to the Light begins at 5:30, and while it’s free, space is limited so preregistration is required, by calling 252.441.7132. Learn more about the event here.

One of our favorite places to visit this time of year is the Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve in Southern Pines. Populated by pines, including the longleaf, the preserve exhibits a certain glow in winter that makes even a 30-degree day seem warm and inviting. And a great place to be Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., for the 1.5-mile Wiregrass to Wetlands that will “explore the sandhills from top to bottom.” That is from, those wiregrass and pine covered hills to a curious, swamp-like wetland in the preserve’s lower reaches. Learn more here.

A reminder that the annual Christmas Bird Count is underway: it began Tuesday and continues through Jan. 5. There will be counts aplenty across the state over the three-week period as citizen scientists work a 15-mile area to document the local bird population. One of those counts is this Saturday, from 8  to 10 a.m., at the Walnut Creek Wetland Park in Raleigh. Accomplished birders will be on hand to help novices identify and record the local bird population. Learn more about this count here, about the Christmas Bird Count in general, here.

For those who like to look ahead, two events to make note of:

• First Day Hikes. For several years now, State Parks across the country have committed to leading New Years Day hikes, or First Day Hikes as they’ve come to be known. You can find a rundown of First Day Hikes in North Carolina here, in Virginia here.
• Hike the Weetock Trail. If you’re looking to make 2022 a true year of adventure, then you can’t get it off to a more adventurous start than with our 2022 GetHiking! kickoff hike on the 11-mile Weetock Trail in the Croatan National Forest. The first half of the hike is a nice ramble on easy-to-follow trail, the second half a true explorer’s dream. Learn more and sign up here.

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An active start to 2022

Get the new year off to an active start with a First Day Hike, then keep the mojo going by committing yourself to a weekly hike. Such as:

• 

  GetHiking! Sunday Hike Series. Hike every Sunday through winter with this series of hikes that average about 5 miles. Learn more about our 10 a.m. hike series here, the 1 p.m. series here.

• GetHiking! Tuesday Night Winter Series. Ten weekly hikes on Tuesday evenings to help you stay active midweek. Each hike is about 3 miles. Learn more here.

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In North Carolina, 62 bird counts are scheduled during the three-week period of the count, from Dec. 14 through Jan. 5. The Tarheel count opens with events at Mount Jefferson and Pilot Mountain (the latter appears to still be on, despite a recent wildfire that burned more than 1,000 acres on the mountain). The count concludes Jan.5 with counts in the Upper Yadkin River Valley and at Roanoke Rapids. At least four counts have already reached capacity and are closed. 

You can find a full rundown of CBC events at the Audubon website, here.
For more about the count in general, visit the Audubon CBC site here.

The post Audubon’s CBC: Three Weeks for the Birds appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We live less than a half mile from Occoneechee State Natural Area in Hillsborough, and I either hike or run there a couple times a week. Though I generally like to mix things up on trail I do regularly — hiking clockwise one time, counterclockwise the next — I have the same routine at Occoneechee: I enter from the neighborhood entrance off Eno Mountain Road, then take the Occoneechee Mountain Loop Trail, Overlook Trail and Chestnut Trail back to the Loop Trail, which brings me around the west side of the mountain to the Eno River for the hike’s highlight: a 75-yard stretch beneath a north-facing cliff that is perpetually green. Green with holly and ferns, which are common in these parts, but also with mountain laurel, with rhododendron, and even a narrow carpet of galax. For this brief stretch the trail leaves the Piedmont for the Southern Appalachians.

We look to trails for escape. My Occoneechee route is the Tardis of Triangle Trails. It’s also the focus of a ranger-led hike Saturday at 2 p.m. From the park’s main lot, armed with water and closed-toe shoes, the group will head out on a mile-and-a-half hike in search of Evergreens at Occoneechee. Learn more about the hike and about how to register, here. 

So what else is going on this second weekend of December?

Winter Bird Walk, Sunday, 3 p.m., Weymouth Woods State Natural Area, Southern Pines. One of our favorite places to hike in winter (yes, technically winter doesn’t start until a week from Sunday, but have you stepped outside lately?), is Weymouth Woods State Natural Area. Even on a cold winter day the sun penetrates this expanse of longleaf pines — one of the largest collections of longleaf pines remaining — warming the soul and igniting the smell of pine. The terrain and location also make it a prime winter bird watching site. This program piggybacks on Audubon’s 120th Christmas Bird Count bird count occurring at the park, meaning there will be plenty of qualified birders on hand to help identify what you’re seeing. Learn more here. 

Hike with a Ranger at Mayo River State Park, Saturday, 1 p.m., Mayo River State Park: Hickory Creek Access, Stoneville. Maybe you know someone who’s looking to be more active in 2020, but hasn’t quite figured out how to make that happen. This hike on an old farm road would make for a great way to float hiking as an option: it’s on an old road, which generally means more foot-friendly travel, and it’s less than a mile long. Just long enough to get the heart rate up and stoke an appreciation for hiking, not so long that it seems like work — or worse, a workout. Learn more here.

GetHiking! this weekend

What are our GetHiking! groups in North Carolina and Virginia up to this weekend? Plenty, thanks for asking … 

GetBackpacking! Weekend Quick Escape: Birkhead Mountain Wilderness, Uwharrie NF, Friday, December 13, 5 p.m. – Sunday, December 15, 12 p.m., 3091 Tot Hill Farm Rd., Asheboro. Moderate. 15 miles. Hike highlights: Birkhead Mountain Wilderness Loop, views from ridge line. Learn more here.

GetHiking! Charlottesville: Thornton River Circuit, Sunday, December 15, 8 a.m., 4105 Lewis and Clark Dr., Charlottesville. Strenuous. 10.5 miles. Hike highlights: Elkwallow Wayside, Appalachian Trail, Piney Ridge Trail, Fork Mountain Trail, Thornton Hollow Trail, Thornton River Trail, multiple stream crossings, Thornton River Falls. Learn more here.

GetHiking! Charlottesville: Appalachian Trail – Rockfish Gap to Paul Wolfe Shelter, Sunday, December 15, 10 a.m., 415 Ray C Hunt Dr., Charlottesville. Moderately Strenuous. 9 miles. Hike highlights: This section of the AT is primarily along a ridgeline. And with the trees stripped of their leaves, we should be treated to several nice views of the Rockfish Valley. Learn more here.

GetHiking! Winter Wild: New Adventure in the Places You Most Love to Hike, Saturday, December 21, 10 a.m., Lower Haw River State Natural Area, Pittsboro. Moderate. 6-8 miles. Hike highlights: East bak of the Haw River between Bynum and Jordan Lake. Learn more here.

Live the video

This week’s video takes us on the Company Mill Trail at Umstead State Park in Raleigh. It’s the park’s most popular trail, in part because it has options: Hike down to Crabtree Creek and back for a 2-mile roundtrip hike, continue on and do the abbreviated Company Mill Loop (cutting short across the Reedy Creek Bike & Bridle Trail) for about 5 miles, or do the entire loop of just under 6 miles. Learn more about exploring Umstead here.

More Weekend Options

Looking for more options for weekend adventure? Check out our GetOut! Find An Adventure resource page here.

The post Getout! Your Friday Nudge for Weekend Adventure appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Back in the late 1800s, a popular Christmas activity was the “Side Hunt,” in which hunters would choose sides, then head out and see which side could shoot the most birds. Frank M. Chapman, an early officer in the then-fledgling Audubon Society, liked the idea of going out and looking for birds on Christmas, he just wasn’t keen on shooting them. In 1900, he suggested to his friends that they go out and count the birds instead. Thus was born the Christmas Bird Census, which has since morphed into the Christmas Bird Count.

Today, tens of thousands of volunteers fan out across North America over a three-week period (Dec. 14 through Jan. 5) to count birds. According to Audubon, “The data collected by observers over the past century allow Audubon researchers, conservation biologists, wildlife agencies and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.”

The count is the single most important effort in keeping tabs on the health of our bird population. And it’s all done by volunteers, some with extensive birding experience, others who don’t know and canary from a cockatoo. At least, at the beginning of the day.

One of the great things about the count for the birding curious is that it’s a good opportunity to get out in the field with experienced birders and learn, by sight and sound, the local bird population. This year, according to the Carolina Bird Club, there are 60 Christmas Bird Counts in North and South Carolina.

For each count, birders typically gather at sunup and are assigned to different spots within a circle 15 miles in diameter. The goal is to spend the entire day tallying birds, by species, by total number. And again, if you don’t know a budgie from a buzzard, worry not. “If you are a beginning birder,” assures Audubon, “you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher.”

Of the 60 CBCs in the Carolinas, nine have already occurred, and 19 are today through Sunday. Counts in North Carolina, with who to contact for details, are:

Today

Rocky Mount

Saturday

• Gastonia: Steve Tracy, 704.853.0654
• Greensboro: Elizabeth Link, 336.273.4672
• Kitty Hawk: Jeff Lewis, 252.216.6336
• Raleigh: John Connors, 919.733.7450, x602
• Winston-Salem: Ron Morris, 336.725.1254

Sunday

• Catawba Valley, Dwayne Martin, Lori Owenby, 828.234.6041, 828.312.4834
• Durham, Jacob Socolar, Jeff Pippen, 919.636.0326
• Holly Shelter & Lea-Hutaff, Carson Wood, 910.859.9425
• Morehead City, John Fussell, jfuss@clis.com
• Southern Lake Norman, Taylor Piephoff, 704.621.0336
• Southern Pines, Susan Campbell, 910.695.0651

For more information on these counts and on the remaining counts, visit the CBC Christmas Bird Count web page, here.

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Those are our thoughts on weekend fun. Find more options at the sources listed below.

The post This weekend: Audubon’s Annual Christmas Bird Count appeared first on GetGoing NC!.