Coast

Often when we think of getting a little exercise on foot we think of putting on the hiking boots and fleece and hitting the trail, or digging out the windsuit for an early morning stroll around the mall. In short, we think workout, we think sweat.

But there are more subtle forms of walking exercise, one of which is Saturday’s Walking Tour of Historic Wilmington in … historic Wilmington. It’s a 1.5-hour walk that will cover roughly 12 blocks of downtown Wilmington, visiting homes, churches, and other structures of historical and archaeological significance. You’ll be so caught up learning about these structures and the roles they played in Wilmington’s development that you won’t feel like you’ve walked a mile and a half.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 7, 10 a.m., meets at the Latimer House Museum (pictured), 126 S. Third St., Wilmington. $10. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 59.

Piedmont

Citizen science is a great thing. Those of without formal training in an area are nonetheless deputized to help with some basic data collection. In the case of The Great Backyard Bird Count, for instance, for four days in February we’re all brought on board to help count birds, right in our own backyards. It’s a somewhat less formal way of tracking bird populations than the annual Christmas Bird Count, which also enlists amateurs but is overseen by experienced birders.

But even while no expertise is required for The Great Backyard Bird Count, many of us feel ill-equipped to make key bird identifications: Is that a robin or a condor, a woodpecker or a penguin? A little direction, please?

A little direction is what the folks at Raven Rock State Park will be providing Saturday in a Backyard Birds clinic. Bring your binos and learn how to make these important distinctions, by sight and by sound.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 1, 1 p.m., Raven Rock State Park, Lillington. For more information and to register: 910.893.4888

Saturday forecast: High of 59, sunny.

Mountains

Here’s something you don’t always get to do on a winter’s day: take a guided hike in the Roan Mountain area, including a hike out to Grassy Ridge at 6,400 feet.

Not surprisingly, this hike is offered by the High Peaks Trail Association, a group of old hands at high-country hiking. Although the weather forecast is promising (see promising Saturday forecast below), it will be cold and windy. But it’s also supposed to be clear, offering the great views you hope for when you hike the three balds — Jane, Round and Grassy — from Carvers Gap. Bundle up for this 5-mile round-trip hike and make sure your memory card is clear.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 7, 8:30 a.m. meeting time in Burnsville for the drive up. For more information, contact Hike Leader Robert Branch at 828.682.3102 or rbranch18@aol.com. Read a write-up on the hike in the Asheville Citizen-Times, here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 41, winds from 30- to 35 miles per hour.

* * *

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

The post This weekend: Walk into history, ID your birds, a winter summit appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

At the turn of the 20th century, it was a big deal to go out on Christmas Day and look for birds. At the time, though, the “looking”  involved bringing a shotgun.
Frank Chapman was a fan of the custom, though not necessarily the gun part. So on Christmas Day 1899 he got the idea to go out and identify and count the birds, not shoot them. The idea caught on and 114 years later tens of thousands of folks throughout the Western Hemisphere take to the outdoors to look for birds as part of the annual Christmas Bird Count. The exercise helps scientists keeps tabs on the bird population and identify potentially harmful developments in the bird world.
Here’s how it works: Each count is assigned an area 15 miles in diameter. Volunteers spend the day canvassing the area counting as many different birds as they can find. The results are then shipped to the National Audubon for analysis. You needn’t be an accomplished birder to participate; In fact, one of the great things about the count is that it often gives amateurs an opportunity to hang with and learn from accomplished birders. Not to mention the chance to lurk about the woods all day in search of nature.
The count occurs over a three-week period, this year ending Jan. 5. From the Carolina Bird Club website we’ve culled the counts remaining in North Carolina.  For the full list of counts in North Carolina (and South), visit their site.
For more about the count, visit the Audubon CBC site here.

Friday

• Camp Lejeune, John DeLuca , john.j.deluca@usmc.mil
• Grandfather Mountain, Jesse Pope, highcountrybirder@yahoo.com, 828.733.3224
• Rocky Mount, Brian Bockhahn, birdranger248@gmail.com, 919.676.1027

Saturday

• Charlotte, Ken Kneidel, kenkneidel@gmail.com, 704.365.5609
• York-Rock Hill, SC, Bill Hilton, Jr., research@hiltonpond.org, 803.684.5852, website

Sunday

• Chapel Hill, Will Cook, cwcook@duke.edu, 919.477.9395
• Southern Pines, susan@ncaves.com, Susan Campbell

Monday

• Rockingham County, Brian Bockhahn, birdranger248@gmail.com

Thursday, Dec. 26

• Catawba Valley, Dwayne Martin, redxbill@gmail.com, 828.234.6041

Friday, Dec. 27

• Cape Hatteras, Patricia Moore, topatneal@aol.com, 252.995.4777

Saturday, Dec. 28

• Bodie-Pea Island, Paul Sykes, jjsykes@charter.net, 706.769.9436
• Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge, birdwalker@mac.com, Judy Walker

Sunday, Dec. 29

• Henderson County, Wayne Forsythe, wforsythe@morrisbb.net, 828.697.6628
• Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge,  Susan Campbell, susan@ncaves.com, badgerboy@wilkes.net, 910.949.3207
• Stone Mountain, Guy McGrane, 336.973.8343

Monday, Dec. 30

• Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, binsandlens@yahoo.com, Jeff Lewis, 252.216.6336
• Pettigrew State Park, Doug Lequire, doug.lequire@ncdenr.gov, 252.797.4475
• Portsmouth Island, Peter Vankevich, petevankevich@gmail.com, 252.928.2539

Tuesday, Dec. 31

• Ocracoke Island, Peter Vankevich, petevankevich@gmail.com, 252.928.2539

Thursday, Jan. 2

• Kerr Lake, Brian Bockhahn, birdranger248@gmail.com, 919.676.1027

Friday, Jan. 3

• Falls Lake, Brian Bockhahn, birdranger248@gmail.com, 919.676.1027

Saturday, Jan. 4

• Balsam, Bob Olthoff, olthoff@bellsouth.net, 828.627.2546
• Franklin, Robert Gilbert, wyah@mindspring.com
• Roanoke Rapids, Fred Lobdell, fplobdell@embarqmail.com, 252.257.2487
• Upper Yadkin River Valley, Bridgett Griffin, bridgett.griffin@ymcacharlotte.org
• Wilmington, Sam Cooper, dmcooper2@juno.com, 910.799.3825
• Winston-Salem, Ron Morris, ronmorris@triad.rr.com, 336.725.1254

Sunday, Jan. 5

• Greenville, Howard Vainright, asnakeman@hotmail.com, Dr. Veronica Pantelidis, 252.413.8292, 252.758.7828
• Iredell County, Ron Underwood, rongto@gmail.com
• Jordan Lake, Carol Chelette, cncbrdr@yahoo.com, Norman Budnitz, 919.797.1222, website
• Mount Jefferson, Eric Harrold, gentilis03@yahoo.com
• Southport-Bald Head-Oak Islands, Ron Clark, waxwing@bellsouth.net, 704.860.4469

The post Make Christmas count, for the birds’ sake appeared first on GetGoing NC!.