The standup paddlers takes to the chilly waters of the Intracoastal Waterway, runners take to the trails of the National Whitewater Center, and nature lovers learn a thing or two at Grandfather Mountain. There may be a little rain in the forecast, but that’s no reason to stay inside on an active North Carolina weekend.
To everything there is a season — and in this season of winter, the thing is making sense of the natural world. Learn your birds at the coast, your amphibians in the Piedmont, your naked trees in the mountains.
Coast
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird —
Yes, but what kind?
It’s a question that perplexes many of us when we spy an avian friend flying overhead. And it’s a question you can find answers to Saturday at 9 a.m. at Hammocks Beach State Park. There, a ranger will lead the group in identifying and counting birds as part of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. It’s a massive exercise in citizen science, as people around the country report who’s flying in and out of their backyards. Binos and bird guides available, bring your own if you’ve got ‘em.
A “brawl” at the coast, IDing trees in the Piedmont, checking out new trail in the mountains: it’s another active weekend in North Carolina.
Coast
You wouldn’t think that a nature preserve would be a suitable venue for a “brawl.” But when that preserve is the Brunswick Nature Park in Winnabow, with nine miles of singletrack mountain bike trail, then the venue does indeed seem appropriate for Saturday’s Brunswick Brawl endurance race.