tundra swans Archives - GetGoing NC! https://getgoingnc.com/tag/tundra-swans/ Explore the outdoors, discover yourself. Wed, 05 Feb 2014 16:43:09 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 This weekend: Birding, hiking https://getgoingnc.com/2014/02/this-weekend-birding-hiking/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=this-weekend-birding-hiking https://getgoingnc.com/2014/02/this-weekend-birding-hiking/#respond Wed, 05 Feb 2014 16:43:09 +0000 http://getgoingnc.com/?p=6386 North Carolina is forecast to be rainy in the east, sunny in the west. Either way, we’ve found plenty of incentive to get out this weekend. Coast Normally, we don’t … Continue reading This weekend: Birding, hiking →

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]]> North Carolina is forecast to be rainy in the east, sunny in the west. Either way, we’ve found plenty of incentive to get out this weekend.

Tundra swans over Lake Phelps (photo courtesy N.C. State Parks)

Coast

Normally, we don’t get excited about hundreds of thousands of temporary visitors settling in for the season at the coast. But when the season is winter and the visitors are tundra swans, snow geese and assorted ducks, it’s a different story.

Come to Pettigrew State Park Saturday on check out the array of waterfowl overwintering on the park’s Lake Phelps and 500 surrounding acres of pocosin habitat. A ranger will explain who’s who and discuss what it is about this area that makes for such an alluring winter home.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 8, 9 a.m. Pettigrew State Park, Creswell. For more info, call 252.797.4475.

Saturday forecast: High of 49, 90 percent chance of rain. In short, good birding weather.

The quarry-inspired cliff face at Occoneechee Mountain (photo courtesy N.C. State Parks)

Piedmont

You’re hiking a trail when suddenly you come across a vague disturbance in the terrain. It’s man-made, that much is obvious. An old roadbed, perhaps. Or a long abandoned rail line. It’s a common occurrence on hikes in this part of the country, where our parks and forests are often reclaimed from remnants of a cultivated past. Where did it come from? you wonder. And where did it go?

Often, such questions are left unanswered. But not this Saturday at Occoneechee State Natural Area in Hillsborough, where a ranger will lead an exploration of the old Occoneechee Railroad, which once hauled rock taken from a long-abandoned — but once very active; just look at the resulting gash in the mountain — quarry. Another perk of The Search for the Occoneeche Railroad? Much of it is off trail.

Logistics: Saturday, Feb. 8, 11 a.m. Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area,  Hillsborough. For more info and to register: 919.383.1686.

Saturday forecast: Periods of rain, high around 50.

Mountains

Davidson River area of the Pisgah National Forest

The Davidson River area of the Pisgah National Forest outside of Brevard is rich in great hiking. Thus, it’s never a surprise to be surprised by a hike.

Take the case of the Coontree-Bennett Gap-Pressley Cove Lollipop hike planned for Sunday by the Carolina Mountain Club. This 8.4-miler begins off US 276 and heads east, passing, among other sights, an old farming community that once existed between Pressley Cove and Maxwell Cove. A good day of moderate to challenging hiking in classic Pisgah terrain.

Logistics: Sunday, Feb. 9, 9 a.m. US 276 north of Brevard. Contact hike leader Bob Hysko at 828.243.3630 or rhysko@yahoo.com or more information and to reserve as spot.

Sunday forecast: Sunny and a high of 49.

* * *

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

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Calendar includes three weekly events for each of its seven markets: Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Search by market.

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

* * *

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]]> https://getgoingnc.com/2014/02/this-weekend-birding-hiking/feed/ 0 This weekend: get out and enjoy the rain! https://getgoingnc.com/2013/12/this-weekend-get-out-and-enjoy-the-rain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=this-weekend-get-out-and-enjoy-the-rain https://getgoingnc.com/2013/12/this-weekend-get-out-and-enjoy-the-rain/#respond Wed, 04 Dec 2013 22:51:25 +0000 http://getgoingnc.com/?p=6233 If you’ve got good rain gear, you’re in for a great weekend. One of this week’s picks even comes with coffee! Coast Tis the season to check out the bird … Continue reading This weekend: get out and enjoy the rain! →

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]]>
Tundra swans over Pettigrew State Park. photo courtesy NC State Parks

If you’ve got good rain gear, you’re in for a great weekend. One of this week’s picks even comes with coffee!

Coast

Tis the season to check out the bird life at the coast, where waterfowl from various points north  are congregating to spend the winter. With the skies so full of feathers, wouldn’t it be nice to know who’s who? Learn to identify the year-round residents and snowbirds at Saturday’s Coffee with the Birds at Pettigrew State Park. A cup of coffee and a knowledgeable birder — what better company for a Saturday morning in early December?

Logistics: Saturday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m., Pettigrew State Park, Columbia. More info: 252.797.4475

Saturday forecast: High of 56, rather high (90 percent) chance of rain.

Hiking the Uwharries.

Piedmont

If you’re a hiker, and especially if you’re a fan of long hikes, you’ll appreciate Sunday’s grand opening of the 4-mile stretch of trail linking the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail with the Birkhead Mountain Trail in the Uwharrie National Forest. It may only be 4 miles, but it’s four miles that creates a continuous trail of 40 miles.

Sunday’s grand opening will commence from new Joe Moffitt Trailhead on Thayer Road. The festivities begin at 1 p.m., the hiking at 2. Joe Moffitt, btw, was a Boy Scout leader and was instrumental in helping blaze and build the original Uwharrie Trail in the 1970s. Parts of that trail survived, parts did not. The trail today recreates much of that original 50-mile trail.

Logistics: Sunday, Dec. 8, 1 p.m., Ophir Community Center, 2683 Flint Hill Road, Troy.

Saturday forecast: High of 49, 90 percent chance of rain.

Mountains

The Appalachian Trail, near Bluff Mountain.

If you like a bracing winter hike then brace yourself for Sunday’s Carolina Mountain Club assault on the Appalachian Trail between Lemon Gap and Garenflo Gap. With temperatures forecast around 40 and a 70 percent chance of rain, it’s the ideal mountain hike for the person with the right stuff (mainly, good rain gear). This 7.4-mile hike climbs 700 feet to the Walnut Mountain Shelter, drops 600 feet to Kale Gap, travels open forests before an ascent up Bluff Mountain and a descent to Garenflo Gap.

Logistics: Sunday, Dec. 8, 8 a.m. meeting in Asheville to carpool to the trailhead. More info: Jim Reel at 828.443.2532 or jimr57@yahoo.com.

Sunday forecast: High of 42 with a 70 percent chance of rain.

* * *

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

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Great Outdoor Provision Co.
Calendar includes three weekly events for each of its seven markets: Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Raleigh, Wilmington and Winston-Salem. Search by market.

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
Rundown, by month, of regular activities at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service refuges in North Carolina.

* * *

Like us on Facebook and get health, fitness and outdoors news throughout the day.

GetGoingNC.com

Promote Your Page Too

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