Field Trip Schedule and Descriptions

Fall Meeting Planning Notes

The times listed above are when the cars are lined up in the parking lot and leaving the Comfort Inn. Please be there at least 10 minutes early and identify yourself to the leader. If you decide not to go on a trip, either scratch through your name beforehand on the supplied lists at the registration table, or show up at the meeting place and tell someone.

All trips depart from the Comfort Inn Conover-Hickory from the lobby and the parking lot. Look for the placard with your trip number. You will receive an email with directions for your trips, as well as trip leader phone numbers — you are responsible for bringing this with you for each trip, because registration packets are no longer distributed at the meeting and caravans sometimes break down.

The leaders for the two Boone and High Country trips will meet us at those birding sites instead of driving with us to/from the hotel. This is also the case for Riverbend Park (Main Entrance), Bakers Mountain, and Mountain Creek Parks where park rangers will be our leaders. In each case we will have a designated CBC member to organize the groups at the hotel to make sure everyone leaves the hotel on time, and heads to the correct location, of course meeting our leaders on-site.

Food for purchase during field trips may be somewhat limited. Accordingly, plan to take snacks and beverages with you, and be sure to pack a lunch for the all-day trips.

We try to take as few vehicles as possible on field trips in order to save fuel, make caravanning easier, and to make better use of the limited parking that exists at some stops. Please plan on carpooling.

Field Trip Descriptions

Trips 1, 7, 16, 22 – Riverbend Park — Main Entrance

This is a 690-acre passive park operated by Catawba County. With its mile and half of shoreline along the Catawba River, it is a wonderful place to see fall migrants. There have been 206 species seen at Riverbend Park so far! We will expect to find lots of warblers, vireos and flycatchers. Olive-sided Flycatchers have been spotted during fall in past years near the park office, and two pair of Bald Eagles nest nearby and fly over often. It will be a relatively easy hike along the River Trail, and depending on time, we may return to the parking lot through a stand of mature American Beech to look for more migrants.

Approximate Travel Time:

15 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails.

Trips 2, 8, 17, 23 – Bakers Mountain County Park

Standing high above the Catawba Valley at 1,780 feet, Bakers Mountain Park offers some of the best bird watching in the Piedmont. The mountain is a beacon for migrating songbirds because of its height above the surrounding landscape and the amount of forest cover. The best part is that you do not even have to leave the parking area to see beautiful and breathtaking birds like the Black-throated Blue Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Hooded Warbler and many others! The park covers 189 acres on the north side of Bakers Mountain and is operated by Catawba County. We will look for migrating raptors from the observation platform located near the top of the mountain. Golden Eagles have been seen several times during the fall, along with hundreds of Broad-winged Hawks!

Approximate Travel Time:

20 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails, except for a more strenuous hike up Bakers Mountain which birders can pass on.

Trips 3, 9, 18, 24 – Hickory City Parks and Hickory Trail

We will bird at least 2 local parks while on this trip. First we will visit Glenn R. Hilton Park a 59.5-acre park operated by the City of Hickory and can be one of the best birding spots in the area. Twenty-two warbler species have been seen in a single day in late September after the passing of a cold front. We will hope for something like Connecticut, Cerulean, Golden-winged, Blue-winged, Nashville, or Wilson's Warbler. The boardwalk trail is often a great spot for viewing migrating songbirds, wading birds, and raptors. At the furthest point on the loop is an observation platform adjacent to a cove of Lake Hickory. We will also bird Geitner Park and Riverwalk. The Riverwalk segment of the Hickory Trail showcases one of Hickory's most beautiful, natural assets—the Catawba River. The Riverwalk runs approximately 2.3 miles through Geitner Park along the river. It provides public access to Lake Hickory with an overwater bridge and a combination of waterfront and wooded trails, offering visitors a variety of scenery and multiple vantage points to admire the beauty of the lake and the surrounding natural environment. Many Migrants should be expected to be found along this trail.

Approximate Travel Time:

20 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails.

Trips 4, 10, 19, 25 – Riverbend Park (Bean Tract)

This is the 207-acre east side of Riverbend Park that is mixed grasslands and wooded area with hedge rows that harbor migrants. This part of Riverbend Park has had 172 species seen since 2017. This is also the part of Riverbend Park where the hawkwatch is conducted. There have been some days in late September where nearly 10,000 Broad-winged Hawks have passed over. Participants on this trip can either go to the hawkwatch or walk the trails looking for migrants (particularly in the early morning portion of trips 4 and 19).

Approximate Travel Time:

15 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails with some areas having gentle slopes.

Trips 5, 11, 20, 26 – Murray's Mill Historic Site

A 10-minute drive from I-40, the Murray's Mill Historic District, in the rolling countryside of eastern Catawba County, nestles just as it was a century ago along the banks of Balls Creek. The millpond and surrounding area make for a great backdrop to go birding during fall migration. The large millpond is a great place to scope out waterfowl, and the adjoining riparian areas scattered around mixed hardwood deciduous forests can be great places to search for fall migrants.

Approximate Travel Time:

15 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails.

Trips 6, 12, 21, 27 – Mountain Creek Park

This is Catawba County's newest park. 169 species have been found here since its opening in 2022. This is probably the best spot in Catawba County to view shorebirds with large mudflats viewable from the fishing platform. Some interesting birds seen here in the past have been multiple Limpkins, Anhinga, King Rail, American Golden-Plover, Buff-bellied Sandpiper, and many waders. There are easy trails to walk to look for migrants.

Approximate Travel Time:

20 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails.

Trips 13, 28 – Rocky Face Recreation Area

Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area has a rich history dating back to the early 1900s. The site was a former quarry operation that began in 1922, with operations ceasing in the early 1940s. There have also been agricultural uses such as apple and peach orchards, wheat fields, and vineyards near the site. In 2003, the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program signed an agreement that put Rocky Face Mountain on the North Carolina Registry of Natural Heritage Areas because of its unique qualities. Today, the former rock quarry area includes a paved ADA walking track as well as picnic shelter, restrooms, and park office. The quarry area features a sheer cliff face that is attractive to migrating raptors. Outside the quarry area, the park includes 5 miles of hiking trails that takes hikers along the top of the quarry cliffs and to the mountain peak. The trail also features various markers depicting some of the rare plants that are located at the park. This trip will include birdwatching as well as exploring the location's unique flora and non-avian fauna. Migrating raptors, dragonflies and butterflies are a sure bet. The hike to the top of Rocky Face is a strenuous one up pretty steep terrain to the summit and can be skipped if necessary.

Approximate Travel Time:

35 minutes

Facilities:

Bathrooms or porta johns present

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy hikes on level or nearly level trails except for a strenuous hike to the summit, which birders can skip if necessary.

Trips 14, 29 – Ridge Junction

Birding from a chair. No kidding!!! While the predawn drive to this scenic overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway may not be everyone's cup of tea, the continuous stream of birds and a sunrise that takes one's breath should be worth it! With part of the Parkway still closed due to Helene damage, we will need to leave the hotel at 5:15 a.m. in order to be in place when the sun rises and the drama begins. (At this early hour, we have a chance at seeing a Black Bear while driving up the Parkway!) Situated at a unique spot in the Black Mountains, Ridge Junction Overlook is the “low” point in the “J” shaped chain and acts as a funnel for southbound migrants. On good days, there could be several hundred migrants seen in small groups making their way through the tree line, all visible from your chair. On great days—well, let's just say it will knock your socks off! We will have lunch in the restaurant at Mt. Mitchell State Park and look for Red Crossbills while we are there. Bring an extra layer for what could be cold and breezy conditions.

Approximate Travel Time:

1 hr 45 minutes

Facilities:

Port-a-potty restrooms nearby at the Mt. Mitchell visitor center, restrooms in the restaurant. Lunch at the Mount Mitchell restaurant.

Access conditions:

This trip will involve easy to light walking.

Trip 15 – Boone and the High Country #1 — Blue Ridge Parkway

Our first stop will be Elk Mountain Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway which typically records the largest fall migrant movement in the area with the possible exception of Trout Lake. We will be leaving the hotel promptly at 6 AM to arrive in time to take in the sunrise that can be spectacular at the Overlook. Warblers and other migrants may be seen up close in the open as they cross the parkway early in the morning. We will then visit The Cascades and Lewis Fork overlooks for more migrants before heading back to Elk Mountain Overlook around noon to spend some time looking for migrating hawks — this has been a productive and reliable location in the past few years. Scopes are very useful for this trip. As are a blanket and sunglasses/sunscreen and wide-brimmed hat in case of extremely strong sun which does occur often.

Approximate Travel Time:

1 hr 20 minutes

Facilities:

Cascades Overlook has restrooms — the other overlooks have no facilities. There are no restaurants or stores on this route — be sure to pack a lunch.

Access conditions:

No impediments are present at any of these stops for mobility-limited birders. All birding will be from an overlook parking area or briefly on foot along the Parkway.

Trip 30 – Boone and the High Country #2 — The Greenway

We will start our trip in the morning birding around Moses Cone Park and Trout Lake, one of the premiere fall migration hotspots in Watauga County. After a slow one mile walk around the lake, we will move to one or more sections of the Boone Greenway. We will access the Boone Greenway and Kennedy Trail system from Clawson-Burnley Park and the Created Wetland and Brookshire Park as time allows and bird activity directs. eBird checklists from these sites have tallied 202 total species including 30 warbler species. Scopes are generally not needed for this trip.

Approximate Travel Time:

1 hr 5 minutes

Facilities:

Restrooms with flush toilets are available at the Watauga County Recreation complex next to Clawson-Burnley Park and at Brookshire Park. Stores and restaurants are available at Blowing Rock and Boone on the way to the Greenway trailheads.

Access conditions:

All birding will be on foot along flat to low-gradient trails – some are paved (Boone Greenway) and some are natural-surfaced (Trout Lake and parts of Brookshire Park). The Brookshire Park trail system has a few short, steep sections with a natural surface that may be difficult for mobility-limited birders, but this is a very minor portion of the day's itinerary.