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NEW RIVER STATE PARK-NC

8/11/2019

Last week, Glyn and I spent several days visiting West Jefferson, NC in Ashe County. This is an area northwest of Boone which I had never visited and I was excited to be able to explore the birding in nearby New River State Park. This is an area in the mountains where birding can be very different than in the flat, coastal plains area of eastern NC where we live. I was hoping to see a few warblers that hang out here all summer and only visit the coastal plain briefly in spring and fall migration. Because of rainy weather, and foggy conditions, I was only able to explore the trails in the park for about 2 hours on one morning. This was on the River Run trail which runs along the New River for about a mile and a half. Here, I saw many Indigo Buntings and Common Yellow throats, but no other warblers. This is a very beautiful area and I will return under better circumstances. If you are in the area, I highly recommend a visit to the park! See pictures below.

While in West Jefferson, our favorite dining spot was Boondocks. It is a brewery and fine restaurant with inside and outdoor seating. Great food!! Interesting to see in the area were the two area Episcopal churches, St. Marys in West Jefferson and Holy Trinity in Glendale Springs. Each of these are home to art frescoes painted by Ben Long after being trained in Italy in this technique. These two churches are a must see!! We also visited and observed cheese making in West Jefferson at the Ashe County Cheese Factory. See pictures below.

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THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER

8/2/2019

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..One of the most beautiful birds that we have in my opinion is the Red-headed Woodpecker. The stark, solid red head and black and white back and wing are striking and have gained the bird the nickname of "the checkerboard bird". The young birds do not get the red head until the first spring of their life. These birds have been around since the Pleistocene era of 2 million years ago. For a full description of these birds, their range, behavior, and cool facts about them, visit this Cornell University site.

This summer I have been following a family of these guys in The Field. The nest is located at the top of a dead pine which has been cut off about 30 feet up by electric power line workers trimming back the edges of the line clearance. I found the nest only after the chicks had just begun to fly, so missed the early nest building, etc. See the pictures below of parents and fledglings. These were taken between July 12-30, 2019.