Back from North Carolina

Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted.  It’s not because I haven’t been birding, but more out of laziness and my distraction with an upcoming martial arts test (it’s the biggie – 1st degree black belt and there’s nothing more embarrasing than not knowing your stuff).

Anyway, I got back May 11th from my 6 day trip to visit my brother and his family in Apex, near Raleigh, and to attend my niece’s graduation from Appalachian State University (a very beautiful campus by the way, with some real nice kids.  Anyone have a job for a chemistry major with an undiagnosed case of PD – Punctuality Disorder?).   Appalachian State is all the way at the other end of the state near the Tennessee border, in Boone.  We  rented a mountain cabin about 10 miles out of town and about 3600 feet in elevation.  And let me tell you, I don’t care how leafy and green the trees were, it was still freezing ass cold at night (low 30′s).   The hot tub and fireplaces weren’t just nice decorative touches.

Each daybreak I was awake in my bed listening to the dawn chorus of the eastern woodlands.  And again, I set myself up for  high expectations bird wise, hoping to see Cerulean and Black-throated Blue Warblers practically falling at the doorstep.  Well, it isn’t that simple.   This was not a birding trip so my active birding was limited to backyard birding at my brother’s house, walking the very steep gravel road that led to our mountain cabin, and some short trails and quick overlook views on the Blue Ridge Parkway.   I think I expected a little more birdiness out in the Appalachians then we actually had, but all in all, I wasn’t disappointed with a  Barred Owl that called under a star-filled night sky, fussing House Wrens, American Crows in abundance, Song and Chipping Sparrows, a bright pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Slate-colored Juncos, and American Goldfinches in beautiful breeding colors.  The real starring warblers of our mountain retreat were the numerous Chestnut-sided Warblers staking out their territory every 75 yards or so with an incessant “very, very, pleased to meetcha” song.

We spent a half-day out on the Blue Ridge Parkway between Boone and Linville.    The wind was blowing stiffly which kept a lot of birds down, but who can complain about the beauty of the Appalachians.   As we drove along, it was very evident that the severe winter had not been kind to the Parkway.  The forest and roadsides were littered with many downed trees and broken limbs, and parts of the roadway were still closed to traffic.   We’d been hoping to see some blooming rhododendrums, but it seems we were early or they were late by a week or two.  After 15 miles of driving we finally found 2 lone rhododendrum bushes in bloom near the turnoff for Grandfather Mountain (which we opted out of visiting after we calculated the entrance fees would have set us back $75). 

 To any North Carolineans who stumble on this blog, I apologize, but I must make one observation.  Where are the roadside birds in North Carolina?  Between Raleigh and Boone I can honestly say I did not see any birds on wires, birds on roadsides, birds along fencelines.   For that matter, no deer, no squirrels, no wildlife of any kind, except for 2 lone road-killed beavers.  Is that usual?  

However, North Carolina’s un-birdiness was more than made up for in good food, specifically pulled pork.  (Opinion starting now) There is nothing that Texas can put over on North Carolina when it comes to the magical combination of wood smoke, fatty pigs and vinegar sauce.  Though not in the traditional eastern North Carolina BBQ region, I was one happy camper with the BBQ from The Woodlands in Blowing Rock.   The pork was awesome and what they do to a chicken is indecently good.

Back in Apex we spent a couple of days just hanging out, going to the Farmer’s Market in Raleigh and a quick morning hike at Jordan Lake State Park (pretty Eastern Bluebirds).   Everyone’s got their own flavor of backyard birds, and I was really happy just watching the American Robins and Chipping Sparrows from the back porch.  I think my brother’s yard could only improve with some bird feeders.

It’s nice to be home though.  I missed my own backyard birds, and I’m sure they missed me, considering most of the feeders were empty and the bird baths dry.