Hampton Roads

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Bill

It’s Thanksgiving 2011 and the wife and I hit the road to visit my Mom in NC and then on up to the Tidewater area in VA to see her family. This coastal region is always a treat to go to if you enjoy viewing wildlife and especially water birds.

The “featured bird” on this trip was definitely the Brown Pelican. We saw several of them at many of the birding hot-spots. One particular area that was fantastic was Messick Point in Poquoson, VA. The public boat landing there was filled with pelicans and they were quite close to the dock.

The challenge was trying to find a single bird amongst the flock that could be isolated. Wing shots were tough because of all of the boats, pilings and background clutter. But, the light was great and a bit of patience paid off. Over two days, I ended up nearly filling a memory card with nothing but pelicans. They are such interesting birds and look almost prehistoric.

Touchdown!

The “featured bird” on this trip was definitely the Brown Pelican

Our next stop was a visit to Lake Biggins in Huntington Park. This is the oldest public park in Newport News, VA and part of the Newport News Park system. The entire park is only about 60 acres. There was a brief appearance by a juvenile hawk and several mallards, wigeon and canada geese.

The most interesting critter this day was a playful little river otter. He was very busy diving, finding lunch and munching away. Briefly, he would surface for air and then slip below the water again. Fortunately, I could track his trail of bubbles and predict where he would surface so I could grab a quick shot.

The final stop was at the Newport News Park on Lee Hall Reservoir. This is a large 8,000 acre park right off of I-64. It features just about every facility that you would want in a public park but, most importantly, it’s teaming with a broad diversity of wildlife.

We arrived just in time to see some water birds like this Great Blue Heron in the golden late afternoon light. This fellow was intently watching for his dinner to move close enough for a strike. The sun was moving in and out of heavy cloud cover so conditions were changing rapidly.

What a nice relaxing visit with family and an opportunity to see nature and some beautiful wildlife.

Rogers Bridge

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Bill

Last month the National Park Service obtained some land less than 2 miles from my house so, I had to check it out. I’m a big fan of our national parks and national wildlife refuges. The thought of having even a small national park so close is exciting!

An organization known as the “Trust for Public Land” announced on 9/24/2011 that it had donated 22 acres of land to expand the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. This is in addition to another 22 acres they sold to the park service last June. The 44 total acres are all part of an historic farm owned by the Rogers family for 300 years. They are one of the pioneering families north of Atlanta. On the adjoining property the Rogers still have 300 acres and their original farmhouse built in 1828, one of the oldest homes in the state.

The Rogers are an interesting family starting with John Rogers (1774-1851) and his half-blood Cherokee wife, Sarah Cordery (1785-1842). He was an influential plantation owner, Indian countryman and colleague to President Andrew Jackson. One of his 12 children was William Rogers (1805-1870) who fought for Indian rights during the last years of the Cherokee Nation’s existence in Georgia. It’s ironic that President Jackson actually stayed overnight in John Rogers’ home here yet, he was the President who signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 resulting in the “Trail of Tears” forced eviction of the Indians from Georgia to Oklahoma.

Clement had a famous son, humorist and entertainer Will Rogers

Another of John Rogers’ 12 children was Robert Rogers who married Sallie Vann. Sallie was related to the Cherokee Chief, James Vann. They moved away from Georgia before the forced removal in 1838 essentially seeing the writing on the wall. Their son, Clement V. Rogers (1839-1911), became a Cherokee senator and judge in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. Rogers County in Oklahoma is named for Clement Rogers. In addition, Clement had a famous son, humorist and entertainer Will Rogers (1879-1935). Will is the one that used to say that his ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower but they “met the boat.”

Ok, now that we’ve figured out who these Rogers people are let’s discuss the national park land and the bridge. The 44 acre tract protects more than 850 feet of the Chattahoochee River and will provide trails and green space. Also on the property is the longest single-span bridge in Georgia that crosses the river from Fulton County over to Gwinnett County. It’s significant because it’s a rare and unaltered 100 year old pin-connected Pennsylvania through truss bridge.

How can you be sure exactly what type of truss bridge this is? Well, the National Park Service has provided this handy poster that you can print out and study in your spare time. The bridge is obviously a variation of the Pratt truss originally designed by Thomas and Caleb Pratt in 1844. The engineers of the Pennsylvania Railroad improved upon the Pratt design and created the Pennsylvania truss in the 1870’s. Many of these were built for railroad use but, the Rogers Bridge was not. It was used for horse and buggy traffic and later for cars. Very few of these old bridges still exist.

As you can see, Rogers Bridge has fallen on hard times. Its current role is supporting a 48” water main. That could all change as this new park develops. There are plans to refurbish the bridge for foot and bicycle traffic. That would join this park with the Gwinnett County Park that already exists on the other side of the river. Sounds like a great plan. Time will tell if it ever happens.

In the mean time, I’ve got a very close and accessible place to tromp around and take pictures. I’m cool with that.

The Road to Nowhere

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Bill

“Honey, I’ve got a great idea. Let’s take a ride on the road to nowhere!” Those words had hardly cleared my lips when my wife gives me “the look”. Sort of halfway between “are you serious?” and “on no, not another hair-brained idea”.

Well, there really is a “Road to Nowhere”. It’s located near Bryson City, NC and was born out of an agreement in 1943 between the National Park Service and the people of Swain County North Carolina. The US was in the middle of World War II. We needed aluminum to build aircraft. The Alcoa Aluminum production facility in Alcoa, TN needed electricity so the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was given funding by congress in 1941 to build Fontana Dam.

As a 1943 TVA promotional poster proclaimed:

We are building this dam…
To make the power…
To roll the aluminum…
To build the bombers…
To beat the bastards!

by 1970 only 7 miles of the promised road had been completed.

One problem was that the reservoir would require nearly 12,000 acres, displace 1,300 families and engulf the only road between Bryson City and Deals Gap. With the Fontana lake on one side and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the other, there would be no access for the displaced people to return to family cemeteries located on the north side of the lake. The solution was an agreement to build a new 30 mile road within the park. But, by 1970 only 7 miles of the promised road had been completed. Environmental issues with erosion and acid runoff from the exposed rocks and funding concerns led to years of delay and litigation. The road will never be completed and was finally resolved in 2010 when Swain County accepted a $52 million settlement from the park service.

So yesterday, we packed up the car and headed off to see this mysterious road. Upon arrival in Bryson City the first thing we had to do was visit the Bryson City Cemetery and find the grave of Horace Kephart. The Ken Burns film, America’s Best Idea, had a segment on the Smokies and it explained the critical role played by Kephart in the creation of the park. I guess I just wanted to stand near his grave and say thanks.

By now it’s getting close to lunchtime so we decide to get a bite to eat before heading to “nowhere”. (Only an idiot would go nowhere on an empty stomach!) Absolutely the best place for lunch or breakfast in Bryson City is the Everett Street Diner. It’s not fancy but, the food and service are outstanding. If you’re in the area, be sure to check it out. Besides, after you eat you can jump in your car and continue northwest on Everett Street until it turns into Fontana Road aka Lake View Drive aka The Road to Nowhere.

Lake View Drive travels along the north edge of the Tuckasegee River as it flows westward into Fontana Lake. The terrain is steep and beautiful with several excellent views of the surrounding mountains and the river below. The fall foliage appears bright and surrealistic almost like a water-colored painting.

The road itself is pretty typical of other roads within the park and is similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It has few official paved overlooks but, there are several pull-offs with excellent views. The pace is relaxed and the traffic is minimal. There are no facilities on the road and it only has one bridge and one tunnel. In fact, you can’t even drive through the tunnel.

The end of the Road to Nowhere appears in the form of a steel bollard barricade. A 500 foot walk from there reveals a 1,200 foot long, dark, graffiti filled tunnel. It seems like such a waste to see the marvelous stone masonry and hours of labor required to create a tunnel that has never and will never be used.

We really enjoyed our visit to the area and will certainly keep it in mind as a scenic but, less visited, section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Behold Linville Gorge

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Bill

Linville Gorge is often called “The Grand Canyon of North Carolina”. Once you see it you can understand why.

The terrain is so rugged that it was never logged

The peak on the left is “Hawksbill” and the one on the right is “Table Rock”. Elevation averages 4,000 feet atop Hawksbill Mountain and falls 2,000 feet to the Linville River in the valley. Linville Gorge is located a few miles south of Linville Falls, NC and is within the bounds of the Pisgah National Forest. The terrain is so rugged that it was never logged, making it one of the few examples of old-growth forest in the Eastern US.

This panorama was taken from Wiseman’s View which is about 1,500 feet above the river.

Rare and Exotic

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Bill

Sometimes I dream about photographing some rare and exotic animal like an Iberian Lynx or a Snow Leopard. Even better would be an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I can just visualize it in my viewfinder but, then I wake up from the dream and slap myself back to reality. There is, however, a rare and exotic animal that I have found and photographed. You can too. Interested? Then read on…

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lists them as Endangered.

Down here in the Southeast US there used to be thousands of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCW’s). Since they only live in old-growth pine forests (which were logged out years ago) their numbers fell to near extinction due to loss of habitat. Today, there are fewer than 1% remaining. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lists them as Endangered. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists them as Vulnerable. Sounds like “Rare and Exotic” to me!

Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge is a 35,000 acre refuge located 25 miles north of Macon, GA. It’s the home for approximately 40 clusters of RCW’s. Over 45 miles of gravel roads provide excellent access throughout the refuge. The only downside right now is that no “facilities” are currently available due to a large renovation project to rebuild the dam at Allison Lake. But, that’s not a big deal because the woodpeckers can be found elsewhere.

Driving to Piedmont NWR from the Atlanta area will take you down I-75. Take Exit 186 in Forsyth, GA and go left on Juliette Road toward Juliette, GA. If you’re going to be passing through Juliette anywhere from 11am to 4pm then you absolutely must stop at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Sound familiar? That’s where the movie Fried Green Tomatoes was filmed. The homestyle southern cooking is excellent and the service is superb. Start off with some fried green tomatoes and then chow down on a country fried steak, mashed potatoes, collard greens and cornbread. Wash it all down with sweet tea served in a Mason jar. Yum! Be sure to save room for the pecan cobbler.

OK, where was I? Oh yeah, rare little birds… You’ll want to print the full refuge map available on the FWS.gov website HERE. The refuge is divided into “compartments”. The area where I have seen RCW’s on multiple occasions is near a small pond in the northwest corner of the refuge in compartments 2, 3 and 4. (Marked with four red * in a small segment of the map shown here). They used to nest closer to Allison Lake but, after the dam broke and the lake dried up, the birds relocated.

Several of the nests are close to the road but, you have to know what you’re looking for. RCW’s are about the size of a Cardinal and only slightly larger than a Downy Woodpecker. Even though they are called RED-cockaded Woodpeckers it’s unlikely that you will ever see any red on the bird. The tiny red “cockade” is only visible on the males, when they’re in breeding plumage AND when they’re defending their territory. (I think the planets have to be in a certian alignment as well.) The way to find the birds is by first finding an active nest. The Rangers have done some of the work for you by painting green bands around trees to signify an RCW cluster is nearby and a white band to signify that an RCW nest is in that particular tree. Some of these nests are no longer active, however. Active nests can be found by looking for a hole 20-30 feet up the tree that has white sap running down the tree all around the area near the hole. RCW’s peck small holes in the tree to make the sap run as a deterrent to predators.

Once you find a likely active nest then just quietly hang out until the birds show up. Sometimes you will hear their drumming or more likely, their chirp. The best time to see the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers at Piedmont NWR is early in the morning or late in the afternoon in early Spring around March. That’s when they’re in breeding plumage and you may see the red “cockade”. But, the birds can be seen in the refuge year round.

Have fun and happy birding!