Birds & Battlefields
Cowpens, SC
March 3, 2021
Register by clicking the ‘book now’ button above, or by contacting the Ventures office. We accept credit cards for an additional fee (2.9% for MC, Visa, Discover; 3.9% for AmEx), but you may also pay by bank transfer, cash, check, or money order. This Venture is limited to 8 participants.
Departure: We will meet at the parking lot at Cowpens National Battlefield, 338 New Pleasant Rd., Gaffney, SC Time: 9:00 AM Price: $55 per person; Picnic lunch not included (until further notice) Leader: Simon Thompson Description: This will be a day of easy walking of about 3 miles along the battlefield and around the perimeter road. Fields may be wet so waterproof shoes will be helpful.
Cowpens National Battlefield is a Revolutionary War battle site that commemorates the victory of Brigadier General Daniel Morgan over his dreaded foe, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, in the cause for American Independence. It was an important link in a chain of events that ultimately led to the defeat and surrender of the British commander Lord Earl Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781. The battlefield is a unit of the National Park System, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior.
The 845-acre park is open daily from 9 AM – 5 PM and there’s a great 10 minute video that outlines the campaign and we can sit and watch it in a well-aired outdoor situation.
Once we have had our fill of the Revolutionary War, we can head out on the trails. Directly behind the visitor center, the Battlefield Trail runs for just over a mile through a mix of pine and deciduous woodland, open grassy areas and overgrown fields – lot of great bird habitat. We will walk this and maybe also some of the Auto Loop Road, which is a level paved 3 mile loop.
On our exploration here during the winter we had a great mid-winter birdlist, including all 3 Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush and an over-wintering Common Yellowthroat. By early March there’s a good chance that a few spring birds may be beginning to arrive. Pine Warblers should be singing and, if we are very lucky we may hear the beautiful song of the Hermit Thrush.
Join us for a blend of history and nature in this beautiful Upstate South Carolina location.