Moses Cone Lakes and Early Spring Migrants
North Carolina
April 30, 2023
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 10 participants.
Departure: We will meet at 7 am at the Tanger Outlets in Blowing Rock. When entering the outlets, head left and park in the Rack Room Shoes parking lot. A Speedway gas station is available next door for gas and restrooms. From there, we will head to Trout Lake. Meet at the Trout Lake parking lot at 7:15 if you prefer to drive directly. Time: 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM. We will meet at the Blowing Rock Tanger Outlets at 7:00 am or meet at Trout Lake parking area around 7:15 am. Price: $60
Altogether, expect several miles of easy walking. All trails will be flat and gravel. Make sure to pack a lunch and wear comfortable shoes.
Moses Cone Memorial Park just south of Blowing Rock is home to many miles of trails, several lakes, and beautiful scenery. Not to mention, it is excellent for birding. Many breeders special to the high-elevation regions of Southern Appalachia are found here. With unique habitats and great birding, Moses Cone always has something to offer.
We will begin at Trout Lake. We might see Spotted Sandpiper, Wood Ducks, and Osprey around the lake. Summer breeders should just be arriving from their wintering grounds. Veery and Wood Thrush, Hooded, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, and Canada Warblers and more should be active and singing. In addition to birds, the cove forests here are home to old-growth Eastern Hemlocks, extensive thickets of Rhododendron, abundant lichens, and several plants endemic (or nearly endemic) to Southern Appalachia.
The next stops will be at Bass and Price Lakes. Though most waterfowl will be gone by late April, we might still see Buffleheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, or Red-breasted Merganser. Songbird highlights might include Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, swallows, Veery, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and more. We will likely get many of the same species at Price Lake as the other locations but have a better chance of Black-throated Green Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, and Pine Siskin.
Blue-headed Vireo, Brown Creeper, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Red-breasted Nuthatch breed in this area, so we will likely see breeding behavior from these species.