Big Bald Banding Station 2019 and Fall 2019 State Meeting of the Tennessee Ornithological Society
I hadn’t been up to the bird banding station at Big Bald in a couple of years.
It is always a treat to watch Dr. Mark Hopey do his work and I envy the student volunteers that help him. Banding can make for some long days, too, but I suspect all who have helped still remember being at the station. He gets his students from Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, N.C. and from Haywood Community College in Clyde, N.C., about 25 miles west of Asheville. The students are very fortunate to get this close, hands-on training, and exceptional experience in the great outdoors. Up here in the hills, we take great pride that our kids are interested in nature and the woods and rivers. There’s never too much time spent on the balds, in the rapids, or exploring the wilderness.
We were visiting the station this time as part of the weekend hosting by the Herndon Chapter of TOS (also known as the Elizabethton Bird Club) of the society’s fall, state meeting. Over 65 people registered for the weekend and we had seven non-club members join on the trek out to the banding station. Of that group we’d all been to a banding station sometime in our lives.
The Big Bald station sits on the Appalachian Trail just a notch east of where the trail, I-26, and the N.C./Tennessee state line intersect. To get to the station, drive into North Carolina on I-26, double back through Wolf Laurel Community (gated), and then hike along the trail (northbound) with Tennessee to your left and North Carolina to your right. If the trail is accurate as a boundary the station sits on the Tennessee side but most of the spectators stand in North Carolina! Of course, the view is priceless, as it is on the balds at Carver’s Gap, even with the current hazy heat.
But for many people along the trail, as it is for the students, this is one of those rare moments. You’re lucky to see a bird within ten feet and here you get to see them from two feet. Makes a world of difference. And even if you have watched birds for some time seeing them up close is always a new perspective. Mark takes the time to explain what he is doing and to show us the fine points of avian anatomy.
This station has been in business 50 years. For more information try: https://bigbaldbanding.org/big-bald-banding-station/
It’s not all picnic. All the stuff needed: tables, chairs, tools, paper sacks, food, canopy, books, data sheets, have to be hauled up on someone’s back. It’s not the longest walk but it can be more than enough. The adventure is worth the work.
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It is always a treat to watch Dr. Mark Hopey do his work and I envy the student volunteers that help him. Banding can make for some long days, too, but I suspect all who have helped still remember being at the station. He gets his students from Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, N.C. and from Haywood Community College in Clyde, N.C., about 25 miles west of Asheville. The students are very fortunate to get this close, hands-on training, and exceptional experience in the great outdoors. Up here in the hills, we take great pride that our kids are interested in nature and the woods and rivers. There’s never too much time spent on the balds, in the rapids, or exploring the wilderness.
We were visiting the station this time as part of the weekend hosting by the Herndon Chapter of TOS (also known as the Elizabethton Bird Club) of the society’s fall, state meeting. Over 65 people registered for the weekend and we had seven non-club members join on the trek out to the banding station. Of that group we’d all been to a banding station sometime in our lives.
The Big Bald station sits on the Appalachian Trail just a notch east of where the trail, I-26, and the N.C./Tennessee state line intersect. To get to the station, drive into North Carolina on I-26, double back through Wolf Laurel Community (gated), and then hike along the trail (northbound) with Tennessee to your left and North Carolina to your right. If the trail is accurate as a boundary the station sits on the Tennessee side but most of the spectators stand in North Carolina! Of course, the view is priceless, as it is on the balds at Carver’s Gap, even with the current hazy heat.
But for many people along the trail, as it is for the students, this is one of those rare moments. You’re lucky to see a bird within ten feet and here you get to see them from two feet. Makes a world of difference. And even if you have watched birds for some time seeing them up close is always a new perspective. Mark takes the time to explain what he is doing and to show us the fine points of avian anatomy.
This station has been in business 50 years. For more information try: https://bigbaldbanding.org/big-bald-banding-station/
It’s not all picnic. All the stuff needed: tables, chairs, tools, paper sacks, food, canopy, books, data sheets, have to be hauled up on someone’s back. It’s not the longest walk but it can be more than enough. The adventure is worth the work.
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Labels: Appalachia, bird watching
posted by Charles Moore at
6:03 PM
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