Big Bald Bird Banding Station, October 2010

Bird banding on Big Bald has been going on for 32 years. Data about migration, habitat, mating, has been collected from Big Bald and hundreds of other locations, gathered by thousands of dedicated and professional volunteers, who spend days out in the weather, usually in remote spots, without much momentary connection to the world.

The Big Bald Bird Banding Station is located along the AT, north bound from Sam's Gap, on the Tenn./N.C. state line above the Wolf Laurel Resort (http://www.bigbaldbanding.org/index.html). You have to have permission from the owners of Wolf Laurel to cross their property and then park on edge of AT right-of-way. A short hike (towards the photographer) and you come an opening where, in this case, the banding station was already in full swing by eight o'clock in the morning. It was coolish sunrise and warm afternoon. The weather along the ridge can change hourly so be prepared.

Operated entirely by volunteers who haul up the furniture, do the measuring, record an incredibly difficult data set, and make a million decisions. They're not in a locality where you can just call or look up information.

The data set includes: age, how age is determined, wing length, weight, sex, how sex is determined, ID, tail feathers, fat, and molt. (And probably more but I'm doing this from memory!). All this knowledge comes from an identification guide that is about the size of the Collegiate paperback dictionary. They have rulers, magnifying glasses, scales, water, paper bags, nets, posts, pliers, bands, records books, and what not. Just to measure one bird. We measured 120 in just one day.

The process is simple enough. An established net pattern is set up (we used 8 nets this day.) Routinely all the nets are checked for captured birds. Someone has to "pick" (the precise term for rescuing a bird from the net. Maybe un-net or de-net instead?) each, noting on a paper sack certain vital information, and then place the bird in the sack. Sounds like a game. The birds bite, claw, poop. They don't like being netted and they are only become quiet because they're too tired to resist any further.

Back at the banding station, someone measures the various lengths and maturity, weight, confirms the ID, when and who's doing the measuring, and attaches an aluminum leg band. Thoroughly traumatized, the bird is released to go tell the folks where he's been for the last 25 minutes. Like their gonna believe this tale and the unlikely story about where the band came from!

Eventually all the records from all the stations make there way to a collection at Cornell University, N.Y. The tally of records so far must be in the millions.

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Everything is carried in. If you want to eat, bring it, and take it back. All the instruments make the daily trip but the heavy tables and chairs and the like stay there over the summer (if not the winter.) I think most avid bird watchers are also outdoors people, too. We'll invest in good packs, warm clothes, good rain gear, and extras like hiking sticks, cameras, and tripods. And lug it where it has to go for those good shots and one-of-a-kind views. From our vantage you can see northerly towards Erwin, Tenn. but the southern view is mostly forest interspersed with farms, modern mountain homes, and the ubiquitous cell tower

Our day was capped off by the capture (in another net complex) of a Sharp shin hawk! There was a second net complex set up just up-trail with spring loaded nets, live bait, and a blind. Our group leader, Kathy Gunther, for the day, caught and banded a Sharp-shin hawk. This would be one of the those events you see only on Nature on PBS. He posed quietly but you only get one chance to see it hit the wing! In Kathy's left hand is a small, chip can. While working on the measurements the sharpie is tucked head first in the can to keep him under control and not only to be not feisty but to prevent an opportunistic chunk out of your hand.


 

Each net has it's own problems of "picking" birds. Sometimes they get themselves so tangled it'll take a second or third person to get them out. They wrap themselves in there fairly tightly, hooked around the claw, and even caught in the barbs of the tongue. The last requires gentle care and the job is done bare-handed meaning poop and cold and sensitivity all come into play. Gloves are forbidden as they dull the tactile senses. And the bigger the bird (bluejay, towhee, robin) the larger the beak and the larger the "ouch" factor. In this photo it didn't take all three to pick the towhee. But, notice, the net is invisible in the photo. The brown-green-brown striping off to the left is the run of the net and the net itself is over the green stripe.  ###

On the Trail, again, northbound from Watauga Dam Road

One of the nicest things about the southbound hike is it becomes a morning or afternoon getaway into the woods. Any time of the year, just about, I can drive up to the trail head (half-hour's drive from my house) hike out to the shelter (one to one-and-a-half hours at the most--one way), then back. Maybe on the outside three hours of the day. I (and you) can do this in the evenings after work. And reach a specific terminal. And, the trail doesn't change elevation (much. Mostly from the road to the top of the dam is the hard part.). From the top the dam to lake shore if you go the entire three or four miles to the other side of the lake. This is one of those rare places where the trail is road level.

The northbound route from Watauga Dam road to the Vandeventer shelter is the norm. It starts straight up from the road, keeps going straight up, and doesn't level off until 4.5 to 5.0 miles. I have started this hike five times in my life and completed it only twice. I have walked south from Vendeventer having done the 13-mile leg from where Tenn. 91 crosses the trail at the head of Stoney Creek, where the Johnson County and Carter County lines meet.

This stretch is one of those places where you learn just how much fun hiking is!

And this section seems to go on forever. It's a slow trudge up hill without much change in the scenery. It's all trees and trail and it's not like you can stop and take sweeping panoramic view of the landscape. There is no landscape. It used to be the trail went along the ridge which really did feel like straight up. Now, it has switch backs which is a bit easier on the wind but adds to the length and drudgery.

But, you do get this beautiful filtered sunlight. In the fall and spring, warm air, air with smell of heat to it, runs up the southern slope. This time of year the butterflies come out in droves seeking that last plant to live from and this same warm updraft brings them right to you. It's easy to work of up a sweat on this section and not go far but just stopping gets you to a different looking spot than the last break (which is why it takes me so long to do this section) and something new to photograph.

Where the southbound stretch is very smooth, the northbound (all the way to Iron Mountain shelter yet another 5 miles up) is a slow foot-at-a-time elevator. It will teach you the value of packing light and wearing the right-weight boots.

But, also I found this time a place maybe only half mile in that would be a great stop in the fall to put up the hammock and just enjoy the afternoon. Might even want to think about spending the night. (Gets cell reception, too.) 
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Bay's Mountain Park, Kingsport, Tennessee

Bays Mountain city park, on the southwestern edge of Kingsport, is a great place to visit and spend some time. They have trails, a planetarium, nature center, captive animals, picnic area, gift shop, an observatory, and a small lake. The lake and dam were the city's water source many years ago and were privately purchased to form the park. It is as good a cross section of southern Appalachian flora and fauna as any in the mountains. It is the hiking that really makes Bays Mountain more than just a city park with a few animals to stare and gawk at.

We hiked the Lakeshore Trail, 2.3 miles, on a hot August afternoon. That was most of the reason we didn't add any new birds. But we did get visited by a Red admiral which feasted on the salt on our fingertips. It tickled! The proboscis is about 1-1 1/2" long and it just checks out every whirl and loop on your fingertip.

There are plenty of side trails (be cautious that the park is edged with private properties). Because there are many roads around the edge of the park bike riding would probably be a lot of fun with the hills and few cars to worry about. The signage was good and with the map we never were concerned about our location.

For Kingsporters, Bays Mountain would be probably a good place to get out of the heat of the bowl that is Kingsport. And into some fresh air.

Getting there is another matter. There's one route leading from Wilcox Road exit off I-26 and one from the Meadowview exit farther up the road from Wilcox. Check google maps for "bays mountain kingsport tenn" for directions.
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The Virginia Creeper Trail

One of the successes over the years has been the Rails-to-Trails program. Locally, in Johnson City, we're going to try it, too, with Tweetsie (East Tennessee and Western North Carolina; ET&WNC) track from Johnson City to Elizabethton being bought by the city. I have had the luxury of hiking part of the Virginia Creeper trail east out of Abingdon, Va., towards the Mt. Rogers Recreation Area and beyond to the North Carolina border.

The trail is smooth, flat, with lots of shade and bridges. The Creeper was a railroad that ended service in the 1970s. The state and local governments secured access to the right-of-way although the literature says the property is still privately owned. The path is wide enough for a pick-up truck to transport mowers and pick up the trash. The bridges are on old trestles. The landscape is beautiful. It's all pasture and we went from near Abingdon to the confluence of the middle and south forks of the Holston where the South Holston Lake backs to just under the trestle. You can't camp. It is a day hiker's and biker's dream.

Whether the Tweetsie plan works like the Creeper is unknown but it could. With plenty of effort and commitment at least there'd be some legacy for the ET&WNC and perhaps a new look and feel to that part of the county.

Our second trip to the Creeper Trail was much shorter (and hotter) but nonetheless quite nice. You can park at various spots along the trail, sometimes on private property and sometimes on public land. So a person could hike various sections. The drive up from Johnson City is quicker each time you make the trip, too.

This time we parked at the Alvarado Station at the very tip of the South Holston Lake backwater. Alvarado is four miles from Mendota Station which is about three and a half miles from Abingdon. What we did was to hike back up the trail to finish up the previous hike and return to Alverado and put in one more mile down trail. Two new miles. Four miles round trip.

By the time you get to Alvarado you're 8.5 miles out from Abingdon.

So the tally now is five miles on the Creeper. I'm sure some readers will scoff and that's okay with me. It's five miles one way and ten miles round trip and that's a lot of walking for me. If you go really early you could hike from Abingdon to Alvarado and back fairly easily.

The entire trail runs from Abingdon through Damascus to Whitetop Mountain below that little notch of Tennessee that sticks into Virgina. You're almost in North Carolina, at the finish. A total of about 34 miles. The map is printed on two sides so I guess the first milestone is to get off page one. The leg between Alvarado and Damascus is seven miles and, having not been on the trail, I can't tell you where you could park between the two for section hiking. Once pass Damascus the trail starts uphill gaining 1,600 feet in 18 miles, or so. Also, despite the legends on the map, do not presume the toilets will be to your liking.

We skipped the trip out from Abingdon partly because the trailhead was slightly difficult to find and we didn't really want to hike in the town.
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