Harnett County

North Carolina county #65

Raven Rock State Park

In the afternoon my kids and I stopped at Raven Rock State Park in Harnett County.

It had already been a long day with hours of driving and walking and now the temperature was up to 95 degrees.  We did the Raven Rock Loop Trail which is a little over 2 miles and a little bit hilly but the kids were troopers.  My daughter was dragging a little bit especially since we left our water in the car and we were all drenched in sweat.  I took some photos, but maybe I was distracted from the heat or children, because after I checked them I realized not one photo was of a bird on this birding trip!  Oh well.  I did get to see a Louisiana Waterthrush – it had been a few months – and a few other decent birds like Northern Parula, Acadian Flycatchers, and Eastern Wood-Pewees.

At one of the overlooks we had a very friendly butterfly that played with us for a while, landing on each of us in turn.

I am having trouble identifying this one, and will have to update the post after I figure it out.  I want to say it is in the nymph family but I don’t know butterflies very well so am not sure.

At the far end of the loop there is a wooden staircase that goes a long way down to Raven Rock.  There is apparently a place to swim in the river down there.  I didn’t go down – I was tired enough at this point – but the kids ran down to check it out.  I also saw several groups of people on the hike clearly headed for some swimming.

When we got back we were happy to find a water fountain and some bathrooms near the parking lot.  We drank all the water in the car and refilled and drank it again before going to a gas station to buy lemonade.  This was a memorable and fun day.  I think the kids enjoyed themselves also.

My next trip won’t be until sometime late August and I plan to finish off the coast and get back into the swing of things for the fall.  35 counties to go!

ebird checklist