North Carolina county #87 Green Knob Overlook - Blue Ridge Parkway
I wasn’t sure where to go for McDowell County, so I chose an overlook that seemed to have some greenery around it that birds might be in.
Actually, when I arrived at Green Knob Overlook (on the Blue Ridge Parkway), it was still dark. Surprisingly, there was a large number of people there – I realized later it was some sort of photography club there for the sunrise. In order to fit in, I set up my tripod and took some photos, but I clearly still need some practice. Some of them are OK, but there is still a lot of room for improvement – one of the things I like about photography as a hobby.
As the sun started to rise, birds starting singing. I chased a lot of small birds around in the dark, and I realized the majority of them were kinglets. I managed to get a nice look at my first of the season Golden-crowned Kinglet. Unfortunately, he was too fast for me to get a photo.
I did however, spy Charlotte at great distance with my spotting scope. It is about a two and a half hour drive to Charlotte from here, even though it is probably less than a hundred miles as the crow flies. I took a photo with my phone of the view in my spotting scope.
As the sun started rising, the club members starting taking a ton of photos, so I followed suit.
As I said before, trying to split yourself between two hobbies at once makes them both suffer. But I really enjoyed the view from here and enjoyed just hanging around, even long after the club members left.
I got some good practice with my spotting scope, even though I wasn’t able to find any migrating warblers. I got one decent photo of a Carolina Chickadee.
If you are on the Blue Ridge Parkway and looking for an overlook with some nice views, it is worth stopping by here. Even though my species count was not very high, the numbers of birds here was pretty good.
ebird checklist