An eye to the sky

Fall migration has begun. Tens of millions of songbirds, raptors and shorebirds that nested across North America are returning to their wintering grounds in Central and South America. The Southern Appalachians offer many opportunities to witness this southbound odyssey. 

One way to get a look at songbird migration is simply to prowl the overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway looking for activity. Migrant songbirds often forage in large, mixed flocks that can include several species of warblers like black-throated blue, black-throated green, bay-breasted, magnolia, blackpoll, and Tennessee — plus tanagers, grosbeaks and thrushes. A good field guide is highly recommended because fall migrants often include juveniles and adults in confusing fall plumages.

Ridge Junction Overlook at milepost 355 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, next to the entrance to Mt. Mitchell State Park, is a unique spot for watching songbird migration. Bring a lawn chair, get comfy and wait for waves of migrants to come to you. Because of an early spring rockslide along the Parkway between Mt. Mitchell and Asheville, N.C., Ridge Junction is only accessible from the north. Another great place for fall warblers and other songbirds is Jackson Park in Hendersonville, N.C. Mourning and Connecticut warblers are sometimes found here during fall migration. 

The broad-winged hawk is the premier diurnal (daytime) migrant across the Eastern U.S., with tens of thousands passing through the Southern Appalachians. Broad-winged hawks and other raptors like red-tailed hawks, ospreys and bald eagles use thermals (warm air currents) and updrafts to carry them aloft and aide in their southern passage. The biggest hawk watch in the region is Caesars Head State Park in South Carolina. Approximately 12,000 raptors pass through Caesars Head annually. Nearly 10,000 of those are generally broad-wings. Mahogany Rock in Alleghany County at milepost 235 on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Pisgah in Buncombe County, N.C. at milepost 404 also offer excellent viewing for migrating raptors. All three of these sites are manned by volunteers happy to assist interested onlookers.

One doesn’t usually think of the mountains when thinking of yellowlegs, sandpipers, turnstones, or plovers, but there are a couple of reliable spots in the mountains for seeing migrant shorebirds. Rankin Bottoms Wildlife Management Area in Cocke County, Tenn. is about the closest thing to a river bottomland swamp one will find in the region. Located where the confluence of the French Broad and Nolichucky rivers create Douglas Lake, it’s the Tennessee Valley Authority, not mother nature, that controls the ebb and flow of water at Rankin Bottoms. TVA’s fall-winter drawdown coincides with tired southbound shorebirds looking for a rest stop to provide some of the best bird watching in the mountains. Greater and lesser yellowlegs, a myriad of different sandpipers, plover, dowitchers, and dunlin join gulls, terns, waterfowl, herons, and egrets to whet the wet appetite of mountain birders. 

The Super Sod, sod farms along Hooper Lane in Henderson County, N.C., often provide good fall shorebirds, especially after autumn rains. Farm owners allow birding along the edges of the fields. Please do not block roadways or walk or drive in the fields.

Autumn is a great time to be outdoors in the mountains and a great time to keep an eye to the skies.

Where to go

Ridge Junction Overlook

The nearest access is the junction of NC 80 and the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 344, then south on the Parkway, approximately 11 miles.

Jackson Park

Take exit 18B from I-26. Stay on U.S. 64 West towards downtown Sylva, turn left onto Harris Street (the fifth traffic light), go .2 miles to the stop sign, turn left onto 4th Ave. and enter the park.

Caesars Head State Park

Take U.S. 276 three miles below the North Carolina state line.

Rankin Bottoms

From I-40 in Tennessee take exit 432B to U.S. 25/70. Follow 25 East out of Newport to Rankin Hill Road. There will be a brown “Watchable Wildlife” sign at Rankin Hill Road. Follow Rankin Hill Road to the railroad crossing. At the crossing take Rankin Hill Road to the left, and follow it to an old coal tipple and begin birding. From I-81, take exit 8 and proceed south on U.S. 25 East, after crossing Douglas Lake you will pass an old closed motel on the right, just past the motel, Rankin Hill Road will be on the left.

Hooper Lane

From I-40 in N.C., take exit 40 (Asheville Airport exit) to NC 280 South. Travel south about 4.5 miles to the traffic light at intersection of NC 191 (Haywood Road). Turn left on Haywood Road, travel about .5 miles, turn left on Jefferies Road and proceed about two miles to Hooper Lane on right.