Bird Watching Adventure

Birders young and old alike flock to the Smokies each year in search of new birds to add to their “Life List” or just to enjoy the sights and sounds of our feathered friends.

Settlers Mountain is a great place to begin your journey. With approximately 200 acres, Settlers Mountain offers an excellent opportunity to observe many of the birds you will see in the park. Here you can listen to their songs, watch their flight patterns, observe where they can be found and what time of day they are most active.

You may want to consider the timing of your visit. The peak migration period is late April to early May. This is the time when migrating birds from the higher elevations start to make their way up the mountain chain to begin their nesting season while the lower level song birds have already begun to raise their first brood of the year and may produce a second before summers end, thus the concentration of birds is at its highest at the lower elevations.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/birds.htm is a helpful link to the National Park Service. From this page you can download and print your own list of birds known to inhabit the GSMNP and the frequency that they are seen.

Some tips to help you make your birding experience more rewarding would be:

1. Invest in a localized handbook to help you identify birds of the region. A good one is “Birds of the Smokies” by Fred J.Alsop III. This book has a wealth of information about where in the GSMNP to look for the birds pictured in his book. A field manual would be helpful as well. Both these items can be purchased at the book store in Bryson City, on the web, or at the visitors’ center located at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a nominal fee.
2. Visit www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp to preview voices of our birds of the Smokies or even birds in your own backyard to help you identify them by song.
3. Carry binoculars to help you locate that bird hiding in the brush singing that wonderful song and carry a camera to capture it.
4. Younger members of your party can be encouraged to find the more easily identifiable birds such as the Cardinal, Robin, Bluejay or the playful Ruby Throated hummingbirds which inhabit Settlers Mountain from April until October. Make it fun for them.
5. Be sure to pack your lunch, snacks and plenty of drink as you head out for a day trip to the park. There are very few concessions in the park so you need to go prepared. Don’t forget rain gear and a light sweater as the temperatures can vary as much as 20 degrees at the higher elevations.
6. Take a “Naturalist Ramble”. Let a Settlers Mountain associate arrange a guided tour customized just for you by an accredited naturalist. These excursions can last anywhere from three hours to all day depending on your personal agenda and comfort level. A “Ramble” has the decided advantage of spotting not only birds but also discussing the eco workings of the park and identifying both plants and animals, animal tracks found along your path or anything else that you may be interested in.

So, grab your “Life List” or start one. Settlers Mountain is the place to begin your Birding Adventure.