Date: 10/11/24 5:28 am From: Nate Dias (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Green River Cove, NC Oct 10 and Walcott Tract condition
Yesterday Brad Dalton and I hiked requested supplies in to a friend (Fred
Ruddock) in the Green River cove downhill from Saluda, NC. Naturally we
took our binoculars. We enjoyed warblers, multiple flocks of
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Thrushes (Gray-cheeked were the ones I was able to
ID), other passerines and a Great Blue Heron fishing in the River. I do
not know if it was ‘Hank the Heron’ who is so tolerant of / acclimated to
paddlers.
Brad and I got halfway down when we ran into Woody Callaway, the Dean
Emeritus of Green River paddlers, in his ATV. He graciously gave us and
our packs and bags a ride almost to Fred’s house which is across the River
from the parking lot and entrance to the Walcott Tract of the Green.
We had to walk across the concrete bridge to Fred’s neighbor’s house which
was high enough on a hill to be spared from flooding. The concrete bridge
had been far underwater and trees were stacked up the hillside by the
bridge 10-15 feet above the bridge level. The bridge had chunks missing
from where houses slammed into it and broke up as they floated downriver.
Warblers, Phoebes and Pewees chased insects - I have often found after
storms damage habitat that there can be insect blooms in the dying /
compromised vegetation that attract and benefit insectivores.
The riverside habitat not only has had its trees knocked down, but as Brad
pointed out, the fallen trees form a continuous barrier along the river.
Water and then heavy equipment are both responsible for pushing the downed
trees into a riverside wall of wood. This would seem to complicate access
to the river for many different living things for some time. All the
paddlers we met working on recovery efforts were worried about wrecked cars
leaking bad things into the river - not to mention the immediate pollution
from the storm. I worry about the storm’s effect on everything from aquatic
insects like Stoneflies to amphibians like Hellbenders. The Common
Mergansers must have lost many nest trees from Helene’s flooding.
Looking across the river, the damage to the habitat at the Walcott Tract
did not look as bad as I feared. Wind damage was not a big problem in
the sheltered cove so trees away from the immediate riverside were not very
damaged. Trees along the dirt track into the parking area were totaled
and it does not look like you can drive to read the Walcott Tract. I heard
there are parts of houses and a shipping container that fetched up on the
Walcott Tract side of the river - where the river banks are lower in the
old field habitat area along the river. I will see if it is possible to
walk in when I return tomorrow with medicine, safety gear, etc. that the
locals have requested.
At the yard of my family’s place in Saluda I had some nice birding with a
super-cooperative Blackpoll Warbler feeding at eye level in good light for
a while. Naturally I did not have a camera at the time.
"These days I prefer to hunt with a camera. A good photograph demands more
skill from the hunter, better nerves and more patience than the rifle
shot." -- Bror Blixen
