Nature Notes: New Birding, Better Swims, Species Lost

In Watauga County, North Carolina, a 10-acre wetland is now open to the public for birding, thanks to a partnership between the Blue Ridge Conservancy and High Country Audubon Society. The hardwood wetland is a rarity in the mountain landscape, and a natural draw for osprey, kingfisher, flycatchers and a host of other birds—perhaps even the rare northern waterthrush which has been spotted here. In other news, the conservancy was honored with the everGREEN Award for Sustainability by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber noted the group’s work on Elk Knob and Grandfather Mountain state parks and other efforts to expand outdoor recreation opportunities and environmental education in the region. Well done, BRC! blueridgeconservancy.org

The folks at Mountain True have good news to report in their annual “Swim Guide” for the French Broad River. Testing for E. coli bacteria, a microbe found in fecal matter and an indicator of water quality, they found that whitewater sites popular with paddlers (Stackhouse, Hot Springs, Big Laurel and the Pigeon River at Hartford) had significantly improved from last year; other sites in Madison County also improved. Alas, there is some bad news. Sampling sites in Transylvania County and south and west Asheville areas ranked poorly. The organization will continue to gather key data to support its efforts working with local jurisdictions to combat threats to water quality from animal agriculture and faulty wastewater infrastructure. mountaintrue.org/swim-guide-watershed-report-french-broad-river/

“Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” The famous lyric by Joni Mitchell could be the fight song for Virginia scientists who are using increasingly sophisticated technology to monitor wildlife species on the brink of decline. Last fall, the federal government removed 21 species from its national endangered list because they are now extinct, including eight freshwater mussels found in Appalachia. There are 24 mussel species in Virginia still on the list, which has a total of 71 plant and animal species for the state. In addition to field surveys, which can be costly and time-consuming, scientists are using “environmental DNA,” testing water samples for evidence of a species’ DNA. “If it works properly, it will allow you to get into a lot of sites rapidly and at least get an answer to the question of whether a particular species is present there or not,” Brian Watson, a biologist with the Department of Wildlife Resources, told the Virginia Mercury. And if scientists know a species is present, they can take measures to protect it—before it’s gone. virginiamercury.com/2021/10/20

The story above first appeared in our January/ February 2022 issue.