Live Wildlife

Last Spring the park set up a small video camera inside one of our nest boxes. We were able to stream the video feed so folks could watch over the internet. We also got some great clips of the family of bluebirds that spent the summer building, laying, raising and fledging.

We thought we would share some of the video streams and wildlife cams that help bring the wonder of nature into our homes, schools and offices.

Lily the Black Bear
http://www.bear.org/livecams/lily-faith-cam.php

Thousands watched in January of 2010 as five-year-old Lily gave birth to her cub, Hope. Never had the world seen into the secretive world of a black bear den. Lily and her grown cub, Faith can be seen denning in their 7-foot deep rock den.

Cornell University Red-tailed Hawk
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2422&ac=ac

Hawks have been nesting above the Cornell U athletic fields for several years. Now they've installed a nest cam so we can all watch "Big Red" and her mate.

Jordon Lake EagleCam
http://www.ustream.tv/jordanlakeeagles

The feed is streaming on a three day delay due to technical issues but you can still watch the two fledglings that were born in January.

CCB Richmond Eagles
http://www.ustream.tv/richmondeagles

Two chicks were born on March 16 & 18. The parents are busy bringing food back for the hungry nestlings. Brought to you by The Center for Conservation Biology, the nest is located on the James River in Richmond Virginia.

Rowe Sanctuary's Crane Cam
http://www.rowesanctuary.org/crane%20cam.htm

The Rowe Sanctuary is on the Platte River in Nebraska, the place to be if you are a crane migrating. Nearly a half-million birds will arrive in the evening and take off in the morning. The sound is incredible!

Monterey Bay Aquarium Open Sea Cam
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_opensea/open_sea_cam.aspx

The one million gallon aquarium houses a diverse group of sea animals from bluefin tuna to giant green sea turtles. The live feed is only available from 7am-7pm PST.

Sea Lion Web Cam
http://www.pier39.com/SeaLion/sea_lion_webcam.htm

From Peir 39 in San Francisco you can watch the crazy antics of the sea lions on the platforms floating in the bay.

Norfolk Botanical Garden Eagle Cam
http://www.wvec.com/eaglecam

This eagle cam is located in the Botanical Garden in Norfolk Virginia.  The latest reports are that a new female has taken an interest in the nest.

Those are just a few of the live video feeds that are available to view. If you have a favorite, we'd love for you to share it with us.

We're hoping to bring our live stream back online in the next few days. There has been a lot of nest building activity in the boxes around the park but not a whole lot in the one with the camera. Check-in from time to time on our Ustream channel - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/little-river-nestbox-cam to see if we've gone live.

Happy Watching!

2012 Great Backyard Bird Count Recap

Even the birds think Spring has arrived or so the results from this year's bird count would suggest. Snow Geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Sandhill Cranes were just some of the species already migrating in mid-February.

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) saw a record number of 103,960 checklists submitted with 618 different species of birds identified and 17.3 million birds observed throughout the United States and Canada. The most frequently spotted bird for the eight year in a row was the Northern Cardinal. The Snow Goose won with the most numbers reported. The Tree Swallow, which had never appeared on the most numerous top ten list before, came in second largely due to a massive flock reported in Florida (check out this YouTube video of the huge cloud of birds).



photo courtesy of the Herald Sun



The Tarheel state placed fourth in the number of checklists submitted, missing out on the number three spot by just 300 lists. Three of North Carolina's cities garnered spots on the top ten list of most checklists submitted by locality: Charlotte was the number two city with Raleigh placing sixth and Durham coming in at number ten.

Statewide birders counted 19,578 Red-winged Blackbirds making it the most numerous bird counted but the Northern Cardinal appeared on the most checklists with 3,962.

In our area of Rougemont, NC, here's a breakdown of the results:

Species	Number of Birds	Number of Checklists Reporting the Species
White-throated Sparrow	64	3
Northern Cardinal	42	5
Canada Goose	27	2
Carolina Chickadee	22	5
White-crowned Sparrow	19	1
Dark-eyed Junco	14	4
American Goldfinch	13	4
Tufted Titmouse	12	5
American Crow	10	3
Turkey Vulture	10	3
Yellow-rumped Warbler	8	1
Blue Jay	7	2
Carolina Wren	6	3
Eastern Bluebird	6	3
Northern Flicker	6	3
American Robin	5	1
Common Grackle	4	1
Mourning Dove	4	1
Brown-headed Nuthatch	3	2
Eastern Phoebe	3	1
Hairy Woodpecker	3	2
Red-bellied Woodpecker	3	2
Red-tailed Hawk	3	2
Chipping Sparrow	2	2
Downy Woodpecker	2	2
Eastern Towhee	2	2
Field Sparrow	2	1
House Sparrow	2	1
Northern Mockingbird	2	1
Purple Finch	2	1
Song Sparrow	2	1
White-breasted Nuthatch	2	1
Belted Kingfisher	1	1
Cedar Waxwing	1	1
Great Blue Heron	1	1
Pine Warbler	1	1
Total	316

A total of 36 species were reported.

The Great Backyard Bird Count allows researchers to look at the distribution of birds across the continent over a single weekend - a feat that would be impossible without so many volunteers. We can learn a lot by knowing where birds are since bird populations are always in flux. Along with other citizen science projects like the Christmas Bird Count, Project Feeder Watch, NestWatch and eBird, researchers and scientists hope to gain new insight into bird migration patterns, population changes, and nesting behavior.

Join us for next year's Great Backyard Bird Count on February 15-18, 2013.

Species Spotlight: Trout Lily

(This article was originally published in the Spring 2010 issue of the River Rambler)

Those of us eager for the spring to arrive come out to LRRP; there is a cure. The Trout Lilies (Erythronium americanum) are in full bloom these days throughout the park, a sure sign that spring has arrived.  Found all along the east coast and as far west as Arkansas, Trout Lilies thrive in the park’s damp, open woods along the river. Visitors to the park can hike out to see these amazing flowers in abundance along the Ridge and North River Loop Trails. Once out there, hikers will find these flowers blanketing the hillsides and slopes along the river blooming among the ferns. In fact, a hiker will be hard pressed tiptoeing around the many lilies growing right on the trail. Anyone still with the winter blues who hike out among these lilies are sure to shed their winter hangovers and feel revitalized.

The Trout Lily will reach a height of 4-10 inches and have 2-3 leaf blades growing from the base to about 3 inches. It is said that Trout Lilies got their name due to the red-purple marbling on their green leaves which resembles a trout’s markings and the fact that their blooms usually coincide with trout season. The flower sits atop a reddish leafless stem and is yellow facing the ground with six petals folded upward. There are other common names for this interesting flower, some may recognize them as ‘Fawn Lilies’ or ‘Adder’s Tongue’.

    

Under any name these lilies are worthy of recognition. Many medicinal uses have been developed from the Trout Lily. Teas can be made from the leaves, stem and flower and can be used to cure hiccups and fevers. When crushed, the flower can be used as a skin emollient and to dress wounds. Certain chemicals found in the plant have antimutagenic properties which are promising for finding cures for cancer. All parts of the plant are edible; the leaves can be a light addition to a salad. They provide food for a variety of wildlife, bears like to eat the bulbs and the deer will eat the seed pods. Perhaps the later is a reason why there is a ‘sea of gold’ on the hillsides and slopes down along the river.

    

Steeped in folklore and having many potential medicinal uses, the trout lily has found a safe home here at Little River Regional Park. Trout Lilies do not bloom until its seventh year of life and to have so many in bloom, the park is truly a great place to come and see these amazing flowers in person. Please do not wait too long, they will only bloom until early May, so come on out and shed the winter blues away.

Big Check for Little River



The 2012 Little River Trail Run broke several records this year and not just for the fastest times. In addition to the purchase of the highest amount of carbon offsets to date (see Little River Trail Run Sets New Records), the Trailheads were able to increase their donation to the park to $6,000.00. They also donated $500.00 to Triangle Offroad Cyclists (TORC), the organization who helps maintain the single-track mountain bike trails at Little River.

Donations from the trail runs have been used to purchase materials and equipment to help maintain the hiking and mountian biking trails including such things as rakes, shovels, rocks and half the cost of a John Deere Gator. The money has also underwritten programs like the Morehead Planetarium star gazing sessions which are free to the public. The park plans to use donation money to offer more free public programs this year to include the NC Herpetological Society, the Raleigh Raptor Refuge and others.

Thanks Trailheads for continuing to make the Trail Run such a fun and successful event for the runners, volunteers, spectators, the park and the earth!



Little River Park's Michelle Pesavento (far left) and Mike DiFabio (far right) accept the big check from Trailhead's race coordinators Dave Elam and Layna Mosley (center)



David Housekeeper (left) from TORC accepts the check from Trailhead member Squonk (right)

For an excellent article and listing of race results, Randy Young from the Chapel Hill News wrote this about the race: Little River Trail Runs continue to bring out the winter runners