Coral Honeysuckle welcoming visitors to the native plants pollinator garden.
May Nature Walk
at
Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area
Friday, May 15th 10AM-12PM
Please join us as we partner with the T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society for our May Nature Walk. We will explore the Longleaf Loop at Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area. We will meet in the parking lot and from there check out the pollinator garden to see what we can find. From there we will walk the Longleaf Loop Trail, a 1-mile packed gravel loop offering views of the mountain range above. The trail meanders through an area of the park that was recently planted with Longleaf Pine, a species native to Eastern North Carolina, but rarely found in the Piedmont. The habitats we will explore include:
Longleaf Pine Savanna/Forest: Planted stands of longleaf pine, designed to be managed by fire, creating an open canopy with sparse midstory and diverse groundcover.
Oak-Hickory Forest: Mixed deciduous trees covering the rolling piedmont terrain, creating a shaded canopy.
Piedmont Boggy Streamheads & Seeps: Damp areas and wetlands where rainfall seeps through mountain rocks, often supporting diverse fern species.
Due to the mountain’s height and inaccessibility, many species that are not easily found elsewhere in Alamance County, or even in the entire Piedmont region, thrive on and around the mountain. At least 8 different species have been identified on the mountain including New York Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Southern Lady Fern, Christmas Fern, Netted Chain Fern, Royal Fern, Broad Beech Fern and Resurrection Fern.
In spring we can look forward to seeing and/or hearing Indigo Buntings, Northern Flickers, Pileated, Hairy, and Downy Woodpeckers, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, White-eyed and Red-eyed Vireos, Yellow-breasted Chats, Summer Tanagers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, and Prairie Warblers, but you never who all might make an appearance! In the pollinator garden we hope to see several butterfly and bee species. If it has rained recently we may find a few ephemeral pools with some frogs or tadpoles.
We will meet at the Pine Hill Trailhead: 5075 Bass Mountain Rd, Snow Camp, NC 27349. There is a large parking lot with restrooms at the trailhead.
Contact trip leader Heather Russell at
contact@tgpearsonaudubon.org with any questions. Dress for the weather; we will be walking in part sun and part shade. Bring your water and binoculars/camera if you’d like. It will be a slow-paced, fun walk.
Some helpful, free apps you may like to download ahead of the walk: iNaturalist, Seek by iNaturalist, eBird, and Merlin Bird ID.
Like all our walks, it is free and all are welcome!
Monarch butterfly photographed in the pollinator garden, May 2025, by Heather Russell