A quest for sparrow sightings will commence during the morning of Jan. 14 at Kituwah, an area of about 300 acres along the Tuckesegee River in Swain County, between Bryson City and Cherokee. Birder Extraordinaire Don Hendershot, also a naturalist and famed columnist for The Smoky Mountain News, will lead a walk through Kituwah, which is listed in the North Carolina Birding Trail Guide for the mountain region. Possible sightings include song, swamp, fox, Savannah and Lincoln’s sparrows, among others, and the occasional killdeer, wood duck or yellow-rumped warbler may show its beak.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians acquired the property in 1996 — it is believed to be one of the seven “mother towns” of the Southeast. Nine thousand years of continuous habitation have been documented at the mound at Kituwah.
The outing is organized by the Franklin Bird Club. Carpools will leave from Franklin at 8 a.m. and Dillsboro at 8:30 a.m. RSVP to 828.524.5234.