Tweets for You: Best Birdwatching Sites Near Kingsport, TN

If you’re looking for a way to enjoy the natural wonders of Eastern Tennessee, birdwatching is an excellent activity. There are several sites in the Kingsport area where you can enjoy viewing the area’s feathered inhabitants. Let’s explore some of these sites.

Kingsport Birding Trail

The Kingsport Birding Trail (KBT) meanders through several unique habitats, each one an excellent spot for birdwatching. When exploring the urban areas along the trail, you’ll see how natural and human-constructed environments exist together and allow each other to thrive. The KBT also includes stops in rural areas, mountain top outposts, and the Kingsport Greenbelt. As the trail takes you along the Holston River, be sure to keep an eye out for the bald eagles that nest there. Other species who live along the Kingsport Birding Trail include the white pelican, snowy egret, and red-necked grebe.

Warriors’ Path State Park

Warriors’ Path State Park, on the shores of the Patrick Henry Reservoir, provides visitors with 950 acres to enjoy and explore. The reservoir is home to several species of waterfowl, including heron, kingfisher, and osprey. As you hike the park’s 12 miles of trails, you’ll journey through a forest that is home to the pileated woodpecker, brown creeper, and Carolina chickadee.

You’ll also traverse through a marsh where you’ll see the barred owl, wild turkey, and ruby-throated hummingbird that live in the park. Warriors’ Path also features a creek that serves as a habitat for wood duck, hermit thrush, and great horned owl.

Sycamore Shoals State Park

Not only is Sycamore Shoals State Park home to many historical sites, but it also features many natural wonders. The Watauga River Trail is an excellent area for spotting yellow-crowned heron, ducks, and migratory warblers. Be sure to stop by the trail’s butterfly garden and Monarch waystation.

The park’s Longhunter Loop takes you through open fields, shrubs, and saplings as you observe cedar waxwing, indigo bunting, and Cooper’s hawk. The Sycamore Shoals Arboretum is home to more than 30 species of native trees, as well as blue jays, woodpeckers, and the tufted titmouse. Eastern bluebirds, American robins, and the great horned owl live on the grounds of the historic Carter mansion.

Roan Mountain State Park

Roan Mountain State Park, located at the base of Roan Mountain, contains more than 2,000 acres of rich hardwood forest, hollows, and ridges. The park’s Forest Road Trail traverses two ridges that are home to the hairy woodpecker, northern flicker, and Acadian flycatcher. At the park’s picnic shelter, situated along the Doe River, you can observe the belted kingfisher, Louisiana waterthrush, and great blue heron.

Screech owl, Cooper’s hawk, and wild turkey inhabit the grounds of the historic Miller Farmstead. The Peg Leg Mine Trail and Cloudland Nature Trail, suitable for beginner hikers, are great areas for spotting mourning dove, scarlet tanager, and eastern towhee.

These are just some of the fantastic sites for birdwatching in the Kingsport area. No matter which one you visit, you’re sure to have a wonderful time discovering these Tennessee treasures.

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