The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee and the Franklin Bird Club will host a bird outing at the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve on April 15.  

The preserve is located in Macon County, south of Franklin. Birders will meet at 8:30 a.m. at the Tessentee Preserve parking lot and will walk approximately 2 miles along an old wagon road that follows the Little Tennessee River, which lies in the heart of a major flyway. The Tessentee Preserve is stop No. 53 on the N.C. Birding Trail.

The outing will last about three hours and will be led by John and Cathy Sill. Participants should bring water and binoculars. No dogs are allowed.  

To get to Tessentee Bottomland Preserve from Franklin, take the U.S. 23-441 south for approximately 5.2 miles, turn left onto Riverside Road and follow for .5 miles, turn right onto Hickory Knoll Road and follow for about 1.9 miles — the preserve is located off a private drive (2249 Hickory Knoll Road) on the right-hand side of the road. The parking area is on the left, before the farm gate. To RSVP contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 828.524.2711, ext. 209.

LTLT acquired the 60 acres of bottomland and river bluff land at the confluence of Tessentee Creek with the Little Tennessee River in November 1999. The acquisition was the first land protected along the free-flowing Little Tennessee. Today, more than 5,200 acres and 35 miles of river frontage have been conserved. LTLT’s Tessentee Bottomland Preserve now encompasses 70 acres and includes a granite outcropping above Tessentee Creek with commanding views of the broad Little Tennessee Valley looking south. For more information about the conservation and restoration projects of LTLT, please visit www.ltlt.org.