ASHE & WATAUGA COUNTIES, NC 29 August 2014 This morning was spent touring Golden-winged Warbler habitat along the steep and high-elevations of the Western North Carolina mountains. Most of this area is very close to the Tennessee state line which made it all the more relevant to Northeast Tennessee. Jim Ratchford of the Highlands Audubon Society chapter at Boone provided the very knowledgeable leadership. Most fascinating was a visit to one of the state-promoted "agritourism" farms managed by a farmer-type landowner who charges a $5.00 per person fee to bird on his 70-acre farm which is home to many Golden-winged Warblers. The state of North Carolina has actually passed a law that makes any person entering such "agritourism" lands responsible for their own welfare and safety. The fee-payer cannot hold the landowner libel for any injury or death while birding the site. There is a network of mountain trails leading down through bogs and fields of the farm into some of the best habitat. The owners are Brent Cochran and his wife Susan Wright. They also manage gardens and such for cut flowers they sell commercially. Each year, they cut woody vegetation and other needed vegetation to manage an excellent rotation of shrubby growth that provides nesting habitat for the Golden-winged Warbles. This species is among the most imperiled birds in Eastern North America. GWWA habitat Watauga Co NC 29 May 2014.jpg Agritourism site GWWA Ashe Co NC 29 May 2014.jpg I was able to drive my 4-wheel-drive vehicle over the paths leading thru the habitat. Curtis Smalling, Director of Land Bird Conservation at the Audubon North Carolina office in Boone has been a close friend of the couple's for many years and played an advisory role in the farm becoming a reality. GWWA ecoagriculture former Ashe Co. NC 29 May 2014.jpg In the red shirt at the right is Bent Cochran who is the farm owner and manager of the flower farm which he calls Shady Grove Gardens and Nursery. With him is Jim Ratchford, an outstanding and experienced birder of the region. This is the website for the gardens and nursery http://www.shady-grove-gardens.com/ It also explains in more detail birding on the farm. Wallace Coffey Bristol TN