Asheville Wildlife

Trout lily is one of the common spring ephemeral flowers found around Asheville in the Appalachians. by MK Brown, Ecotour Guide and Naturalist As the sun starts to warm the still trees on south facing slopes and black bears rouse from their slumber and the spring peepers commence their evening chorus, the forest begins to…

by Eli Adams, Ecotour Guide and Naturalist   As a guide for Asheville Hiking Tours, I have been successful in identifying fruiting fungi, otherwise commonly known as mushrooms, especially given their prevalence in our forests! If you are living near the Blue Ridge Mountains, and particularly our lush Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, then…

by Jenny Gruhn, PhD, Biologist and Owner of Asheville Hiking Tours   A barred owl perched on evergreens in winter. As you are hiking this upcoming winter season in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we hope you take a moment to stop and appreciate the complexity of the cold weather processes happening all around you –…

by Randy Sarton, Ecotour Guide for Asheville Hiking Tours Usually it only takes a very short while into one of my hikes for Asheville Hiking Tours before a guest poses the question, “Will we see a bear?”  This is not surprising given that black bears sit at the top of the list of charismatic megafauna here…

by Bill Sanderson, Ecotour Guide for Asheville Hiking Tours, with intro by Owner Jenny Gruhn Birdwatching or “birding” is a popular way to become better acquainted with wildlife, since you can participate in this hobby while eating breakfast at your kitchen window, or waiting to get tires changed at the auto shop! Whether you live…

by Lee Saunders, Travel Writer You came early to drink and socialize. You look around. The competition hasn’t arrived. Then, there she is. She catches your eye from afar. Petite, gentle, somewhat coy, you approach and see if romance might be in the air. No, we are not talking about a bar in the hopping…