Lance Martin Herald Senior Staff Writer

Lance Martin | Daily Herald Christina Gordon, eco-tourism and heritage director for Halifax County, with Anitra Collins, plant manager at KapStone, holds the N.C. Coastal Plain Birding Guide, in which several places in the Roanoke Valley, including the Canal Trail, for bird-watching opportunities are detailed. City Councilman Ernest Bobbitt is next to Gordon. Advertisement

ROANOKE RAPIDS - Roanoke Valley officials have discovered another way to promote the area and this one is strictly for the birds - or better yet, bird watchers.

Officials gathered outside the canal museum Tuesday as Christina Gordon, eco-tourism and heritage director for Halifax County, announced the inclusion of the Roanoke Canal Trail in the Coastal Plain Guide, a comprehensive bird guide.

In fact, in the guide, the Canal Trail is the first to be listed in the Interstate 95 corridor, Gordon said.

In addition, a pocket-sized birding guide made specifically for the Canal Trail and paid for by a $5,000 donation from KapStone Kraft Paper Corp., lists more than 160 species of birds that can be spotted on the trail, with the overwhelming majority of them nesting along or in the vicinity of the pathway.

“I'm excited,” Gordon said. “This is a whole new aspect of tourism based on the amenities we've had since the beginning of time.”

Harold Jacobson, director of the Canal Museum, said the trail will be a place birders want to flock to. He has already had a group of birders stay two extra nights in the city because of the trail's bird population.

“We will see financial repercussions from this,” he said.

Jim Frazier, a member of museum board of directors, said an average of 4,000 people a month use the trail and about 600 a month visit the museum. With the addition of a second phase and an elevator in the works at the museum, the facility is expected to draw even more people, he added.

A new bulkhead between the museum and Rochelle Pond will be dedicated in the fall.

With Medoc Mountain State Park listed in the Piedmont section of the bird guide, there are three places in the Roanoke Valley that are known havens for birds and those who love to watch them.

“The Roanoke River is getting the attention of being a haven for birders,” Gordon said.

Anitra Collins, plant manager of KapStone, said the local bird guide and a camping shelter on the river in Halifax the company contributed to are part of its commitment to the community. “It is one of the ways we can give back to the community.”