There is a wonderful variety of wildlife and plants that visitors can enjoy when hiking or cycling the Roanoke Canal Trail. Deer, fox and other wildlife can be seen in the wooded areas along the trail and the Roanoke River.  Atlantic ispyrm, Lewis heartleaf, Sessile-flowered trillium and stinging nettle are only a few of the plants in the area.  Also serving as a site on the North Carolina Coastal Plains Birding Trail, The Roanoke Canal Trail helps direct birding tourists to the region.  Birders and nature-lovers can enjoy year-round sightings of Bald Eagles, Osprey, Hawks, Pileated woodpeckers, White-Breasted Nuthatches, Barred Owls and Great Blue, Cerulean Warbler, Mississippi Kites, Swainson’s Warbler and other Neotropical Songbirds such as Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, Wood Thrush, Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers, and other hardwood forest species. During winter months, flocks of Cedar Waxwing are often present, as well as less common species such as Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Fox Sparrow, Red-Headed Woodpeckers and other forest species.