By Sally Siko

There’s a spot at the Brumley Nature Preserve in Chapel Hill NC where each spring one can find a pair of Kentucky Warblers nesting in the brush.
This year was no different as I was pleased to see that they are back in the area again, happily singing and scooting around the undergrowth in search of six legged snacks.
I spotted the male yesterday and although it was difficult to get a good photo of him under the dark canopy of green leaves it was still super cool to lay eyes on this little guy once more.

Despite their name, the Kentucky warbler actually has a rather large range, including most of the eastern United States, but not as far north as the Great Lakes.
During breeding season, they can be found in deep, deciduous forests, often ranging as far north as Wisconsin to Pennsylvania. In the fall and winter, they’ll migrate to the Yucatán Peninsula and the Caribbean, flying non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico.
They spend the coolest months in Mexico, Central America, and extreme northern South America, and have even been recorded in the Caribbean islands during winter.
As breeders in North Carolina, they are found across the state in varying numbers from May-September.
Look for them in moist, rich forested areas, with an abundance of ferns and a good shrub zone, near creeks and streams beneath a hardwood canopy of older growth trees.
Aren’t they lovely?

Btw, I’ve got a ton of fun group birding trips in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine and New Jersey open for booking from now through December.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5