Today I went birding at the Carroll Howard Johnson environmental park in Fuquay Varina. This local patch has been reaching hot spot birding status lately so I thought I’d make the trip to check it out for myself.

I arrived at about 7:15 am and set out on the trail. My goal was to reach the open field in the middle of the park. Upon reaching the clearing, I was greeted by the sounds of birds singing and the fluttering of wings. The first bird I observed was a cheerful Carolina Wren preening himself on a branch. After watching him for a few minutes, I headed down the trail into the woods. Here I found an Oven-bird and a black-and-white Warbler.

Continuing on the path I also found a summer Tanager sneaking through the leaves of the canopy above. What a handsome bird! I was pleased to also catch a glimpse of his mate too.

Once the fog lifted and the sun came out, the heat became a little bit too much so, I decided to head back up to the parking lot. As I was leaving, I caught a glimpse of a eastern-wood- Peewee high up in a tree overlooking the field.

Driving home, I decided that that would not be my last trip to this interesting little park. Going forward, I plan to post more pictures from future trips so stay tuned for more!