Category Archives: Birdwatching News

North Carolina bird watching news, event and local birding information.

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Black-throated green Warblers have returned to North Carolina

By Sally Siko

With the arrival of spring, tons of new birds will be making their way into the Carolinas over the next couple of months.
Here’s a species, I was happy to see was reported in southern North Carolina last week, a Black-throated green Warbler. I love how visually striking these little birds are! That combination of yellow and black plumage really pops.



As is the case with most of our East Coast warblers, these guys are voracious consumers of insects. This means that the best time to look for them is in the morning hours after the sun has risen high enough to warm the leaves and get the insects moving.
Then it’s game on for hungry birds as they flit among the new leaves in the upper canopies, in search of a six or eight legged snack.


The Black-throated green Warbler is a spring and summertime resident of North Carolina. Curiously, they nest both in our mountains to the west and also in our eastern counties, generally eschewing the central part of the state, other than during migrational periods.
In the Appalachians, they are found in greater numbers at elevations above 2500 feet in mixed hardwood and coniferous forests.
The eastern breeders prefer areas containing American white cedar and along the edges of stands of Cyprus.

The best way to locate one of these beauties is to listen for their song, a high-pitched, rising buzzy “zeee-zeee-zooo-zeee,” in the upper canopy’s of trees. They’ll stick around until early October so we’ve got plenty of time to enjoy them before the year is through.
Aren’t they lovely?

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

Bird watching trips in Maine, Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC, Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birding trips at Cape May New Jersey, Birding Trips in New Jersey, Birding Trips in SC, Biridng Trips and Tours in SC, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Swamp Sparrows in central NC

By Sally Siko

Happy to spend time with this cute little Swamp Sparrow earlier this month while birding at Cape Fear Shiners Park in Lillington, NC.
I’d located him in a scrubby area near one of the ponds by listening to his calls emanating from the brush.
That’s not surprising given that these little puffballs are known for their melodious and complex songs, which consist of a series of trills, buzzes, and whistles. Each individual even has its own unique variation of the song which I find fascinating.

True omnivores, Swamp Sparrows primarily feed on insects, seeds, and small invertebrates. During the breeding season, they may also consume berries and other fruits for an added boost of nutrition needed for reproduction.
You’ll usually see them picking off insects from the undergrowth or snacking on the various seeds scattered on the ground. This is nice because usually one can catch a good look at one from eye level vs. having to look high up in a tree to spot ‘em.



These little guys are a common find during the winter months across North Carolina. That being said, they tend to be a bit shy and as their name implies, they’re best found in muddy swamps and wet fields which can be difficult to access at times.
Still it’s nice to sit and enjoy watching them as they flit around cheerfully on a quest to fill that round bird belly so it’s worth the effort and the muddy boots.
They’ll stick around the Tarheel state from now through late April so if you haven’t seen one this year, there’s still plenty of time for you to find one too!


By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule including destinations in Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and even several trips right here in central NC at Cape Fear Shiners Park.

Check out the link below or shoot me an email and book your next birding adventure with me today!

https://birdwatchingnc.com/birdwatching-n-c-trips-birding-in-north-carolina/

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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Springtime Prothonotary Warblers in North Carolina

By Sally Siko

One of my favorite springtime arrivals is the Prothonotary Warbler. Not only are they flat out gorgeous, but they’re among the most friendly birds out there!
Although I’ve seen many over the years, none matched this experience I had with this handsome fella a couple of years ago while birding at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC.
I’d spotted him flitting in the low branches adjacent to the bridge and decided to to give pishing (making a noise that sounds like a kiss whisper) a try.
Incredibly, the Prothonotary flew right up onto the railing of the bridge right next to me and continued to sing and even was relaxed enough to stop and preen every so often.
This same bird even landed onto the shoulders and heads of a couple of my birding friends too.
Absolutely the best warbler encounter I’ve ever had.



Prothonotary Warblers are best found in swampy areas in the central part of the state. They also favor habitats containing ponds or streams in mixed deciduous forest areas.
Soon the males will arrive, ahead of the females who will come in a couple weeks. The guys have a lot to do before their prospective mates fly in because it’s their job to select a nesting site, which will impress the females.
As cavity nesters, it’s the males job to find the best places to for the pair to raise a family. This means that during the first week or so the males will inspect many potential home sites, peeping in and out of holes in dead or decaying trees. When a couple of spots are selected, the males will start building multiple nests. Once the ladies arrive, it’s then up to them to choose the best nest site which the males have prepared for them.
Pretty cool huh?

These beautiful feathered gems arrived in the Tarheel State just a couple of weeks ago. Listen for their calls in the woods from now through late August.

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

By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!

Birding Trips in SC, Birdwatching News

Enjoying time with a Sora in South Carolina

By Sally Siko

Here’s a bird that I’m looking forward to seeing again this spring, the Sora.
I photographed this handsome fella at Huntington Beach SP last April.
I’d never been able to get a clear look of one until that day so it was incredibly rewarding to photograph this bird as he picked his way through the grassy shoreline of the marsh pond.
Such a fun moment!



Primarily found in the eastern counties of the Carolinas, Soras inhabit freshwater marshes, swamps, and wetlands with dense vegetation, where they can hide and forage for food.
They are voracious eaters of insects, seeds, and aquatic vegetation, foraging by picking food from the water’s surface or probing that bright yellow bill into soft mud in search of a snack.



At a length of around 8” these birds are relatively small. Their diminutive size combined with a proclivity to sneaking around dark tangled reeds makes them kind of tough to see.
Yet despite being secretive, Soras are known for their distinctive whinnying call, which they use to communicate with each other. This means you can locate one by listening for them whenever your birding in their favored habitats.

Soras are a winter and spring resident of the Carolina’s with peak sightings occurring in April.
This means you’ve got about 6 weeks or so to enjoy them before they head north for their breeding season ahead.
Aren’t they lovely?
Btw, I’ve got several South Carolina group birding trips available for booking this year so if you’d like to join me to go bird watching in the low country this year, check the link below for my tour schedule and details.

Go Birding With Me: Best Life Birding Trips, Guided Group Birding Tours & Bird Photography Workshops



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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News

Best Life Birding in Our State magazine

By Sally Siko

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

The Yellow-throated Warblers have returned to NC

By Sally Siko

One of my favorite early spring arrivals is the Yellow-throated Warbler. With that bold yellow, black and white plumage, they’re absolutely captivating to photograph.
I found this handsome fella this morning while birding along the Neuse River Trail Capital Area Greenway in Raleigh.
Happily he was hopping and flying at a lower level of the tree canopy so that I could get a good view.
Normally they tend to hang out much higher in the trees so it was neat to get a close up look at him!



This species of wood warbler are one of a handful which nests exclusively in the eastern part of the United States with a range that stretches from Missouri in Pennsylvania all the way down to Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Their open cup-nests are constructed almost entirely by the female from bark strips, grasses, and weed stems, and lined with plant down and feathers. The nest is usually placed in the canopy of a pine, cypress or sycamore tree on the end of a a horizontal branch well out from the trunk at heights ranging from 15 to 60 feet above the ground.



Happily these gorgeous birds will spend the summer raising their families here in the Tarheel state. They will stick around until late September (or even into early October in our eastern counties) so there is still plenty of time for us to enjoy them this year.
Btw, if you’d like to see a Yellow-throated Warbler too (along with many other beautiful birds!) I invite you to check out the link below to view all of my upcoming group birding tours.

Go Birding With Me: Best Life Birding Trips, Guided Group Birding Tours & Bird Photography Workshops


I’m leading trips to destinations ranging from South Carolina to Maine.
Join me in discovering why there’s a lot to love about the East Coast of the United States when it comes to bird watching.
See ya out there!

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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Birding at Carvers Creek SP, Bachmans Sparrows

By Sally Siko

Happy to catch up with a pair of Bachman’s Sparrows this morning while Birding at the Carver’s Creeks State Park near Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Although I’ve heard the species singing before, I have never laid eyes on one until today which was very exciting!
I located the birds by their song which is very loud. In fact I nearly stepped right on top of one that was chirping from a pile of pine straw underfoot.
Then I got tremendously lucky as the sparrow flew up into a small tree, and began to sing right in front of me.
So cool!



Although they are found year-round in North Carolina, the Bachman’s Sparrow is a species in decline due to habitat loss. They strongly prefer habitats containing stands of old growth Longleaf Pines and are most often spotted on the ground hunting for a meal in tufts of dense Wiregrass and oak shrubbery.
They once nested and all of our southeast counties, but today are mainly found in the Sandhills region of the central portion of the state.
Nest sites within areas burned the previous 12 months are highly favorable
so it’s useful to look for them in areas where prescribed burns are regularly scheduled.
Bachman’s sparrows also use recently planted clear-cuts and young pine plantations of longleaf, loblolly, shortleaf, slash pines where native grasses dominate the ground cover and perches are available. Alternatively, they will occupy relatively grassy open fields and prairie sites with extensive grass for hiding, especially in the southern US from Florida to Louisiana.


Though this species is very difficult to see (due to the fact that they spend most of their time hiding in dense grass) spotting one of these beauties is incredibly rewarding if your
patient enough to wait for one to pop out and start singing from a sapling.
I know not everybody cares about sparrows, but I think that they are just lovely!

New for this year I’m offering birding tours in the Sandhills, so if you’d like to see a Bachman’s Sparrow too (along with a whole bunch of other gorgeous birds!), check out the calendar link below to book your date today.



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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A Hermit Thrush encounter at Shiners Park in Lillington NC

By Sally siko

Pleased to spend time with a Hermit Thrush this morning while birding at Cape Fear Shiners Park in Lillington, North Carolina.
I hadn’t spotted one since last year so it was nice to catch up with this beautiful bird again.

In my opinion the Hermit Thrush has one of the most beautiful songs in the entire United States.
There is a distinct melody, delicate thread of song rising and falling between the birds notes.
Sometimes they sing quite loudly, others at a near whisper.
Often they may be the only bird singing in the entire woods, as was the case this day. Truly, this is a bird that beckons you to linger just a few minutes longer to enjoy your time outdoors.



Although they do breed in the higher elevations in the Appalachian mountains in western North Carolina, Hermit Thrushes are generally a winter time visitor to the rest of the state from late September through mid March.
Once you’ve located a Hermit Thrush by its song, it’s pretty easy to ID them.
As you can see by the photos, they are nice, warm copper, reddish, brown color, which stands out among the gray trees. They’ve also got bright white breast plumage with a pleasant spotting all over.


My advice is to find someplace comfortable to sit and wait for the bird to start singing again. I’ll warn you, though, these enchanting little performers will pull you in so you might not leave the forest again until dusk lol!
They’ll only stick around central NC for another week or two so get out there while you can to see this bird before they head north and west to their breeding grounds this spring.

By the way, I’ve added 80+ new birding tour dates to my 2024 calendar for destinations in North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Maine.
Check the link in my bio for booking availability 🙂

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

By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule including trips to Shiners Park in Lillington.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!

Field Notes, North Carolina rare bird alert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Scissor-tailed Flycatchers have been spotted in NC

By sally Siko

By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News, Field Notes

Green-winged Teal in North Carolina

By Sally Siko

One of the prettiest duck species that visits North Carolina each year are the Green-winged Teal.
I was so happy to get a nice look at this pair last month!
As you can see here, the drakes have a green stripe going across their faces which is absolutely gorgeous when the sunlight reflects off of it. The hens are just as lovely dressed in a mottled plumage of buff and brown tones.
Both sexes sport their namesake bright aqua green wing patches (called the specula) with white borders which are best viewed when they’re in flight.
Usually they are pretty skittish so getting a couple photos of this pair at a relatively close range felt really good!



Weighing in at less than 16oz, these little ones are among the smallest of the dabbling duck family.
What they lack in size they make up in appetite though lol!
During the spring and summer, they are voracious eaters of mollusks, worms, insects and crustaceans.
When winter arrives they switch up their diet to feed on the seeds of aquatic plants grasses, sedges, and agricultural grain.



Green-winged Teals are a familiar wintertime resident of North Carolina. Each November they arrive in droves from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern parts of the United States to spend the coldest months in the mid Atlantic region.
Mainly found in the central and eastern regions of the state, look for them in fresh & brackish water areas, marshes, ponds and lakes.
They’ll only stick around until late March (and occasionally through early April) so get out and go find ‘em soon before they head north 🙂

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

By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!