By: Admin Sally Siko

Yesterday, I went out birding in search of Warblers at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, North Carolina. I arrived when the gates opened at 8am, and spent about an hour or so on the trail.

There were plenty of Common Yellow-Throated and Black and White Warblers hiding in the brush at the edge of the water. They were nearly tame and were surprisingly easy to photograph. Then a few yards down the path, I got lucky and spotted my first Veery high up in a tree. Awesome!

On my way back to the parking lot, I snapped off a few photos of a flock of Blue-winged Teal as they flew over the lake. I’ve never seen these ducks in the wild before. That made for two lifers spotted in one trip. Truly a great morning of birding!

BIRDS SEEN:

Here’s a rundown of the species which I submitted to my eBird list last night…

Bass Lake (Wake Co.)
Sep 26, 2019
8:13 AM
90 Minutes
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.9.3 Build 13

41 Blue-winged Teal
3 Mallard
1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
2 Killdeer
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Osprey
2 Blue Jay
1 Carolina Chickadee
4 Tufted Titmouse
4 Carolina Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 Brown Thrasher
3 Eastern Bluebird
2 Veery
2 American Robin
2 Black-and-white Warbler
4 Common Yellowthroat
1 American Redstart
4 Northern Parula
1 Pine Warbler
5 Northern Cardinal

Number of Taxa: 21

LOCATION INFORMATION & NOTES:

If you plan on visiting Bass Lake Park, keep in mind that it is a busy place. There are a ton of joggers and dog walkers along the trail however, the birds seemed to not care a bit about their presence. The warblers were especially tame and I was able to get quite close to them without stressing them out.

Bass Lake Park opens at 8am. There are two parking areas on either ends of the lake. Get there early for the best birding and remember to bring water on the hot days because half of the trail is lit by the full morning sun.

Check out the website for the park at https://hollyspringsnc.us/320/Bass-Lake-Park

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