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Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Northern Parulas at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs NC

I had an excellent morning of birding while leading a guided bird watching trip to Bass Lake in Holly Springs NC.
We spotted 39 species of birds including this lovely Northern Parula Warbler as we explored the wooded shoreline of the lake.
It was wonderful to get outside while sharing good memories with people who love this stuff as much as I do!

Of all the birds we found, this male Parula was the most friendly. He was quite amicable to having his picture taken by my guests which was pretty neat!


Arriving in mid April, the Northern Parula is a summertime resident of North Carolina.
They are a fairly common in swamps, near lakes, ponds and other wetland areas but they also may be found in dry deciduous forests as well.
They’ve got a distinctive call which sounds somewhat like a zipper being pulled up lol!
Look for these tiny birds in the mid to upper canopies of the trees and listen for their call of
“Zzzzzeee-up” in the woods to find them.
They’ll stick around the Tarheel State until mid October and are well worth the time to stop and enjoy if you can take the time to get out and see them.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

Prothonotary Warblers are back at Bass Lake Park

My favorite little yellow guys are back, the Prothonotary Warblers!
I was so happy to show this sweet bird to my guests this past weekend at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs NC.
It was super windy and a bit cold that morning so that’s why this Prothonotary’s feathers are a bit out of sorts. He looked a bit perturbed every time the wind blew as his feathers were ruffled with each gust.



With that bright gold plumage, this species is easily one of the most striking birds you’ll find in the woods.
Prothonotary Warblers are named for the bright yellow robes worn by papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, in the Roman Catholic church.
The males sport bright-yellow heads and breast, greenish-yellow back, and bluish wings. The underside of the tail is mostly white, extending onto the undertail coverts.
When spread, the bluish upperside of their tail feathers shows large white spots.
Females look very similar to the males but are dressed in overall slightly muted green tones showing in their lovely yellow plumage.
Even though this handsome male had a few feathers out of place, I think he still looked amazing!



The Prothonotary Warbler will stick around N.C. from now until August so we’ve got plenty of time left to enjoy them this year.
I’m actually headed back out to Bass Lake Park later today on another birding trip and am hoping to have another crack at photographing this gorgeous feathered gem.
Wish me luck! 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

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

Warbler season is upon us- Northern Parulas at Bass lake Park in Holly Springs NC

A couple of days ago, I headed out on a birding trip to Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs NC.
It was a beautiful morning with lots of birds to be found including this gorgeous Northern Parula.
These little guys are among my favorites because they are friendly, inquisitive birds who will often fly in close to say hello to ya if you pish at them.


The Northern Parula breeds in the eastern United States from Florida up to Maine and all the way up into Canada.
Though they build their nests at varying heights in the trees, they are specific about what kinds materials they use to construct them.
Here in North Carolina (and other places in the southeastern states), they generally build their nests in hanging bunches of Spanish moss.
In their northern ranges, they usually build their nests in bunches of Usnea lichen (Old Man’s Beard) by hollowing out a cup near the bottom of the mass with an entrance hole in the side.



The best way to find them during the spring and summer is to listen for their call, which kinda sounds like a zipper being pulled, “zzzeeeeeup”.
They’re best found in foraging in the mid to upper canopies of trees in mature forests along streams, ponds and wetlands.
They’ll spend the summer here in the Tarheel state and will stick around until mid October so their is plenty of time for you to get out there and enjoy them too!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa #5ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Out There with the Expert

Blue gray Gnatcatchers at Bass lake Park in Holly Springs North Carolina

In my opinion, one of the most difficult birds to photograph in North Carolina are the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. It’s not that they’re particularly uncommon during the spring(quite the opposite actually), it’s just that they are small and constantly on the move.
In fact, these tiny birds hardly ever sit still so I’m always grateful to catch a proper look at one at rest, even if it’s nothing more than a second or two.



Although they will hunt for all kinds of insects they don’t actually eat many gnats (unfortunately, lol!) as their name implies.
In fact, their favorite food are spiders and lucky for them we’ve got plenty of those here in the Tarheel state for them to find.
As seen in these photos, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers will glean for arachnids in the mid to upper canopies of trees, raids insects from spiderwebs, and are even known to use their webs as nesting material.




These lovely little ones arrive in late March and stick around until September. The best spots to find Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are in habitats containing a mix of deciduous forests and wetlands, ponds, lakes and rivers.
They are particularly active in the morning hours as they need to make up for the loss of calories spent while sleeping by hunting for insects as soon as the sun rises.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the badassssss full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

A Tree Swallow encounter at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs NC

Took a quick scouting trip at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs this morning in preparation of the tour tomorrow and was lucky enough to spot these gorgeous Tree Swallows hanging out on the fence line.
Normally these pretty little feathered gems are always on the wing so it was awesome to catch them perched on the fence.
I watched them catching insects and inspecting a nest box for about 15 minutes before moving on to another spot.
So cool!



Despite that which their name implies, Tree Swallows are best found flying over open fields and ponds using the trees only to roost and nest. Although they mostly eat insects, unlike other swallows they will also eat berries, a habit that lets them survive colder weather here in North Carolina during the early spring months before there is an ample supply of insects.



Tree Swallows nest in the holes of trees excavated by Woodpeckers and although they aren’t known to be a widespread breeder here in NC, they have been observed in increasing numbers to raise their families in nest boxes in the western and central parts of the Tarheel state.
Look for them in mid-Mar to mid-May, and again late Jul into Oct.

By the way, spring migration is coming!
Wanna join me out there?
Bird loving photographers of all skill levels are invited to take part in all the trips I’ve got scheduled for 2021 in North Carolina.
Make sure you check out my upcoming birding tours list here on the BWNC website and reserve your spot today!
Or shoot me a DM and I’ll send you a link to the schedule.

Photos & videos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc

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

A Ruby crowned Kinglet encounter at Bass Lake Park

Now here’s a bird I’m always happy to see with the arrival of cooler weather, a Ruby crowned Kinglet!
These tiny feathered dynamos are a bundle of energy and are usually kind of tough to photograph since they rarely sit still for longer than a second or two.


I spotted this one at Suggs Farm while birding couple of months ago. It was neat to watch her gleaning the undergrowth for a six legged meal. Hovering just about a foot or two off of the ground, she eyed her prey before diving down to catch it.
Check out the last few photos of this post to see her in action!



The Ruby crowned Kinglet has good reason to live a life constantly on the go. Though they require just 10 calories a day to remain healthy, their hyper active metabolic rate burns through those calories at lightning speed forcing these birds to spend all of their waking hours foraging to replace the burned calories. In fact, a Kinglet can lose one-third of its body weight if it doesn’t find something to eat every 20 minutes.
Crazy!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Common Yellowthroat Warbler encounter at Bass lake Park

Yesterday’s post featured a handsome Yellow-throated Warbler. Today’s bird is another sharp looking fella, the Common Yellowthroat.
I found this young male (molting) at Bass Park in Holly Springs NC earlier this week sitting on a bridge rail looking as sweet as could be.

Though these birds have similar names, unlike the Yellow-throated Warbler, the Common Yellowthroat is the most widespread breeding warbler in the country, nesting across most of Canada and the United States. Not only do these little ones have a wide breeding range, as their namesake suggests they are an easily found bird, and thus is one of the top three most abundant warblers on the continent.

They breed in all 100 counties of North Carolina and spend the wintertime in our Coastal Plain region.
During the warmer months of the nesting season, Yellowthroats may be found in freshwater to marginally brackish marshes, thickets, overgrown fields, brier patches, woodland edges, and other dense /shrubby types of brush.
When winter arrives, they will abandon the dry fields in favor of wetland areas.

Though they are abundant around the Tarheel State, they can be tough to see (because of their preference to hang out in dense brushy undergrowth). Lucky for us, Common Yellowthroats are quite curious birds and will come out to say hello to ya if you make pishing noises.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds

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

A white eyed Video Encounter at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs North Carolina

fter a week stuck behind a desk doing some editing work, I finally got a chance to take a quick trip to Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs NC yesterday morning.
Happily, it was worth getting outside because I found a sweet White eyed Vireo searching for insects next to the water.



As seen in the second photo below, White eyed Vireos are voracious eaters of six & eight legged prey.
They’re best found foraging for a meal in areas near water, but especially so in habitats that offer dense brushy stuff and dark thickets.



These energetic little guys spend most of the year here in central North Carolina before heading a little farther south during the coldest months.
Interestingly, this species favors mixed deciduous forest during the summer for breeding but prefers to hang out in coniferous forests and Holly stands during the winter.


Though White eyed Vireos prefers to stick to the shadows, they are quite inquisitive and will definitely come check you out if you pish at them. To find them, listen for their call of “chick-a-buurio-chick” coming from the lower areas of the woods and keep a sharp eye out for their bright eyes reflecting the sunlight through the leaves.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame SLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes, Instagram Birding, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Fledglings at Bass lake Park in Holly Springs N.C.

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While birding at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs N.C. recently, I spotted a couple adorable fledglings in the brush next to the water. The first is a young White-eyed Vireo (along with it’s parent) and the second is a sweet little Prothonotary Warbler with its parent nearby. I took these photos using my zoom lens at full 600 mm as not to disturb the little ones or their parents. It’s very important to respect the space of these birds at this crucial time as they are still learning how to assess predator behavior and understanding what dangers people may or may not pose to them. Plus, you definitely don’t want to stress out the parents as this may interfere with the feeding behavior of caring for their young. During this time of year, sightings of young birds are common and when folks find them on the ground they tend to get worried. The best thing to do if you find a fledgling is to leave it alone. While you may not see it’s parent in the area, chances are it’s nearby or at least on the way back to care for its young. In the unlikely scenario where the little bird is visibly injured then it may be a good idea to contact your local wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in caring for birds. A simple Google search of the wildlife rehabilitators in your city and state is a good place to start. Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the @canonusa #5ds

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Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A female Northern Parula warbler encounter at Bass lake Park

Last week, I took a short walk around Bass Lake in Holly Springs. I’ve noticed lately that local parks in the Triangle region are becoming crowded early, often before 9am so arriving early is key if one has birding on their mind.



Luckily, I was rewarded with a great look at a female Northern Parula shortly after my feet hit the trail.
She was quite curious about my presence and actually flew close to me at times as I stood still and watched her preen and forage for insects.

Northern Parulas can be found hunting tent caterpillars, gypsy moth caterpillars, spiders, and other insects in the mid to high canopies of trees. Moving quietly through the leaves, they seem to be a bit more methodical in their foraging habits vs. the hyper ping pong ball behavior of other Warblers.



With their lovely plumage of greys, yellows and blue, the Northern Parula may be hard to see in the brush and leaves, but they are easy to hear. Just listen for a clear “zeeeeeeeeeZip”, with an abrupt end note and look up!
You may be lucky enough to see them as they hang upside down on the leaves above or as they walk up the tree trunks in the never ending search for a six or eight legged meal.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
@canonusa #5ds