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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

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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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A lovely male Prothonotary Warbler at Bass lake Park

Stoked to find this handsome male Prothonotary Warbler about 3 weeks ago at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, NC.!
I’ve been watching him since early April and it never gets old seeing his cheerful yellow face belting out a tune from within the maple leaves.
I recently came across fascinating study of the Prothonotary Warbler which found that nearly the entire species winters in a single small area in South America.
Not long ago, Biologists from the O.S.U. captured around 150 Prothonotary Warblers during their breeding season here in the southeastern U.S. and attached geolocators to the birds.
These tiny electronic devices use the timing of dawn and dusk to estimate birds’ locations once the biologists set them free.
When the warblers returned to their nesting sites the following season, the researchers were able to recover 34 devices that contained enough info for them to use for their study.
The data showed that regardless of where they bred, nearly ALL of the warblers spent their winter in a relatively small concentrated area of northern Colombia.


To give you an idea of just how amazing this is, the trip from Raleigh to northern Colombia is about 2000 miles!
That is one incredible journey for a bird that weighs about 4oz.
The fact that most of them end up spending the winter in one tiny area of the world is absolutely mind boggling!

Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Prothonotary Warbler at Bass lake Park Holly Springs NC

Spotted my first Prothonotary Warbler this morning at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, N.C.

Prothonotary Warbler


I only had a few seconds to grab a couple photos of this beautiful little bird before flew off into the brush. Just wish I was a little closer for these shots but am stoked to have seen it nonetheless!
Now that spring is in full swing, you’re likely to see these lovely yellow birds in wetlands through central & eastern North Carolina.
Affectionately nick named the ‘canary of the swamp, this striking bird makes its home in nests in tree cavities dug out by woodpeckers. After spending the winter in Central and South America, Prothonotary Warblers make their way across the Gulf of Mexico to the southern United States.
They then settle down in flooded, bottomland forests, cypress swamps, and by the banks of rivers and ponds like Bass Lake.
Looking forward to trying to get a few more photos of these awesome little birds this spring!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

All photos and video were captured with my mighty Canon 5DS. If you are interested in getting shots like these with this 50 MP beast of a camera, please check out the link below to Canon USA.

Birdwatching NC is sponsored by Canon USA and I am proud to be a Canon shooter. After 13 years of trusting my professional photography business to Canon’s line of products, I cannot recommend this company strongly enough. If you have have any questions about my gear, shoot me a message!

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Late season Yellow- Rumped Warblers at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs N.C.

The Yellow-rumped Warblers are looking sharp out there this spring!
I found this one a few days ago at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, NC.
Glad that he posed so nicely for me, haha!

Yellow – rumped Warbler


Now that we’re in late-April, these lovely little birds have molted out into their breeding plumage. The males are now sporting bold summer colors and are easily identifiable in the leafy canopies above our heads.
Within the next few weeks, loose flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers will begin their migration North into Pennsylvania, New England and Canada.
They won’t be back here in North Carolina until September so get out there and enjoy them while you can 🙂

Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

All photos and video were captured with my mighty Canon 5DS. If you are interested in getting shots like these with this 50 MP beast of a camera, please check out the link below to Canon USA.

Birdwatching NC is sponsored by Canon USA and I am proud to be a Canon shooter. After 13 years of trusting my professional photography business to Canon’s line of products, I cannot recommend this company strongly enough. If you have have any questions about my gear, shoot me a message!