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Birdwatching News

NC Rare Bird Alert: A (possible) Pacific-slope Flycatcher at Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson, NC

By Sally Siko

After seeing several reports on the NC Rare Bird Alert for a Pacific-slope Flycatcher being seen within an hours drive of my home, I decided to go see if I could spot it.
As a bonus my daughter came along for the ride which was pretty awesome!

We arrived at the Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson, NC yesterday around 4 PM.
Unfortunately the pinned map locations provided by the other eBirders weren’t accurate so finding this little bird proved to be a challenge!

The first location I tried (near the mudflats) was a no go.
The second spot (a marina parking lot) was a dud and I quickly realized that the bird I was looking for wasn’t going to turn up where the pin locations had said it would be.
I scanned the tree line around the lot and played a couple calls but had no luck.
At this point the sun was getting low in the sky and I decided that I probably wasn’t going to find the bird so I might as well enjoy the sunset sparkling over the water.

Walking down onto one of the long docks, I looked to the left shoreline and noticed that there was a large area of exposed mud which look like it might be drive-able.
So acting on a hunch, my daughter, and I got back into the car and drove out over the levee and onto the mud flats.
At this point, the only clue I had to the birds whereabouts were some eBird comment notes about the Flycatcher being near a red flag.
And lo and behold, flapping in the breeze attached to a low branch was a marking flag tied to a low branch on the muddy beach.
Then….something small and yellow colored fluttered out of the corner of my eye into a bush. I quickly searched for the bird in Merlin and played the single note call of a Pacific-slope Flycatcher.
To my amazement, out popped the Flycatcher who flew immediately up onto a nearby low hanging branch!
Success!!!

Well, I think it was successful.
My sighting still hasn’t been officially confirmed in eBird as the Pacific-slope and Cordilleran flycatchers are pretty difficult to tell apart from one another.
Even with photo verification the conformation might take a few days.
I’m calling this a win though because the bird responded so quickly to the single note call (a Cordilleran typically uses two note calls).
I’ll update this post if I’m proven wrong.
Either way, this was a fun bird to find.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty 50MP monster, the @canonusa #5Ds

Google Maps pin drop to the exact location to this bird shown below…

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

New Birding trips are here just in time for migration

Now that spring has sprung in the Carolinas, it’s an exciting time to be a bird watcher!
Migration is getting underway and with it brings tons of beautiful birds into our state.
They’ll be a lot to see over the next few weeks and you can bet I’ll be out there birding and trying my best to grab some cool photos along the way.

Want to join me?
I’ve got 9 birding tours available for booking in destinations in North Carolina & South Carolina between now and June 30th.
Space is limited for these trips so reserve your spot today!
Looking forward to going birding with ya and cheers to a wonderful season ahead 🙂

Details and trip calendar links are found below!!!

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



-Sally Siko
Best Life Birding

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

Coopers Hawk vs. Sharp-shinned Hawk at Jordan Lake

So every now and then I goof up an ID….
Recently I was birding at Ebenezer Point at Jordan Lake SRA with a group of fellow bird lovers when we spotted a hawk being pursued by a crow.
I was pretty sure it was a Sharp shinned at the time and even pointed it out to the folks with me. ( Ooof! 🤦‍♀️)
Yet once I returned home and was able to get a better look at the bird in the photos, I realized that it was a Coopers Hawk, not a Sharp shinned!

My mistake was in looking at the bird as a whole and (incorrectly) determining that he was slimmer in appearance than he really was.
The field marks that point towards Cooper’s hawk are it’s rounded off tail & somewhat larger head (in relation to its body).
Plus, the most obvious fact that this bird was nearly as large as the crow which definitely points towards a Coopers Hawk vs. a Sharp shinned.


As it goes with any challenge worth pursuing, sometimes the quickest way to get something right consistently is to be wrong from time to time and learn from our mistakes along the way.
Happy birding my friends!

-Sally

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my mighty megapixel monster the @canonusa#R5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News

Rare Bird Alert North Carolina: Roseate Spoonbills spotted in Raleigh at Lake Lynn

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

Yesterday I received a rare bird notification from @eBird that a pair of Roseate Spoonbills had been spotted at Lake Lynn in Raleigh NC so I decided to go see if I could get a look at them with my friend Corie @calatta
We met up an hour later in the southern parking lot and walked to the north end of the lake where we were happy to find these beautiful birds hunting for a snack in the shallows with a Little Blue Heron
Nice to get a win so easily!


Roseate Spoonbills are normally found in southern Florida and along the coast of Texas during the summer which is why it was so unusual to find these two at Lake Lynn.
That being said, sightings of Spoonbills here in North Carolina have been on the increase in recent years though most of those have occurred in our southern coastal regions.



These lovely birds are best spotted in marshy areas foraging for a meal in the water or mudflats.
Sweeping their namesake spoon-shaped bill side to side in the shallow water, the Spoonbills mouth is partially open as their bill probes into the mud. When they stir up a fish or invertebrate, they’ll clamp that bill shut to capture their prey.
Their diet mainly consists of minnows, but they’ll also eat shrimp, crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects, mollusks, and slugs. Spoonbills will also snack on plants including the roots and stems of sedges.

I have no idea how long these two will stick around the Triangle for so if you can get out within the next day or two you might be able to find them as well.
For reference, I’ve included a Google Map pin drop showing the exact location of these birds at the north end of Lake Lynn (as of yesterday & today) to the end of this post.
Hope you are able to see them too!
Happy birding!
-Sally

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

By the way, check out the video of the Roseate Spoonbills in the Instagram version of this post below!

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A once in a lifetime experience, North Carolina bird conservation with Adam Betuel

Check out this months featured tour guide, Adam Betuel of Teal Birding’s story of how a summer studying Purple Martins in Manteo, N.C. kick started his ornithological career.
Here’s an excerpt from the blog post titled “Fledging on Roanoke Island“….
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“My work schedule had me at the roost at dawn and dusk but most of the rest of my days were free to explore. I became very familiar with Pea Island, Alligator River, and the local bird watching store. Life birds flooded in for this Midwestern boy ranging from Red-cockaded Woodpeckers to Brown-headed Nuthatches and Piping Plovers.
A day spent on the ocean with the famous Brian Patterson was a true highlight and I think internally it convinced me that I had reached full bird nerd status. I made great friends with local birders, the family that hosted me, and colleagues that allowed me to spend lazy evenings with them out in Columbia under their martin gourds. It was an experience of a lifetime. “
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In addition to serving as the Conservation director of the Atlanta Audubon Society, Adam Betuel is also the President of Teal Birding Tours.
If you’re searching for someone to deliver your own birding experience of a lifetime, contact Adam to find out more about his upcoming trips. (He’s got one coming up soon in Paraguay!!!)

When you get back home share your awesome photos with us!

Continue reading about Adam’s adventures in Manteo, North Carolina here….