Tag Archives: bird watching North Carolina

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

Field Sparrows at Mid Pines Rd

It’s always a delight to catch a couple photos of a Field Sparrow. I caught a glimpse of this little gem on Friday afternoon at Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh.
This species has that prominent white eye ring making them easily identifiable which is a very good thing when trying to figure what kind of sparrow you’re looking at.
Plus the white feathers around their eyes give them a sweet faced look that never fails to make me smile whenever I encounter one.



Field Sparrows are a year round resident of North Carolina, yet here in the central part of the state they appear to be found more numerously during the autumn and winter months.
Although they are known nest across the state, the numbers of Field Sparrows sighted in the breeding seasons have been in steady decline over the past 20 years. The exact reasons for the dip in are still unclear but the downward trend seems to follow a similar path to the decline in Bobwhite numbers which I would suppose has to do with the loss of rural & agricultural habitat that both species rely on.



As you’d expect, Field Sparrows are found in tall grassy open areas, overgrown fields, hedge line brush and maritime thickets. The roadside fence line along Mid Pines Rd. adjacent to the cow pastures is the perfect place to spot these guys.
Grass seeds make up less than 50% of their diet in the summer, but more than 90% in the winter. In the summer they also take adult and larval insects and spiders.
Field Sparrows forage on the ground, but look for flocks of them in the grass near some form of plant cover where they can quickly fly into if they need to hide.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my magnificent megapixel monster, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

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

Little Blue Herons at Huntington Beach State Park

Check out these beautiful Little Blue Herons!
I spotted them last week while birding at the Huntington Beach State Park.
It was particularly nice to catch a good look at the adult bird because usually all I see out there are immature Little Blues.
Not that there’s anything wrong with enjoying time with the little ones lol, it’s just I’ve been wanting to get a photo of an adult all year and hadn’t had much of an opportunity to do so until then.



As seen in this photo below, the young birds are dressed in entirely white plumage (with a tiny tinge of grey showing on the tips of their primary’s) during their first year.


Immature Little Blue Herons are easily confused with other white colored wading shorebirds such as the Snowy Egret.
The best way to tell them apart is to check leg color (black/ Snowy Egret vs. greenish yellow Little Blue Heron).

If your unable to discern the color of the birds legs then body language & posture is a reliable way to tell the two species apart.
Snowy Egrets tend to be very active while foraging. They appear to walk erratically, raising their heads to stand fully upright often to scan the water surface, they are always on the move.
Little Blue Herons are methodical hunters. They walk deliberately with their heads pointed down towards the mud or water while moving at a slow pace, rarely standing upright for more than a second or two.


These elegant birds are permanent residents of North Carolina’s coastal counties. Although a small number of them spend the winter here, as a migratory species they occur more numerously in the spring and summer months.
Look for Little Blue Herons hunting at the edges of freshwater ponds, brackish marshes and on mudflats from March to October.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty mirrorless monster of a camera, the @canonusa
#R5

Birdwatching News

Rare bird alert North Carolina- Snow Goose in Raleigh

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

Late autumn has the potential to bring surprise avian visitors to the Triangle region of central North Carolina.
Case in point, this Snow Goose that I was lucky to find in Raleigh behind the Antioch Church off of Lake Wheeler Rd. yesterday morning!
Normally I have to travel to the coast to see these handsome white birds so it was neat to spot this bird so close to my home.



Snow Geese are wintertime residents to the eastern coastal counties of the Tarheel state. Each year, thousands of them descend onto the farm fields and tidewater marshes to feed and roost during the cooler months.
Dedicated herbivores, their diet consists of leaves, grass, seeds and spilt grain found in agricultural fields.
In fact, I’ve always had better luck finding Snow Geese on land than on the water which is why I enjoyed photographing this one floating on the pond!



The best places to find Snow Geese in North Carolina are at Lake Mattamuskeet, the Pocosin Lakes NWR, and on Pea Island in the OBX. They are easy to ID in the field since they’re smaller than the Tundra Swans and that beautiful white plumage certainly stands out among any mixed flock of other geese.
Look for them from mid October through early March.
I know I’m certainly excited about the possibility of seeing more of them in the season ahead 🙂



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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Instagram Birding

Spending time with Clapper Rails at Huntington Beach State Park

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

A Black-throated Green warbler encounter at Lake Betz, Morrisville NC

Here’s a nice little bird I spotted at Lake Betz in Morrisville NC this past weekend, a Black-throated Green Warbler!
I’d been hoping to catch a good look at one of these beauties this autumn but hadn’t had luck in doing so until this one showed up.
Happily he responded well to my pishing and even landed on a branch in good lighting which rewarded me a few decent shot opportunities before he flew off into the trees.

Depending on where you live in NC, these birds are either transient migratory visitors or are locally common summertime residents. This is because Black-throated Green Warblers have a split breeding range here in the Tarheel state.
Generally, they are found from late March through October in the mountains and in our coastal plain regions while they only tend to show up in the piedmont area from mid-April to mid-May, and again in early September through October.

While they favor stands of spruce, pine, fir, cedar, or cypress stands for nesting activities, once they start migrating south, the Black-throated Greens can be seen in just about any kind of habitats including deciduous forests and in scrub brush areas next to open fields or water.
That being said, they won’t stick around NC much longer as most of them have already headed out to spend the winter in warmer locals. Get out this weekend to see them before they move on!

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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Black-throated Blue Warbler migration at Jordan lake

There are certain birds out there that I’ve seen several times over the years but haven’t got a proper good look at.
Sure, this is fine for my life list but as a photographer, it’s unsatisfying.
Case in point, this Black-throated Blue Warbler.


Though I was grateful to spot a lovely pair at Ebenezer Point at the Jordan Lake SRA this past weekend, unfortunately I was thwarted again of a great shot by these little beauties proclivity for ducking behind the leaves. Thank goodness for @canonusa R5 Animal Eye Focus so that I could at least catch a few useable photos lol!
Though I spent almost an hour trying to capture an unobscured portrait of one, it was not to be.
Not that this is a problem though.
Now I’ve got a great reason to get back out there to find them again to try for that “perfect” frame filling shot.
Which is of course, fine by me 😉



Black-throated Blue Warblers are absolutely stunning little birds. The males are dressed in black, blue and white plumage while the females are a lovely shade of sage green, bluish grey and tan.
Weighing in at .37 ounces and measuring just 5.7 inches in length these guys are tough to photograph as they move quickly in the trees picking at the the underside of leaves in search of a meal.
That being said, unlike many other species of wood warblers, Black-throated Blue’s tend to hunt in the mid to lower canopy of trees which is a nice way to avoid “warbler neck” during autumn migration 😉

They’ll only stick around NC for a few more days before heading south for the winter but the Black-throated Blues will return in late April so if you’ve missed a look (or photo lol!) of them this year, no worries!
There is always next spring to continue the chase…

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

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

Birdwatching News

North Carolina Rare Bird Alert: Cattle Egret in Raleigh

One of the nice things about birding is that there’s always the potential to be surprised and delighted by unexpected finds in the field.
In this case, a Cattle Egret has shown up in the Raleigh NC area and seems to have made itself right at home with a herd of cows on Mid Pines Rd.



At first, the cow didn’t seem to mind its feathered companion but when the bovine stood up, the Egret hopped off and then proceeded to chase the hapless cow around the pasture.
For its part, the cow was unamused by the birds antics lol! It lowered its head and snorted at the Egret every time it approached leaving the bird to forage in grass for itself.



Cattle Egrets are a summertime resident of the Tarheel State but are a rare sight during the winter and even more so here in central North Carolina.
They breed in colonies on our barrier islands and inland in our southeastern counties on lakes and river that are in close proximity to agricultural fields.
As their name suggests they may be found feeding in the pastures looking for insects kicked up by herds of cattle.
Look for them in North Carolina’s southeastern coastal counties from mid March- early November or take a drive on Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh this weekend 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my magnificent megapixel monster, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

Birdwatching News, Field Notes

The Yellow-rumped Warblers have returned to North Carolina

A sight that cooler temperatures are on the way, the Yellow-rumped Warblers have returned to North Carolina.
While most of our warblers are leaving to spend the winter in warmer locals, Yellow-rumps are here to stay to brighten our days in the season to come.



Known affectionately as “Butter butts” they are dressed in their winter drab plumage of grey with points of yellow on their sides and rump.
Their main diet consists of insects and spiders but when winter arrives (making 6 or 8 legged meals scarce) they have the ability to change their diet to eating berries.
In fact, they are the only type of warbler that can digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles.
This dietary adaptation allows them to survive in locations further north than most other warbler species during the winter which may give them an advantage of a head start when migrating to their breeding grounds in the spring.



Yellow-rumped Warblers are particularly common in our coastal counties as well as in the central part of NC. They are also found in the foothills of the Appalachians in smaller numbers as well.
They usually stick around the Tarheel state until around mid May so you’ve got plenty of time to enjoy these beauties in the months ahead.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty @canonusa
#5ds