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!!!
Last week, I returned to the OBX of North Carolina to lead a birding trip. As always, I arrived a couple of days early to scout out the area to make sure all of the expected species were where they were supposed to be.
After spending the day on Pea Island, I headed up to Jennettes Pier to see if I could catch a glimpse of some sea birds hunting for a meal on the Atlantic. There was plenty to see including Black Scoters, Common Loons, Gulls and Grebes but most of them were flying far offshore. Only the Brown Pelicans were swooping in at close range.
By 4:45, daylight fading fast I was about to leave when this lovely Common Eider hen flew in and landed alongside the pier. Although I certainly wish I could have photographed this beautiful bird from a lower vantage point, the last few minutes of golden hour light was simply too good to pass up for catching these portraits.
Measuring 25-27 inches in length with a wingspan stretching 41 inches, Common Eiders are the largest species of duck in the northern hemisphere. Their size non withstanding, Eiders are agile swimmers. They spend a great deal of their time at sea diving beneath the waves in search of mussels, clams, scallops, sea urchins, starfish, and crabs resting on the ocean floor or clinging to rocks and jetty’s. Because their prey is often located in shallow water, they are more easily found then other sea duck species when birding on the shoreline.
Common Eiders are a wintertime visitor to the coastal areas of NC. Interestingly, 95% of sightings of this species in the Tarheel State comprise of adult females and immature males while the bulk of adult males appear to spend the winter in New England and Newfoundland.
Look for Eiders in coves, near inlets and especially around bridges, piers and rock jetties. Basically anywhere along the oceans edge where mussels and crabs are present. These beautiful ducks will stick around NC until early April so we’ve still got plenty of time to enjoy them. Aren’t they wonderful? 🙂
Every once in a while, I start seeing certain species of birds more often than others. In this case I’ve noticed Yellow-throated Vireos seem to be flying around NC in greater numbers than in the past 5 years. I spotted this one snacking on a caterpillar at the Brumley North Nature Preserve this past weekend.
While I don’t know the exact reason for the influx (it could just be luck-right place/right time scenario) I’m certainly happy to to have the opportunity to photograph them again without much effort.
Yellow-throated Vireos favor a different habitat preference to their more often seen relative, the White-eyed Vireo. They tend to shun pine barrens are best found foraging in the high canopy’s of the treetops in old growth deciduous forests and occasionally near wooded streams. Interestingly, the Yellow-throated and White-throated Vireos share similar calls so finding one isn’t too difficult if you know what to listen for depending on if your in the woods vs. the field.
These cheerful little guys will stick around NC for just about a week or so before heading to their wintering grounds in Central and South America, south Florida and on through to the coast of Texas. Get out and enjoy them while you can!
One can hardly hike more than a few minutes in the woods here in central NC without hearing the cheerful call of the Summer Tanager. This was the case when I spotted this male singing in the trees at the Pee Dee NWR in Wadesboro NC last week. He was easy to find with that bold red plumage, especially when he landed on the bare branches of a dead tree near the shoreline of the lake. Such a gorgeous bird!
Did you know that the Summer Tanager is the only entirely red colored bird found in the United States? Northern Cardinals and Scarlet Tanagers come close however both of those species also have black feathers on their bodies. All three species get their bold red hues from carotenoid compounds which produce the red (and sometimes yellow) colors seen in the birds feathers. These are acquired through their diets (mainly through fruit), and are then processed in the body into pigments that are deposited in the growing feathers.
Summer Tanagers are generally spring and summertime residents of North Carolina. They arrive in April and hang out until September before migrating south to Mexico, Central and South America. That being said, there are small but growing numbers of Summer Tanagers that stick around for the entire winter in the eastern part of the state provided that they have a reliable food source available to them via a feeder. Pretty cool huh? 🙂
Oh btw, I’ve posted new birdwatching tours to the Pee Dee NWR (where I photographed this Summer Tanager) here on this website. Wanna join me? Check out the link below for booking details.
Here’s a bird I was delighted to see at Mid Pines Rd. in Raleigh, a Horned Lark! Although my photos weren’t the best, it was really cool to get a good look at one of these interesting birds from a relatively close distance. Plus it was on the gravel road instead of hiding in the grass which made it even better lol!
Horned Larks are a year round resident of North Carolina with local population fluctuations occurring with the changing seasons. They are are especially common in the eastern part of the state during the winter months. As is the case with the NC State Ag Campus here at Mid Pines Rd, these guys prefer short grass open habitats and also can be seen in other agricultural areas hunting for a meal in plowed farm fields or places where the crops haven’t sprung up yet in the sandy soil.
Although I haven’t seen very many over the years, these little birds are pretty easy to ID in the field with those two namesake feathered black tufts at the top of their heads. They’ve also got a sweet melodic tinkling song which carries a bit on the wind. This is incredibly helpful when trying to locate a single bird in the brown grass or dirt from several yards away as Horned Larks tend to blend in quite well with their surroundings (especially when viewing from the back side).
I’ll be leading another tour at Mid Pines Rd & Yates Mill Park again soon. I hope these neat little birds are still around so I can share them with my guests!
Recently I took a quick trip to the Weymouth Woods Sandhills Preserve to scout out locations for my future birding tours. I was pleased to see that the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are nesting once again in their favorite spots!
These sweet little birds were once a common sight in the southeastern regions of the United States. Due to loss of habitat, today they are considered an endangered species. Red-cockaded Woodpeckers require a narrow scope of forest conditions to breed. They prefer to nest in mature stands of long leaf pine trees with little or no understory. Unfortunately these old growth forests have faced rapid decline which has led to the decline of this species as well.
Luckily, the Weymouth Woods Preserve is a special place where the old pine trees are preserved and maintained lending to provide the perfect conditions for the Red-cockaded to breed. Here you can see them raising their families every spring and throughout the summer months. It’s truly a special place to enjoy these wonderful birds.
I’ve still got a few spots open for guests to join me next spring on the birding photography tours. If you’d like to come along with me to find the Red-cockaded Woodpecker in 2022, check the link below for booking information.
