Tag Archives: birdwatchign nc

A few days ago, I had the chance to head down to the Surf City, N.C. area to photograph a home for a real estate listing.
The interesting thing was that the owners and the real estate agent from Intracoastal Realty specifically wanted me to photograph the birds found in their yard and in the local area too!

A Red-winged Blackbird black-birding as hard as he can in a backyard of a home in Surf City N.C.

Knowing that this property was a fantastic place to view all kinds of shorebirds as well as Painted Buntings and Boat-tailed Grackles made me the happiest birder/ photographer ever! I couldn’t wait to get started

Love this view! Could totally picture sipping coffee and spotting winter migrants moving around in the marsh from here.

I arrived at sunrise to capture pictures of the home, then spent the morning photographing the birds in the inter coastal marsh which was the backyard.

I thought it was really cool that this house was just a short walk away from the front door! No need to worry about finding a parking spot for 24/7/365 beach access. Priceless!

I also took a 3 min walk right across the street to take some photos of the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous out there!
From Snowy Egrets to Pelicans, a Painted Bunting and Purple Martins, I ticked 15 different species in under 10 minutes so all in all, a wonderful to start the day!

Surf City beach home for sale on Sandy Lane. Any place that boasts Painted Buntings right in the backyard is a birders paradise in my book!

It would be pretty awesome to live at this home if you’re a birder, that is for sure 🙂
If you’d like to see the house & property, here’s a link below…

VIEW HOME

After finishing up at the house, I headed out to nearby Kenneth Batts Family Park in Surf City to see what else I could find.

About two minutes after I my feet hit the boardwalk, I spotted a pair of Black Skimmers flying low over the water hunting for food. Check them out in action in the video at the top of this page!
So cool!

Hiding in the shadows, a Painted Bunting in a backyard in Surf City, NC

After a quick lunch break, I took a relatively short drive south to the Ft. Fisher SRA in search of the perfect Painted Bunting shot.
I’d found a couple earlier that day in Surf City but they were hiding in the shadows so the photos weren’t great, lol!

I chose Ft. Fisher because it offers the ideal habitat needed for finding Painted Buntings and other wonderful shorebirds.

Well worth searching for, a colorful male Painted Bunting at Ft. Fisher, N.C.

Within just a few minutes of walking, the scrubby dense brush piles and open areas yielded me what I’d been searching for, a gorgeous male Painted Bunting singing away on his perch in perfect light.
Success!

Photos by Sally Adams Siko
Canon 5Ds

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Prothonotary Warbler at Bass lake Park Holly Springs NC

May 4, 2020 admin

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

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!

Birdwatching News, Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

A yellow-rumped warbler encounter at Bass Lake Park, Holly Springs North Carolina

March 11, 2020 admin

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is one of my favorite wintertime birds to see here in the Raleigh area of North Carolina.

They are a common sight around the lakes, ponds and bogs, flying from branch to limb searching for berries.
Yellow-rumps are one of a handful of bird species that can digest the berries of the Wax Myrtle. This is why they are often spotted in these quintessential North Carolina trees.
A small flock of hungry Yellow-rumps can strip the tree of it’s fruit within a matter of days.

They are not a flashy winter bird, often under appreciated by casual viewers.
Their winter plumage shows shades of gray from whitish to darker streaking on the flanks and breast. The lone splash of color is found on two yellow patches on the sides of the upper breast and a patch of yellow on the rump.
By mid-April the muted hues will change to a beautiful plumage of blue-gray, black and white colors. The yellows will deepen and contrast sharply against the gray and black feathers. Add a yellow patch right on top of the head and the transformation is complete from a understated winter feeder, to a stunning, spring breeder!

And then…. they leave, lol!
The destinations are their breeding ground in the western forests of the higher elevations of the Appalachians, on up into New England, and even Canada.
Then we will have to wait until October to see them again here in central N.C.
Enjoy them while you can!
🙂 Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

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

A Northern Flicker at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh N.C.

March 3, 2020 admin

Happy to have found a male Northern Flicker in the woods at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh a few days ago.
This handsome bird spent nearly 10 minutes in the same spot eating whatever insects he found in the leaf litter.

It was really interesting to watch him zone in and consume his unseen quarry and I even got a good look at that gorgeous red plumage in the back of his head.

Northern Flickers are a familiar sight in here in N.C. as well as throughout the hardwood forests throughout most of of the United States. They nest in the cavities created in dead or decaying trees and are often seen foraging for food along woodland edges, marshes, suburban parks, and gardens.

They also can be enticed to visit our backyard feeders if you’ve got suet, nuts, and black oil sunflower seeds to offer them.
Choose an upright feeder that will support these birds’ most comfortable feeding postures, and position the feeder near mature trees where they will naturally forage.
If you want to go the extra mile to attract these birds, leaving dead trees, snags, and stumps available for foraging woodpeckers will give them a good source of insects and grubs 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

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

‘Tis the season for Ruby Crowned Kinglets in central N.C.

January 4, 2020 admin

Check out this beautiful little Ruby-crowned Kinglet that I photographed at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs N.C. a couple of days ago.
She was very curious about my presence on the trail and stopped moving just long enough for me to grab a couple of photos while she snacked on some berries.

The tiny sized Ruby-crowned Kinglet is one of the smallest birds in North America. They are filled with energy bouncing from limb to limb like golf balls on a side walk.
Always on the move, their quick movements can make it hard to spot their ruby red crowns, which are normally flattened down, but when these birds catch sight of a competitor or predator, up goes their bright red mohawk.
Fierce little fighters, Kinglets will defend challengers three times their size, particularly when it comes to retaining a good food source.

Kinglets actually have a good reason to be constantly on the move: they’ve got a hyperactive metabolisms which requires them to eat almost constantly.
In fact, if these little birds are deprived of food, they could lose nearly a third of its body weight in just 15 minutes!
Eat like a bird, indeed!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

Birdwatching News, Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Downy Woodpecker at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh NC

December 29, 2019 admin

Oh wow am I stoked! I finally captured a photo of a Downy Woodpecker right-side up while on my CBC a few weeks ago at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, N.C.

Haha, every other picture I’ve ever got with one of America’s smallest Woodpeckers shows one hanging upside down or partially hidden by the tree trunk or branches!
Am so pleased to get a lovely shot after all this time 🙂

Ya know, there is a certain advantage to being so small. Downy Woodpeckers are able to hunt for food where larger woodpeckers can’t, including on the thin branches in the upper canopy’s of trees. They are acrobatic little climbers, (as proved by every photo I’ve ever taken of them ) they can even cling upside-down like a Nuthatch or Brown Creeper.

Being opportunistic little birds, they’ll follow the Pileated Woodpeckers through the forest, taking advantage of the larger bird’s excavations and will devour any insects the Pileated might overlook.
During the cooler months, Downy Woodpeckers can be found traveling with mixed-species flocks of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches, thereby maximizing opportunities for an easy meal.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

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

Great Blue Heron Fish strike at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, NC

December 27, 2019 admin

View this post on Instagram

Strike! I photographed this Great Blue Heron at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs, N.C. at the moment his head pierced the water while he was hunting for prey. Scroll through to the next photo to see what he caught. With a range reaching from Florida to Alaska, the Great Blue Heron are seen pretty much everywhere water and small aquatic animals are found throughout the United States. North-eastern populations of Herons migrate to the southern states or all the way down to the tropics for the winter. Here in central North Carolina, they occur throughout the region all year round. These majestic birds can be observed hunting a variety of prey in a range of wet habitats. Fish are it’s favorite food source, but amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and invertebrates are all on their menu at dinner time. Great Blue Herons employ multiple feeding strategies. They can be seen hunting alongside each other, wading slowly in the water, or may be found standing alone for long stretches of time, still as a statue waiting for just the right moment to thrust their bills at unsuspecting prey beneath the surface. Interestingly, Great Blue’s are sometimes seen hunting for rodents in inland farm fields or even stalking a sandy beach shoreline in search of live (or dead!) crabs and fish. This remarkable ability to find prey in multiple habitats is probably a big contributing factor as to why Great Blue Herons are found in every state in the Union. Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc Canon 5Ds . . . . #birdnerd #birdsofinsta #birdsofinstagram #ncwildlife #birding #birdwatching #birdwatchers #bird #birds #ncbirding #ncbirds #ncbirdwatching #canon #canon5ds #ncoutdoors #ncnature #canonwildlife #ncwildlifephotographer #northcarolinabirding #birdwatchingnc #northcarolinabirds #audubonsociety #birdoftheday #naturesbestphotomagazine #earthfocus #basslskepark #hollyspringsnc #greatblueheron #heron #wakeparks365

A post shared by Bird Watching N.C. (@birdwatching_nc) on Dec 13, 2019 at 3:56am PST

Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Bird watching at the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area at Jordan Lake Park, New Hill N.C.

October 30, 2019 admin

Field Report:

Had a fun morning of birding with Heather Russell of @ncbirdnerd at the Ebenezer Recreation Area Jordan Lake in Apex, N.C. today!

Hoping to see some Bald Eagles, we started off at the Observation Deck at Martha’s Chapel Rd. Right off the bat a juvenile Eagle flew right over us as soon as we hit the dock.

I wish we could have stuck around longer, but unfortunately it was super foggy there.
So, we headed a few miles south to check out the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area to see if we could spot some Warblers.
At first, all was quiet. There were a few Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Titmice moving about but that was about it.

Then, another birder in the area (Ann Brice) called out to us to come check out the action at a small tree near the water. There were a ton of small birds bouncing in and out of the branches, so cool!
We stood there and watched a mixed flock of Warblers, Sparrows, Titmice, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Chickadees for nearly an hour before they moved out of view.
In all, I listed 18 species in about an hour which was a nice surprise given the weather conditions!

Here is my eBird list…

699 Ebenezer Rd, New Hill US-NC (35.7081,-79.0273)
Oct 29, 2019
9:57 AM
Stationary
60 Minutes
All birds reported? Yes
Comments: Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.9.6 Build 18

1 Killdeer
1 Ring-billed Gull
0 gull sp.
6 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Great Blue Heron
7 Black Vulture
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
4 Carolina Chickadee
2 Tufted Titmouse
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Carolina Wren
1 Northern Mockingbird
3 Chipping Sparrow
1 Northern Parula
1 Blackpoll Warbler
3 Yellow-rumped Warbler

Number of Taxa: 18

Better yet, I GOT TO MEET THE NCBIRDNERD!!! Heather Russell is a joy to go birding with.
She’s knowledgeable, friendly and so nice to be around. I’ve been conversing with her on Instagram for a while and have always admired her photography & bird wisdom.
It was just awesome to spend the morning with someone who totally gets what it’s like to be birding all the time, lol! Even when driving, haha!

If you haven’t already, please go follow Heather on Instagram at @ncbirdnerd
Her photos are freak’n gorgeous!
Also, she’s taken over the @audubon_nc Instagram account this week so be sure to give them a follow too.
🍁

These photos are of one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that we saw this morning. I liked the side facing pics the best but also included the classic butter-butt shot (lol!) as he flew off into the brush.

During the warmer months, the Yellow-rumped Warbler mainly preys on insects. The ones I saw today were on an insect eating rampage,lol!
They glean caterpillars, larvae, spiders, and other invertebrates from leaves, or zip out from perches like a flycatcher to nab aerial insects such as craneflies and gnats.

When insect food is scarce during the winter here in North Carolina, the Yellow-rumped Warbler switches to fruit, including wax myrtle berries. Its ability to digest the waxy coating of berries allows the Yellow-rumped Warbler to winter farther north than other warbler species.
Unlike many Warbler species, they’ll even visit backyard feeders occasionally for seed, suet, and fruit.
I’m really looking forward to getting better pics this winter once the leaves are gone. Hopefully that will make photographing these little gems a bit easier.

If you’d like to visit the Ebenezer Church Recreation Area too, my advice is to arrive at 8am as soon as the gates open and head all the way down to the parking lot at the end of the road right at the waters edge. There are tons of cool birds here all year round.

Photos by @sally_siko
Canon 5Ds

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

A Common Yellowthroat at Bass Lake Park

October 10, 2019 admin

This cool little bird is a Common Yellowthroat. I spotted him while birding recently at Bass Park in Holly Springs North Carolina.

I was able to get pretty close to this colorful little Warbler without stressing him out.
Actually, most of the birds I saw at Bass Lake seemed acclimated to the presence of people. A big time plus if your short on time and don’t want to worry about delving deep into the woods to find birds!
Photo by @sally_siko
Canon 5Ds

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

A Brown Headed nuthatch at Jordan Lake

October 8, 2019 admin

Finally got a decent photograph of a brown-headed Nuthatch at Jordan Lake!
Have you ever heard the sound of what seems to be a squeaky toy emanating from the treetops here in North Carolina? You may have just had an encounter with a brown-headed Nuthatch too!

This bird’s diminutive size and active lifestyle make it tough to spot, but once you know what to look and listen for, you’ll realize it is a common year-round resident throughout our state’s pine woods.

By virtue of their strong, sharp claws, brown-headed Nuthatches are capable of crawling head-first down the trunk of trees as easily as going up. Their coloration creates perfect camouflage against the tree trunks that the birds can be found foraging on, in search of seeds and insects.

This one was rather friendly and don’t didn’t mind one bit that I was taking his picture.
It was neat to be able to see one of these lovely birds at such a close range!

Photo by @sally_siko
Canon 5DS
Jordan Lake, Apex NC