Tag Archives: birdwatching nc

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

Learning how to cowbird

Since Cowbirds are known for laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, the question is how does a Cowbird learn how to be a Cowbird instead of a Warbler, Gnatcatcher, or Blackbird host?
Researchers at the University of Illinois observed that the Cowbirds mother actually remained in the host birds territory and could hear the cries of her offspring.
In response to hearing the begging cries of the baby cowbird, the females responded, not by feeding it, but by calling to it.
The researchers think that this behavior may help the cowbird fledglings to eventually find other adult cowbirds that are vocalizing, as they fly from feeding areas to roosting areas at dusk each day.
Nature is endlessly surprising!
Photo by Sally Adams Siko
Canon 5DS
Harris Lake Park, New Hill North Carolina

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

How cowbird chicks avoid imprinting on their hosts

Cowbirds are well known to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the young to be raised by other species.
So how do Cowbird chicks avoid imprinting on their host families of Gnatcatchers, Warblers or Blackbirds yet still learn how to be a Cowbird?

A study by the University of Illinois was launched to answer this question. Researchers tracked juvenile cowbirds that were being raised by Prothonotary warblers. They’ve discovered that, at around 30 days old, cowbird fledglings started to leave the warblers’ territory at dusk to roost alone.
They would then return the following morning to be fed by their foster parents. For reasons that aren’t yet clear, these nocturnal departures seem to prevent the young cowbirds from imprinting on their host parents.

Interesting info for sure! But how exactly do Cowbirds learn how to be Cowbirds and not pick up on the habits of their host families?

I’ll post more on that question tomorrow…
Photo by @sally_siko of Birdwatching NC
Canon 5DS

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A great Blue Heron encounter at Jordan Lake

While walking at the top of Jordan Lake dam in New Hill, N.C., a Great Blue Heron glided over the service road just a few feet in front of me.
He was so close that I could hear the wind breezing a soft whoosh through his feathers.
With a wingspan reaching nearly 6ft, they’re quite a sight in the air and they can cruise at about 25mph while in flight.

Photo by Sally Siko
Canon 5DS

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

Why do Vultures have a bare head

They look this way for a reason…

Went exploring this morning at Jordan Lake dam in New Hill, NC and found this Black Vulture sitting in the grass overlooking the water. What a fascinating bird to see up close!
Most vultures have bare skin on their heads. One of the reasons why is this keeps the blood from their meals from matting into their feathers.
Another possibility is that this bare skin helps cool the bird down on hot days, depending on how far out they extend their neck’s.
By changing their posture to expose more or less of the bare skin on their heads and necks, vultures could cut their heat loss by half in cold conditions and increase their heat loss by almost a quarter in certain hot conditions, like those which are found around here in North Carolina during the summer. 🙂
Photo by @sally_siko .

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Birdwatching in the city

A few months ago, I was asked to photograph a wedding in Queens N.Y.
So recently, I hopped on a plane and flew into to New Jersey where I met up with the bride’s family.
We all ended up going out that evening to shoot pool and then enjoyed an epic night of card playing while sipping Long Island iced tea.
The next day, I got up early with the intent of photographing the NYC skyline and ended up going birdwatching at Liberty National Golf course with one of the bride’s brothers (yes, I am a bird nerd, haha!)


We saw Great Egrets, Least Terns, Barn Swallows and a Red-Tailed Hawk in Queens NY.
Who knew the birding was so good in the city?!

Photos by @sally_siko
Canon 5DS

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

eBird Global Big day

Heads up North Carolina birders!
eBird’s Global Big day will be October 19th, 2019!
What’s a Big Day you ask?
Well, the idea is to go birdwatching from dawn to dusk and log as many different species as you can in eBird in one day.
Here’s a link where you can learn more about the event….
https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-19-october-2019

Personal note: I actually blocked out this date on my “work” calendar so that I won’t accidentally book a photoshoot on that Saturday, lol!
Being a business owner has its perks and if I can’t take a Saturday off to go birding then I’m doing this “boss lady” stuff wrong 😉
Photo by @sally_siko .

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

A black Vulture encounter at Jordan lake Park

While photographing distant Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake, a Black Vulture flew directly over my head and landed in the sand about 15ft away.
I’d never seen one so close and watched as he spread his wings and sat there soaking up the sun.
Clearly he didn’t care one bit by my presence and I was able to get quite a few photos at close range.
What an interesting bird!
I’ve learned that they lay their eggs in places such as hollow tree stumps, between large rocks, or in caves; and decorate the area around with shards of glass, bright pieces of plastic, and small shiny metal objects, such as beer bottle tops.
Who knew Vultures were into the bling culture, lol!
Photo by @sally_siko .

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Purple Martin nest box advice

A lovely female Purple Martin surveys her kingdom from high atop her perch at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, N.C.
Getting purple martins to accept a new martin house can be challenging.
Sometimes several years may pass before you may reach the goal of attracting the desired residents. Or maybe you might succeed the first day the house is up!
Birds. Ya, they’re like that, lol!
Here’s an idea that may help.
Don’t put your martin house up until four to six weeks after the first purple martins arrive. Or if it’s already in place, keep the holes plugged until then, to exclude starlings and sparrows. The goal is that you’re trying to attract young purple martins who are still open to the idea of raising their families someplace new.

Photo by @sally_siko
Canon 5DS

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Long distance love for purple martins in North Carolina

A fierce looking male Purple Martin giving me the alpha glare while birding at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC.
It’s neat that these birds migrate so far south for the winter and return every spring to same breeding location year after year. Makes me wonder if there’s a record out there for the longest generation of Purple Martens using a particular nesting spot in the US.
Purple Martins are fascinating little birds.
Long distance migration is par for the course and before too long, they’ll leave N.C. to head south for tropical destinations such as like Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.
In late summer, they’ll gather in huge roosts in preparation for their fall migration.
One of the best places to view this spectacle is in Manns Harbor, North Carolina, on the OBX, where an estimated 100,000 birds – arriving from hundreds of miles away – to rest underneath the Umstead Bridge.

Photo by @sally_siko
Canon 5DS 200mm

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Treetop hat trick

Eastermn wood peewee, summer tanager and american robin

Spotted an Eastern Wood Peewee, a female Summer Tanager, and an American Robin all sharing the same tree while bird watching in Lexington North Carolina last week.
Kinda neat to get all three species in one pic 🙂
Canon 5DS 200mm

Photo by @sally_siko .