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!!!
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!
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
I had an excellent morning of birding while leading a guided bird watching trip to Bass Lake in Holly Springs NC. We spotted 39 species of birds including this lovely Northern Parula Warbler as we explored the wooded shoreline of the lake. It was wonderful to get outside while sharing good memories with people who love this stuff as much as I do!
Of all the birds we found, this male Parula was the most friendly. He was quite amicable to having his picture taken by my guests which was pretty neat!
Arriving in mid April, the Northern Parula is a summertime resident of North Carolina. They are a fairly common in swamps, near lakes, ponds and other wetland areas but they also may be found in dry deciduous forests as well. They’ve got a distinctive call which sounds somewhat like a zipper being pulled up lol! Look for these tiny birds in the mid to upper canopies of the trees and listen for their call of “Zzzzzeee-up” in the woods to find them. They’ll stick around the Tarheel State until mid October and are well worth the time to stop and enjoy if you can take the time to get out and see them.
About an hour into the trip at the Pea Island NWR, the wind picked up as a cold front pushed in from the north. I mean in an instant, it really got crazy out there! Gusts of 50mph wind plus a driving cold rain that just cut right through ya. More than once, the wind was blowing so hard, it felt like it could rip the 600mm lens from my fingers at any moment (shout out to @canonusa for building a kick ass camera that can exceed performance expectations in weather like that).
There were actually white caps churning on the surface of the normally glass-smooth North Pond. It was nuts! Despite the foul weather we still saw tons of great stuff including these beauties, the American Avocet.
This medium sized shorebird is indeed a lovely sight dressed in its winter plumage of grey and white, yet it’s most striking field mark is their delicate bill which is long with a distinct upward curving tip. The Avocets use their bills to skim along the water’s surface, in search of insects and small crustaceans.
As seen in the photo above, these sociable birds will often move through the water in flocks, feeding & roosting together with other waders like Godwits, Herons and Ibis.
The American Avocet is a relatively common sight here on Pea Island from late July through April but becomes more difficult to find May through June. Look for them in slow moving, shallow bodies of fresh/brackish water marshes and ponds in our coastal impoundments throughout the OBX. Aren’t they beautiful?
