Tag Archives: black throated green warbler

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Black-throated green Warblers have returned to North Carolina

By Sally Siko

With the arrival of spring, tons of new birds will be making their way into the Carolinas over the next couple of months.
Here’s a species, I was happy to see was reported in southern North Carolina last week, a Black-throated green Warbler. I love how visually striking these little birds are! That combination of yellow and black plumage really pops.



As is the case with most of our East Coast warblers, these guys are voracious consumers of insects. This means that the best time to look for them is in the morning hours after the sun has risen high enough to warm the leaves and get the insects moving.
Then it’s game on for hungry birds as they flit among the new leaves in the upper canopies, in search of a six or eight legged snack.


The Black-throated green Warbler is a spring and summertime resident of North Carolina. Curiously, they nest both in our mountains to the west and also in our eastern counties, generally eschewing the central part of the state, other than during migrational periods.
In the Appalachians, they are found in greater numbers at elevations above 2500 feet in mixed hardwood and coniferous forests.
The eastern breeders prefer areas containing American white cedar and along the edges of stands of Cyprus.

The best way to locate one of these beauties is to listen for their song, a high-pitched, rising buzzy “zeee-zeee-zooo-zeee,” in the upper canopy’s of trees. They’ll stick around until early October so we’ve got plenty of time to enjoy them before the year is through.
Aren’t they lovely?

Photo by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A Black-throated green Warbler encounter in the Blue Ridge Mountains

By Sally SikoOne of the prettiest birds we’ve got flying around the mountains of western North Carolina during the summer is the Black-throated green Warbler.
It was thrilling to spot so many of these feathered gems during my birding trip last week.
With plumage boldly hued in bright yellow, white and black, they were reasy to spot moving through in dark shadowy green areas of upper canopies in the pines.



Black-throated green Warblers nest across most of the Canadian boreal forest, south to the northeastern states and the entire Appalachian chain.
In addition, they also nest in foothill ranges in the Piedmont, including a far outlier (small) population in the Uwharrie Mountains in the central Piedmont.
During migrational periods they may be found across all parts of our state which makes it relatively easy to tic them off of our list year after year.

These guys are best spotted in high altitude habitats containing conifers or mixed hardwood-coniferous forests spruce-fir, spruce-hardwood forests.
They also favor areas containing White Pine and hemlock mixed with hardwoods.
The Black-throated greens in our Coastal Plain regions are somewhat more particular favoring only sites where Atlantic White Cedar or cypress are mixed with hardwoods, but they may occur in our deciduous forests too if there’s plenty of food to find.

These gorgeous birds will stick around North Carolina until early October so there’s plenty of time for you to get out there and see one before the year is through.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding both captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

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, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A black throated green warbler encounter at the Old Bynum bridge

Here’s a little bird I was excited to see last month, a Black-throated Green Warbler!
I spotted him with a group of fellow birders at the Old Bynum Bridge in Pittsboro, N.C. Although I’ve seen this species a few times before, these are the first photos I’ve ever captured of these cheerful feathered gems in the open. Nice to finally get this opportunity!



It was neat to watch this one hunt for insects in the morning sun. They are fast & efficient hunters, wasting no time as they dart in and out of the shadows while foraging for a meal in the trees. Black-throated Green Warblers are foliage gleaners, meaning they hop and fly around in trees and shrubs and pick off small insects from the leaves. You will most often see these birds at the edges of heavily forested areas where it’s easy for them to find prey.

Small flocks of Black-throated Green Warblers made their way through central North Carolina last month heading south to their wintering grounds in the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America.


When April arrives, they will once again be found during spring migration. Look for them in the mid to high canopies of tree tops and listen for their calls of “zee-zee-zee-zoooo-zee” to hone in on their exact location.
Aren’t they lovely?
🙂

Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame DSLR, the @canonusa
#5Ds