brumley nature preserve birding tour Archives - Best Life Birding- Birdwatching Tours

By Sally Siko

Like many of you out there in the eastern US this week, I’ve been stuck inside over the past few days due to rain and then extra chilly weather.
It’s been driving me nuts to stay cooped up indoors for so long!
Finally, I had an opportunity to get outside today to go birding with a guest at the Brumley Nature Preserve.

It was a balmy 21 degrees *lol!* when we got started but despite the cold we did manage to find and photograph several interesting species of birds including this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
I really enjoyed getting this series of shots as that bright winter blue sky contrasted perfectly with the black, white, yellow and red plumage of this beautiful little woodpecker.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are found in varying numbers from our mountains to the coast throughout the year.
While this bird was busy gorging himself on wild persimmon fruit (check out his messy bill lol) usually they are spotted (errr heard) pecking loudly on the trunks of trees.
But why are they constantly hammering their beaks into the tree trunks?
The clue is actually wrapped up in their name. It’s all about that sweet, sweet sap flow!
These little guys will move up hastily up and down trees to drill a series of wells in the trunks to drink the sap that oozes forth. Often returning to the same tree on a regular basis, the Yellow -bellied Sapsucker’s elaborate systems of sap wells are maintained daily to ensure sap production.
Boasting a legit honey-badger-don’t-care attitude, these feisty woodpeckers will defend their wells from all kinds of sap-stealing animals and birds, including other sapsuckers. They also may be found happily raiding both hummingbird and suet feeders alike in our own backyards with the same energy.
Isn’t he marvelous?

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty 50MP monster, the @canonusa #5Ds

Here’s a bird I was pleased to find a few weeks ago, a Hooded Warbler!
I spotted this handsome little guy while birding at the Brumley North Nature Preserve in Durham, NC.
Normally Hooded’s stick to the dark, dense undergrowth areas in a forest so it was neat to actually get a glimpse of one perched on a branch (relatively) out in the open.
Although I wish that the lighting had been better in this series of portraits, I’ll take what I can get with this shy species.

Hooded warblers are unusually territorial.
In fact the males and females have their own territories marked and do not cross them unless for breeding.
Males and females even make use of different habitats during the winter. The males spend the cooler months in mature forests while the females frequent shrubby and swamp areas.
It is said that “distance makes the heart grow fonder”, at least so it goes with Hooded Warblers when breeding season arrives haha!

These feisty little birds will stick around NC for just a couple weeks more before heading south to warmer locals in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America for the winter.
When they return next April, you can find them across most of the state except for on our barrier islands.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty @canonusa
#5ds