Tag Archives: eastern phoebe

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Eastern Phoebe’s in North Carolina

While birding at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh this past weekend, I was delighted to see this sweet little Eastern Phoebe looking for a meal over the pond.
There were actually several of them flying around and I was able to catch one perching for a portrait as he rested between flights.



Though they are understated in appearance, Eastern Phoebes are easily ID’d by their behavior of pumping their tails up and down while at rest. They’ve also got a unique call which sounds like their calling out their name, “feeeee-bee” so their relatively easy to find by sound too.

Eastern Phoebes are a year round resident of North Carolina. During the breeding season, their best found in wooded areas near ponds, streams and lakes where they nest under bridges or beneath the eves of barns and other man-made structures which provide horizontal surfaces for them to nest on.

Although they’re not the showiest of birds out there, they are definitely one of the cutest and entertaining to watch hunt so it’s well worth taking the time to enjoy them if you can 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
#5Ds

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

An eastern Phoebe at Yates mill Park, Raleigh N.C.

A few days ago, I arrived at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh at 8am sharp, just as the entrance gates were unlocked.
Now that the wetlands boardwalk repairs had been finished, I wanted to get out there as early as possible to see what birds I could find before more people arrived.

It was a little chilly along the trail to the bridge, but the golden sunlight reflecting off of the dew laden branches made it impossible to be unhappy with the weather conditions as I marveled at the sparkling world around me.

As soon as my feet hit the boardwalk, I heard the familiar call of a nearby Eastern Phoebe.
He seemed to be less than 25 feet away so I walked as silently as possible to try and avoid spooking the bird.
Within a few seconds, I located the bird perched in a low hanging branch of a small tree in the brushy area to the left of the boardwalk.
He looked so peaceful sitting there on that branch soaking up the morning sun.
Every now and again he’d chirp and call out feeeeeebeeeeeee, cocking his head listening to a distant reply from another bird further down into the swamp.



Eastern Phoebes are easy to ID at a distance by noting their distinctive tail movement behavior when perching. They’ll wag, pump, or bob their tails up and down, often spreading the tail slightly.
They can also raise their head feathers, giving them the appearance of having a small, wedge shaped crest the rear of the head as the one seen in this photo is doing 🙂
Such beautiful little birds!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

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

Bird photography challenges in the fall

Autumn brings its own unique challenges to photographing birds.
It goes something like this….
There’s a bird.
No it’s a leaf.
There’s a bird.
No it’s a leaf.
There’s a bird.
No it’s a leaf.
There’s a leaf..
Lowers camera.
Looks up.
Ah dang it, that was a bird!

Lol! In fact, it’s quite windy and grey outside today in central N.C. Despite this, there’s a lot of bird activity going on in my own backyard.


I spotted this Eastern Phoebe in one of the oak trees next to the house this morning. The wind was blowing so hard that this little one seemed to have trouble staying on that twig.


A year round resident of most of North Carolina, Eastern Phoebes spend their winters from Virginia down to Mexico. Insects make up the majority of summer diet however, small fruits and berries are eaten often during the cooler months. This ability to change their food preferences is an important adaptation for survival when insects are scarce in their northern winter ranges.
Photo by @sally_siko
Canon 5Ds