Last month I found something truly special in the Triangle area of central North Carolina, a Peregrine Falcon! I was pretty surprised to see it. There is an adult who’s known to spend the winter here in the fields of Mid Pines Rd. but I’d never seen it so early in the autumn before. So freak’n cool!
Peregrine’s are the fastest bird in the world, capable of reaching 150 to 200 mph in their stoop dives and their average cruising speed is 24 to 33 mph which can increase to an astonishing 67 mph when chasing prey.
They are year round residents of the mountains of western North Carolina but also are found wintering along the coast during the coldest months. The species range stretches from the Arctic tundra to South America. The aptly named “peregrine” means wanderer, and the Peregrine Falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird sometimes traveling up to 15,500 miles in a single year.
Have you ever wondered how to tell an Indigo Bunting apart from a Blue Grosbeak? Both species are both found here in central N.C. They share a common habitat preference too (open fields and thickets at the edge of the woods) thus these similar looking birds are often confused for the other. Here’s a quick list of points to consider when trying to asses the ID of these azure hued feathered gems.
Indigo Bunting
-Indigo Bunting- *Male and female Indigo Buntings lack wingbars. Adult male wings are entirely blue with black points. *Indigo Buntings have a much smaller, pointy beak. *The head of an Indigo Buntings is rounded, smaller and more delicate.
Blue Grosbeak
-Blue Grosbeak- *Male Blue Grosbeaks have two rusty colored wingbars. While not as pronounced as on the males, the tan-colored females will also show two brownish wingbars. *Similar to Northern Cardinals, Blue Grosbeaks have a large, heavy triangular shaped bill, the top edge of which nearly forms a straight line into the forehead. *The head of a Blue Grosbeaks is large and squared off giving them a decidedly block-headed appearance.
Size: The average Blue Grosbeak is nearly twice the weight of an Indigo Bunting. This is something you’ll notice if you happen to see both species in the same day. A good place to do this is at the Mid Pines Rd. dog leg on the agricultural campus of N.C. State University near Yates Mill Park in Raleigh. Another great spot to view both species is the Art Park at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
This morning I got to see something truly special in the Triangle area of central North Carolina, a Peregrine Falcon! I was pretty surprised to see it. There is an adult who usually spends the winter here in the fields of Mid Pines Rd. but I’d never seen it so early in the autumn before. So freak’n cool!
Peregrine Falcon- September 10th, 2020 Mid Pines Rd. Raleigh North Carolina
Peregrine’s are the fastest bird in the world, capable of reaching 150 to 200 mph in their stoop dives and their average cruising speed is 24 to 33 mph which can increase to an astonishing 67 mph when chasing prey.
They are year round residents of the mountains of western North Carolina but also are found wintering along the coast during the coldest months. The species range stretches from the Arctic tundra to South America. The aptly named “peregrine” means wanderer, and the Peregrine Falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird sometimes traveling up to 15,500 miles in a single year. Amazing!
If you’d like to go find this bird for yourself, check out the map below. I spotted him on the left side field, slightly northwest of the Pecan tree grove on Mid Pines Rd.
Got up early this morning and headed out to go birding at the Mid Pines Rd. dog leg in Raleigh N.C. before it got too hot outside. It seemed like a good plan but that sun was relentless beating down on those open fields. Happily, the trip yielded a find of a family of Blue Grosbeaks that made every second of standing in that heat totally worth it in my book!
I was able to photograph the adult male and his mate as well as their two male youngsters. They were surprisingly tame and allowed me to view them at a relatively close range as they foraged in the shady brush.
Blue Grosbeaks call central North Carolina home from mid-spring to early fall. Courtship and mating occurs in the spring and early summer. Their nests are usually built in small trees, shrubs or tangles of vines, briars or other types of brushy vegetation. Four eggs are laid which will hatch in about 11 to 12 days. Both parents take care of the nestlings from sun up to sun down. The chicks fledge as little as 10 days and I’m estimating (based on their plumage color, length and coverage ) that the ones I’ve photographed here are around 17-20 days old. Aren’t they lovely? 🙂
Caught a glimpse of a male Blue Grosbeak in the rain at Mid Pines Rd. in Raleigh N.C. early this morning. These lovely blue birds are relatives of another brightly colored familiar backyard favorite, the Northern Cardinal. Both species belong to the subfamilies Cardinalinae, of the finch family (Fringillidae), which is the largest of all North American bird families.
They are fond of insects, seeds and berries alike and can be enticed to visit your own yard by providing black oil sunflower seed and canary seed in your feeders. If you’d like to go the extra mile to attract these gorgeous birds, plant shrubs and fruit bearing trees in your yard too!
While birding at Mid Pines Rd. in Raleigh N.C. a few days ago, I spotted this handsome Eastern Kingbird perched on a fence wire. He sat there squawking at every bird that flew past and eventually flew out of sight, giving chase to a large Red-tailed Hawk.
These sharp looking members of the Flycatcher family exhibit a rather aggressive behavior toward larger birds and predators that enter their territories. Their Latin moniker is “Tyrannus tyrannus”. An apt name because Tyrannus means “tyrant, despot, or king” which refers to their fearless aggression! As was the case this morning, Eastern Kingbirds are well known to attack much larger birds such as raptors, crows and even ravens. If their nesting area is threatened, they might even have a go at a squirrel or other small mammal. Feisty little ones aren’t they?!
I had an excellent time birding with John, Steve and Diane during the 2019 Christmas Bird Count last weekend. We got started at 8am at Yates Mill Park and spent about an hour and a half walking around the small lake in search of all things feathered. It was damp and cool outside, but all together not unpleasant conditions for birding.
Canada Geese
The first birds we spotted were Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads and Canada geese.
Bufflehead Duck Bufflehead DuckRuddy Duck
We also found white-throated Sparrows, Winter Wrens an Eastern Phoebe, and a Yellow bellied Sapsucker in the woods along the shoreline.
Once we had circled around back to the visitors center, we were rewarded with a small mixed flock of birds including Yellow-rumped Warblers, Cardinals, Towhees, White-throated Sparrows, a Downy Woodpecker and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
After notating the species that we found, we headed of to check out the Mid Pines dog leg. This is a great spot to find species of birds who require a bit of open fields to hunt and forage in.
There we found a large flock of crows, Canada Geese and an undetermined species of hawk high up in a pine tree in a far away field. John and Steve also heard a horned-Lark singing which was pretty awesome!
American CrowsThere is a hawk up in this tree in the center of this photo. Sadly, he was to far away to ID.
After spending a few minutes at the dog leg, we headed off to Lake Wheeler to continue the count. On the way to the parking lot, we drove past a small pond that contained a flock of Mallards and a single male Wood Duck. I stopped and tried to grab some photos but the ducks stayed behind the brushy stuff at the waters edge. Still, I am always happy to see a Wood Duck in the wild. Such gorgeous birds!
Wood Duck and MallardsMallards
After stopping briefly on the park road to check out some Blue jays, Sparrows, Towhees and Juncos, we arrived at the parking lot to the sounds of loud screeches and squawks coming from a huge flock of Ring-billed Gulls and Cormorants nearby. There were hundreds of them feeding on the lake!
Ring billed Gulls and CormorantsMore Ring billed Gulls and CormorantsEven more Ring billed Gulls and CormorantsDid I mention that there were allot of Ring-billed Gulls?Yup. You guessed it. More Ring billed Gulls and Cormorants! But, if you look closely in this photo to the center of the frame, you’ll spot one of the 4 Bald Eagles we saw on this day roosting high up in the bare branches of that tree!
One of the highlights of our morning birding at Lake Wheeler was that we found 4 Bald Eagles! This might be a record amount of sightings for this location so we were pretty pumped about this 🙂
Bald Eagle
When I wrapped up my count at lunch time, I had tallied 41 different species and counted well over 1000 individual birds. Despite the rain and wind, it turned out to be a great morning!
Here are my complete species lists and count tallies as submitted to eBird. I wish that I had photos of every bird on the count but as with it goes with birding, it is not about the photos with me. I am just happy to see and hear them 🙂
Yates Mill Park List
Yates Mill Park, Raleigh US-NC (35.7202,-78.6875), Wake, North Carolina, US Dec 14, 2019 7:48 AM - 9:48 AM Protocol: Traveling 0.05 mile(s) 32 species
Canada Goose 14 Mallard 15 Bufflehead 4 Ruddy Duck 25 Ring-billed Gull 8 Great Blue Heron 1 Black Vulture 3 Red-shouldered Hawk (lineatus Group) 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 3 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Eastern Phoebe 3 Blue Jay 3 American Crow 12 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Winter Wren 1 Carolina Wren 5 Northern Mockingbird 3 Eastern Bluebird 2 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 6 American Goldfinch 2 White-throated Sparrow 15 Song Sparrow 6 Eastern Towhee 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Northern Cardinal 14
Second List from Yates Mill Park
Yates Mill Park, Raleigh US-NC (35.7202,-78.6875), Wake, North Carolina, US Dec 14, 2019 10:04 AM - 10:24 AM Protocol: Stationary 17 species
Lake Wheeler Park, Raleigh US-NC (35.7202,-78.6875), Wake, North Carolina, US Dec 14, 2019 10:46 AM - 12:16 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.05 mile(s) 23 species
Wood Duck 1 Mallard 16 Ruddy Duck 1 Ring-billed Gull 550 Double-crested Cormorant 750 Great Blue Heron 2 Turkey Vulture 4 Bald Eagle 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 1 Carolina Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Thrasher 1 Eastern Bluebird 2 American Robin 1 Dark-eyed Junco 12 White-throated Sparrow 5 Eastern Towhee 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 Northern Cardinal 6
If you haven’t done a Christmas Bird Count before, what are you waiting for? It is a great opportunity to connect with your fellow bird lovers and spend time outdoors doing something that you love to do. Plus, your observations are helpful to scientists and conservationists in need of local and global population data. Taking part in the annual Christmas Bird Count is a win-win for you and the birds we love!
