Tag Archives: nc rare bird

Birdwatching News

NC Rare Bird Alert - A Western Kingbird in Cedar Grove

By Sally Siko

After being sad about barely missing out on seeing a Western Kingbird (literally was 5 seconds late to see that bird!) which had shown up in Raleigh North Carolina last month, today I finally laid eyes on this lifer!
I’ve seen reports that the Kingbird had been spotted yesterday in Cedar Grove NC and figured I’d try to catch a glimpse of the bird since it was less than a 2 hour drive from home.

Luckily when I arrived at the spot of it’s last reported location I did not have to wait too long before I spotted along with a fellow birder perched on a fence wire across a wide pasture.
Although the Western Kingbird stayed far outta the reach of getting a great photo (even on my 600mm lens) I was stoked to finally see this feathered gem for the first time!



The range of the Western Kingbird normally stretches from south central and western Canada, throughout the entire western United States and all the way down into south Central America. To have one show up as far east here in central North Carolina is pretty special!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Kingbird/maps-range#



As it goes with every Kingbird I’ve ever seen, the Western wasn’t too difficult to locate despite it being a super rare find.
The reason is that the behavior of most Kingbirds is predictable in that they always seem to prefer perching on power lines, fence posts, rails and wire fences.
Knowing this trait made spotting this bird relatively easy although there were quite a few fence lines at this spot to keep an eye on for a bit before the bird finally showed up.
So glad this little guy cooperated so nicely in the end 😉



By the way, I noticed that this Western Kingbird seems to have a piece of fly tape stuck to one of his legs.
Luckily, he did not seem to be encumbered by the tape. Hopefully he will be able to free himself of it soon!

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

Google Map pin drop to the Kingbird’s exact location below

Birdwatching News

NC Rare Bird Alert: Black-legged Kittiwake on Wrightsville Beach, NC

By Sally Siko

Just got home after spending the day birding on Wrightsville Beach NC.
I’d set out early this morning with my friend Corie to see if we could lay eyes on a reported Black-legged Kittiwake which had been spotted on Johnnie Mercers Pier.



Normally I don’t chase gulls, terns or pelagic species (because the ocean is freak’n huge lol!) and since I live several hours away from the coast, the odds of anyone bird still being in the same spot, are generally slim to none by the time I arrive.
This time was different because the Kittiwake had been observed actually sitting on the pier over the last few days so against my better judgement I said screw it, I’m going lol!

Now I really had my doubts that the bird would still be there so I was really happy to spot this feathered gem swimming right offshore (at very close range!) within 30 seconds onto stepping onto the pier!
Oh my goodness what a relief haha 🙂
I quickly snapped off a bunch of photos of the Kittiwake paddling in the water below and thought that this was the best view I’d get of the bird.
But then, the Kittiwake took off, circled overhead and landed right next to us on the pier railing (bullying off a Laughing Gull in the process lol).
So freak’n cool I can’t even 😁



So why has this bird been enchanting onlookers in North Carolina over the past week?
To most folks it looks like any regular Gull that you’d see begging for a snack at the beach.
This guy is different though!
The reason why this is such a nice bird to spot on Wrightsville Beach is that Kittiwakes are true pelagic seabirds, spending virtually their entire lives on the open ocean, only touching down on solid grounds in the far North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Arctic regions during their nesting season.


To actually see one up close, perched on a pier in North Carolina was truly a remarkable moment.
Oh and yessss it was a lifer to boot!
Wooohoo!

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

Birdwatching News

NC Rare Bird Alert: A (possible) Pacific-slope Flycatcher at Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson, NC

By Sally Siko

After seeing several reports on the NC Rare Bird Alert for a Pacific-slope Flycatcher being seen within an hours drive of my home, I decided to go see if I could spot it.
As a bonus my daughter came along for the ride which was pretty awesome!

We arrived at the Buckhorn Reservoir in Wilson, NC yesterday around 4 PM.
Unfortunately the pinned map locations provided by the other eBirders weren’t accurate so finding this little bird proved to be a challenge!

The first location I tried (near the mudflats) was a no go.
The second spot (a marina parking lot) was a dud and I quickly realized that the bird I was looking for wasn’t going to turn up where the pin locations had said it would be.
I scanned the tree line around the lot and played a couple calls but had no luck.
At this point the sun was getting low in the sky and I decided that I probably wasn’t going to find the bird so I might as well enjoy the sunset sparkling over the water.

Walking down onto one of the long docks, I looked to the left shoreline and noticed that there was a large area of exposed mud which look like it might be drive-able.
So acting on a hunch, my daughter, and I got back into the car and drove out over the levee and onto the mud flats.
At this point, the only clue I had to the birds whereabouts were some eBird comment notes about the Flycatcher being near a red flag.
And lo and behold, flapping in the breeze attached to a low branch was a marking flag tied to a low branch on the muddy beach.
Then….something small and yellow colored fluttered out of the corner of my eye into a bush. I quickly searched for the bird in Merlin and played the single note call of a Pacific-slope Flycatcher.
To my amazement, out popped the Flycatcher who flew immediately up onto a nearby low hanging branch!
Success!!!

Well, I think it was successful.
My sighting still hasn’t been officially confirmed in eBird as the Pacific-slope and Cordilleran flycatchers are pretty difficult to tell apart from one another.
Even with photo verification the conformation might take a few days.
I’m calling this a win though because the bird responded so quickly to the single note call (a Cordilleran typically uses two note calls).
I’ll update this post if I’m proven wrong.
Either way, this was a fun bird to find.

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

Google Maps pin drop to the exact location to this bird shown below…

The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Wilsons Phalarope sighting in North Carolina

By Sally Siko

Earlier this year, I took a trip to go find a Wilson’s Phalarope which is a rare bird for North Carolina.
I found the bird relatively quickly and spent about an hour or so getting tons of great photos.
Woohoo!



I should take the time to mention that there was an OPEN chain link fence gate at the entrance of the area where I located the Phalarope.
But when I was ready to leave, the gate was locked!!
Gah!!
Locked in.
Possibly ’till Monday?
No panic, just a few options to consider…

1.Yellowstone the gate?
2.Call the office of the facility to see if someone could come by and let me out?
3.Suck it up and wait until Monday when the facility reopened?

*I should mention now that when I first arrived, I did knock on one of the doors at an outbuilding to see if anyone was there.
There weren’t any “no trespassing” signs posted anywhere either and as I said, the gate to the facility was open when I got there.
Still, I figured it would be best to check in so that I didn’t piss off the people running the place (which was empty except for 2 cars).
No answer though.

After considering my options I decided to try knocking on a few more doors before moving on to a new plan.
Thank goodness there were somebody still working there who was super cool.
Told him that I got a rare bird and then asked politely if he would open the gate.
He smiled and said he would be happy to let me out!
Thus, I’m writing this post from the comfort of my chair on the porch instead of from my car lol!

As it turns out, this unexpected friendly encounter wasn’t an anomaly at this particular facility.
A friend of mine messaged me to get the location of this bird, took my advice to check in with the staff and was treated with a personal golf cart tour by one of the workers!
Check out the photo below to see what I’m talking about 😉
Pretty cool, right?!!!



Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

Birdwatching News

Rare bird alert NC- A pair of Scissor tailed Flycatchers have been spotted in Charlotte

By Sally Siko

Last month, I took a quick trip to try and find my first Scissor tailed Flycatcher at Ft. Fisher NC.
That lone fly catcher was a vagrant in the area and I certainly didn’t expect to lay eyes on another one until next year when I head out to Texas for my spring migration bird watching tour on High Island.

Scissor tailed Flycatchers in Charlotte, NC June 2nd, 2022



But as luck would have it, a pair of Scissor tailed Flycatchers have shown up in the Charlotte North Carolina area!
So on June 2nd, I met up with my friend Corie Latta to see if we could capture some better photos of this beautiful species.
This time I think I nailed it and am very pleased with how the photos turned out 🙂



The Scissor tailed Flycatcher’s normal range extends south from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, in areas of western Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, all the way down into Mexico and Central America.
This species is a rare sight indeed east of the Mississippi and certainly not a common bird to spot in North Carolina!
That being said, there seems to be an increase in sightings of the aptly nicknamed ‘Texas Bird of Paradise here in the Tarheel state which I find absolutely fascinating.

Scissor tailed Flycatchers North Carolina



The flycatchers appeared to be a bonded male & female pair which makes me wonder if they’ve got a nest in the area.
I’d learned that they prefer to nest in trees or tall shrubs, usually on horizontal limbs about 7 to 30ft above the ground so I did spend some time checking the trees in the area to see if I could locate a nest but to no avail.
I plan to revisit the spot in a couple weeks so perhaps I might get lucky and confirm a nest site then.
We’ll see I guess 🙂

Btw, if you’d like to see these birds for yourself, I’ve included a Google Maps pin drop of their exact location below.
Be respectful of the property owners though as the land the birds are on is actually an Amazon distribution center!
Best advice is to stay on the side of the road where the drainage pond is.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

Birdwatching News

A Western Tanager showed up in Raleigh NC

By: Sally Siko

Happy to finally get a 3 weeks ago in the form of a friendly Western Tanager which has been showing up in a residential area of Raleigh North Carolina over the past couple of weeks.
I’d dipped on seeing another one in Rocky Mount last month (after a 10hr feeder stakeout) so when I set out to meet up with my friend Corie Latta @latta.ridge to find this bird at yet another feeder, we tried to rein in our expectations given our last experience chasing this rarity.



A birder herself, homeowner Patty M. graciously allowed us to enter her property so that we could try and get a good look at this beautiful bird. She was super nice and was just as excited to see this bird at her feeders as we were!
Patty offered a place to sit on her patio so that we could be comfortable while waiting for the Tanager to show up at the jelly feeder which was hanging in a tree in her backyard.
Happily it didn’t take long until the Tanager made its appearance! We happily grabbed a few quick photos of the curious bird and shared celebratory fist bumps of approval once it flew off.
So cool!



Patty explained that this Western Tanager actually started showing up in her backyard last spring! It left for a year and had returned to her property a few weeks ago.
I found this fascinating because the range of Western Tanagers typically extends from Alaska down into California and all over the western United States, west of the Rocky Mountains.
The fact that this lone Tanager decided to make a hard right turn to the east to return to NC for a second time on it’s spring migration journey north is very interesting.
Clearly the bird made a choice to ignore it’s instinctual pull to the west by flying to NC instead.
The Tanager must have remembered all of that delicious jelly which Patty offers in her feeders and thus decided to follow it’s appetite rather than it’s instincts lol!
Whatever the reason for it’s appearance, we were very very happy to finally lay eyes on this gorgeous bird.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News

Rare Bird Alert North Carolina- Snow Bunting at Oregon Inlet OBX

This past weekend, I led a birding trip to the OBX and was pleased to show my guests a rare wintertime visitor to NC, the Snow Bunting!
It was such a joy to see how happy this bird made the people on the tour, so many big smiles, what a great way to cap off the day.

Snow Bunting at Oregon Inlet on Pea Island in the OBX, North Carolina



Dedicated cold weather birds, Snow Buntings breed in the high Arctic. They nest in the crevices and deep cracks of rocks which provide protection from the Arctic winds.
Though their nests are thickly lined with grass, feathers and tufts of fur, due to the extreme cold temperatures the female is unable to leave the nest so her mate is wholly responsible for feeding her while she is incubating the eggs.



Often seen with flocks of Longspurs and sparrows, Snow Buntings feed on the ground, foraging for a variety of seeds and buds as well as insects and other small invertebrates, including small marine crustaceans when spending time in coastal areas.
This particular bird spent most of its time either on the rocks overlooking the water or on the ground eating grass seed under the bridge along Oregon Inlet.



The Snow Buntings normal wintertime range extends from southern Canada down to Pennsylvania on the east coast, across the upper Midwest over to western Oregon.
They are also an infrequent visitor to the coastal areas of Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.
Look for them hiding on the low dunes, short grass/ sand flats, and on rock jetty’s in the OBX from November through February.

@sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my mighty 50 megapixel monster, the @canonusa #5Ds

Birdwatching News

Rare Bird alert North Carolina- Say’s Phoebe in Gibsonville, N.C.

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

After missing out last weekend, I finally got this morning to see the Say’s Phoebe that’s been hanging out at the Guilford County Farm in Gibsonville, NC.
Rarely seen on the east coast of the US, the Say’s Phoebe’s normal range extends from Alaska, throughout the western United States and down into Mexico.
The fact that this bird somehow ended up in central North Carolina is pretty cool!

This bird looks similar to the Eastern Phoebe except that it has a grey breast and a salmon colored belly. It even behaves in a similar way with tail flicking which I thought was pretty cute 🙂
Although I hadn’t seen one until today, I know that Phoebes prefer to hunt for insects at the edges of open grassy areas so when I set out to search for it I had a pretty good idea of where it would likely be.
It took about two hours of searching when the bird finally showed up in the corner of a field near one of the farm sheds.
Success!

Coincidentally, there was another large group of birders on the farm that day. While we didn’t interact with each other, I assumed they were searching for this bird too.
I quickly grabbed a few photos of the Say’s and then jogged up the fence line to see if there was anyone still hanging out from that group who’d like to see this bird.
Unfortunately, all of the birders had left the farm except for one guy (Hi Keith!) so he was the only one who got to view the Say’s with me.
Oh well, I tried. Lol, even when I’m not leading a tour I can’t stop myself from sharing my happy bird-nerd moments with others!

This particular bird has been hanging out at the farm for around 3 weeks so it’s likely that it’ll still be there for a few more days. It seems to prefer that field along northeastern corner of the bob wire fence line.

By the way, the Guilford County Farm park is public property and there is a public parking lot on-site so no worries about hiking around the grounds.
If you’d like to find it too I’ve included a Google map showing the exact spot where I found it below.

Happy birding!

-Sally

Birdwatching News

NC Birding News Rare Bird Alert: Greater White- fronted Goose at Yates Mill Park Raleigh, N.C.

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

Greater White-fronted Goose, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina

This morning was actually one of the best birding days I’ve had in a while! I got up early and drive out to the Mid Pines Road area because I’d heard of reports that said that there was a White fronted Goose hanging out in the fields of NCSU farms.

It was super cloudy and kind of dark when I arrived at 7:45. I drove up and down Mid Pines Rd anyway scanning the vast landscape for signs of the Goose. I had no luck! This bird was nowhere to be found.

By now, it was around 8am so I thought I’d try looking for the Goose at nearby Yates Mill Park. On my way out to Yates Mill, I got lucky and spotted a Peregrine Falcon sitting in a tree just north east of the Mid-Pines dog-leg. Wow! That was freak’n awesome!!! You can read about that encounter HERE.

As I pulled into the parking lot of Yates Mill, I could see a huge flock of Canada Geese sitting on the water through the trees. Now, I was getting excited! I’d had a hunch that the White fronted Goose would be likely to be found in the company of other geese. Now, it was time to see if this idea paid off.

Canada Goose, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina
Ruddy Duck at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh N.C.
Mallard drake, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina

Making my way to the boardwalk, I could hear the geese honking and splashing. As soon as the flock was in sight, I took out my camera and started searching for the White- fronted Goose (WFG) on the water. This was not easy! There were so many Canada Geese, Mallards, and Ruddy Ducks here that picking out the WFG in this loosely mixed flock was proving to be difficult.

Then, there it was!

Greater White-fronted Goose, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina

I was so happy that I finally spotted it! the White fronted Goose was much smaller than the Canada Geese . Yet, he/she seemed to fit right int with the rest of the flock.

Greater White-fronted Goose, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina
Greater White-fronted Goose, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina

Who is watching who? Lol!

Greater White-fronted Goose & Canada Geese, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina

I spent about an hour watching the WFG and taking photos. I think this is remarkable sighting because this Arctic tundra-nesting species normally spends it’s winters in the western half of the United States. So cool to think that this little Goose had somehow ended up here in central North Carolina…and I’m standing here looking right at it.

Greater White-fronted Goose, Yates Mill Park Raleigh North Carolina

As I made my way back to my truck, I smiled at the wonder of finding a Peregrine Falcon and a Greater White fronted Goose in the same day. One bird was found by research, & instincts, the other by pure luck. I think that both kinds of encounters are a joy to experience in equal measure.

Happy Birding!

-Sally

Here is a map of Yates Mill Park. The Greater White fronted Goose was seen in the northern part of the pond.

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

rare bird news in North Carolina : White Ibis sighting at Harris Lake park

I”m pleased to announce that eBird accepted my submission for a first White Ibis sighting at Harris Lake Park in New Hill N.C. from this past Friday.
This being a “rare bird” sighting, I made sure to provide photos for verification when I submitted the checklist so that the researchers at Cornell could properly document this event.

This new record was super exciting! I had just stepped onto the dock at the lake when a flock of Ibis’s took off right in front of me. I barely had enough time to bring my camera up to snap off a couple of photos before they were gone. So glad to capture this unexpected rare bird sighting. Another great example of how much fun birding can be. One just never knows what surprise is waiting on the wing.

-Sally Siko, Admin