Tag Archives: north carolina bird watching tours

March tends to be a slow month for birding activity yet there are still interesting birds to be found if you’re willing to go find them!
Case in point, these Red cockaded Woodpeckers.
I was pleased to find several of them last week during a quick visit to the Sandhills region of NC.
These energetic little spitfires were quite entertaining to watch as a small flock of Red cockadeds chased and fussed at one another in high boughs of the pines.

These sweet little birds were once a common sight in the southeastern regions of the United States. Due to loss of habitat, today they are considered an endangered species.
The reason why is because Red-cockaded Woodpeckers require a narrow scope of forest conditions to breed. They prefer to nest in mature stands of long leaf pine trees with little or no understory. Unfortunately these old growth forests have faced rapid decline which in turn has led to the decline of this species as well.

Luckily, the Sandhills region of North Carolina is a special place where several stands of old pine trees are preserved and maintained lending to provide the perfect conditions for the Red-cockaded to nest. Here you can see them raising their families every spring and throughout the summer months. It’s truly a special place to enjoy these wonderful birds.

Would you like to see these beauties too?
I’ve still got a few spots open for guests to join me this May on my birding photography tours in the Sandhills. If you’d like to come along, check the link below and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have about signing up!

FIND THE RED COCKADED WOODPECKER TOUR- BIRDING AT THE WEYMOUTH WOODS PRESERVE

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my beloved 50MP beast, the @canonusa #5Ds

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Out There with the Expert

Spending time with a Common Eider on Jennettes Pier in Nags Head NC

January 3, 2022 admin

By: Sally Siko

Last week, I returned to the OBX of North Carolina to lead a birding trip.
As always, I arrived a couple of days early to scout out the area to make sure all of the expected species were where they were supposed to be.

After spending the day on Pea Island, I headed up to Jennettes Pier to see if I could catch a glimpse of some sea birds hunting for a meal on the Atlantic.
There was plenty to see including Black Scoters, Common Loons, Gulls and Grebes but most of them were flying far offshore. Only the Brown Pelicans were swooping in at close range.

By 4:45, daylight fading fast I was about to leave when this lovely Common Eider hen flew in and landed alongside the pier.
Although I certainly wish I could have photographed this beautiful bird from a lower vantage point, the last few minutes of golden hour light was simply too good to pass up for catching these portraits.

Measuring 25-27 inches in length with a wingspan stretching 41 inches, Common Eiders are the largest species of duck in the northern hemisphere.
Their size non withstanding, Eiders are agile swimmers. They spend a great deal of their time at sea diving beneath the waves in search of mussels, clams, scallops, sea urchins, starfish, and crabs resting on the ocean floor or clinging to rocks and jetty’s.
Because their prey is often located in shallow water, they are more easily found then other sea duck species when birding on the shoreline.

Common Eiders are a wintertime visitor to the coastal areas of NC.
Interestingly, 95% of sightings of this species in the Tarheel State comprise of adult females and immature males while the bulk of adult males appear to spend the winter in New England and Newfoundland.

Look for Eiders in coves, near inlets and especially around bridges, piers and rock jetties. Basically anywhere along the oceans edge where mussels and crabs are present.
These beautiful ducks will stick around NC until early April so we’ve still got plenty of time to enjoy them.
Aren’t they wonderful?
🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Spending time with a Yellow-throated Vireo at Brumley Nature Preserve

October 6, 2021 admin

Every once in a while, I start seeing certain species of birds more often than others.
In this case I’ve noticed Yellow-throated Vireos seem to be flying around NC in greater numbers than in the past 5 years.
I spotted this one snacking on a caterpillar at the Brumley North Nature Preserve this past weekend.

While I don’t know the exact reason for the influx (it could just be luck-right place/right time scenario) I’m certainly happy to to have the opportunity to photograph them again without much effort.

Yellow-throated Vireos favor a different habitat preference to their more often seen relative, the White-eyed Vireo. They tend to shun pine barrens are best found foraging in the high canopy’s of the treetops in old growth deciduous forests and occasionally near wooded streams.
Interestingly, the Yellow-throated and White-throated Vireos share similar calls so finding one isn’t too difficult if you know what to listen for depending on if your in the woods vs. the field.

These cheerful little guys will stick around NC for just about a week or so before heading to their wintering grounds in Central and South America, south Florida and on through to the coast of Texas.
Get out and enjoy them while you can!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty mirrorless monster of a camera, the @canonusa
#R5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes

Spending time with Black Skimmers on Wrightsville Beach N.C.

August 10, 2021 admin

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit a nesting colony of Black Skimmers on Wrightsville Beach NC.
It was so cool to be able to spend time with these interesting birds as they went about their business of raising their families on the beach.
I really like the look of the Skimmers.
With that bold black and white plumage, they are quite a handsome species indeed.

Nicknamed the ‘Toucan of the sea, the most striking feature of the Black Skimmer is it’s red-and-black bill.
As you can see here, they’ve got a lower mandible that juts out farther than does the upper.
When feeding, the Skimmer flies low over water with its beak open and lower mandible partially submerged.
When the lower part of the bill touches prey, such as a small fish, the bill’s upper mandible snaps down like a mousetrap, securing the bird’s meal.

Although you can find them soaring above the shorelines of most of our coastal beaches, Black Skimmers are most often spotted inland feeding in our inlets, estuaries and other slow moving bodies of water near the Atlantic.
Happily, Black Skimmers are a year round resident of North Carolina but they do appear to migrate locally to the southern coast of the Tarheel state during the cooler winter months.

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

Birdwatching News, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Best Life Birding Sally Siko on the Papa Bear Hikes Podcast

July 10, 2021 admin

By: Sally Siko – Admin Birdwatching NC / Best Life Birding

Obligatory blog-post-selfie of your Best Life Birding admin. Hi ya!

Check out the July 2nd episode of the Papa Bear Hikes Podcast @papabearhikes01 where Martin and I discuss ways to enjoy the outdoors from a photographer / birders perspective.
Find the episode on

iTunes

Spotify

Amazon Music

or wherever you get your podcasts or click on the link below to listen.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1467697/8798980

In the meantime I want to take this time to share the accounts of some of my favorite folks on Instagram.
Some of them are birders, others are wildlife photographers, tour guides, friends and outdoor enthusiasts, all are good people who love getting out there to capture incredible moments in the outdoors to share with you.

@nilaytphotography
@ncbirdnerd
@wildandexposd_podcast
@deborahroyphotography
@joesubolefsky
@eddeburgessphotography
@gregpiperarts
@srboga
@apexbirdlover
@planet_chad_photography
@28204dan
@2x25mpg
@christian_miller_photo
@biggdread
@mpkopack
@i_guess_i_like_birds_now
@debeluv1960
@talktotheplume
@jeffgresko
@alaskaphotoadventures
@ronhayes_wwi
@rubenbirder
@siberianart
@goodrum.photography
@jhorvathphoto
@birdiepalooza
@ncbirdwatch
@nc_wildlyfe
@kolanderphotos
@thewitt68
@kb_biscuitphoto
@divasecunda

Give them a follow.
You’ll be glad you did 🙂

Happy birding!
Sally Siko
😎

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

Papa Bear Hikes July 2nd, 2021 interview with Sally Siko of Birdwatching NC

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News

Rare Bird Alert North Carolina: Roseate Spoonbills spotted in Raleigh at Lake Lynn

July 5, 2021 admin

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

Yesterday I received a rare bird notification from @eBird that a pair of Roseate Spoonbills had been spotted at Lake Lynn in Raleigh NC so I decided to go see if I could get a look at them with my friend Corie @calatta
We met up an hour later in the southern parking lot and walked to the north end of the lake where we were happy to find these beautiful birds hunting for a snack in the shallows with a Little Blue Heron
Nice to get a win so easily!

Roseate Spoonbills are normally found in southern Florida and along the coast of Texas during the summer which is why it was so unusual to find these two at Lake Lynn.
That being said, sightings of Spoonbills here in North Carolina have been on the increase in recent years though most of those have occurred in our southern coastal regions.

These lovely birds are best spotted in marshy areas foraging for a meal in the water or mudflats.
Sweeping their namesake spoon-shaped bill side to side in the shallow water, the Spoonbills mouth is partially open as their bill probes into the mud. When they stir up a fish or invertebrate, they’ll clamp that bill shut to capture their prey.
Their diet mainly consists of minnows, but they’ll also eat shrimp, crayfish, crabs, aquatic insects, mollusks, and slugs. Spoonbills will also snack on plants including the roots and stems of sedges.

I have no idea how long these two will stick around the Triangle for so if you can get out within the next day or two you might be able to find them as well.
For reference, I’ve included a Google Map pin drop showing the exact location of these birds at the north end of Lake Lynn (as of yesterday & today) to the end of this post.
Hope you are able to see them too!
Happy birding!
-Sally

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

By the way, check out the video of the Roseate Spoonbills in the Instagram version of this post below!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bird Watching N.C. (@birdwatching_nc)

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A rare Black billed Cuckoo encounter at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh NC

November 18, 2020 admin

I had an excellent morning of birding last month leading a personal birding tour with Marilyn of @embrblissphotography !
We ticked 20 different species at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh during the tripwith the highlight of the day being this lovely Black- billed Cuckoo! I first spotted him in a willow tree along the Creekside Trail and was super excited to share this bird with Marilyn and other birder/photographers as we snapped about a zillion photos trying to catch this Cuckoo in good light.

Black-billed Cuckoos are caterpillar eating fiends! They have an uncanny knack for finding the juiciest caterpillars in the leaves which this case with the one featured in this series of photos. He gobbled up a huge white fluffy caterpillar in just a few seconds before finding one a few minutes later. If you look closely at the second pic in this post you can see the caterpillars green guts shooting out of it as it succumbed to the squeeze of the Cuckoos bill.
Lol, gross but kinda cool!

During the summer, these handsome birds are typically found throughout the upper midwestern and northeastern United States, south in the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia to Tennessee.

We were lucky to catch some great views of this one who was likely making it’s way through North Carolina along its southern migratory route towards the Yucatán Peninsula and other wintertime destinations in South America.
The Black-billed Cuckoos will pass through the Tarheel State during migration in late April and early May month so get out there and see them this spring!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

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

welcome to bird watching nc

July 10, 2019 admin

Welcome to North Carolina’s home for birding in the Tarheel state! Click on the menu above to explore all of the cool resources found here on this website site such as news, touring information, North Carolina bird watching clubs, species ID and more.