Tag Archives: north carolina birding trip

Bird watching trips in Maine, Birding Trips and Birdwatching Tours in SC, Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birding trips at Cape May New Jersey, Gifts for Birders and Bird watchers

New birding tours and bird watching trips in Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina have been added to my 2023 and 2024 Calendar

Pack your bags, lets go birding!

Birders and bird loving photographers of all skill levels are invited to join me, Sally Siko as we explore the trails, woods, fields and shorelines of the United States in search of interesting birds. From North Carolina and beyond, there are plenty of great species to get out and enjoy throughout the year.

In addition to local trips here in the Triangle, new birding tour dates and locations in coastal Maine, coastal New Jersey, eastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina have been added to my 2023 & 2024 calendar. Click on the dates marked in green in the box below for more information.

Book today as space is limited on these small group tours, Gift Cards are on sale too!

BIRDING TOURS CAPE MAY, NJ

BIRDING TOURS IN MAINE

BIRDING TOURS AT PINCKNEY ISLAND, SC

BIRDING TOURS AT CAPE FEAR SHINERS PARK, NC

BIRDING TOURS AT HUNTINGTON BEACH STATE PARK, SC

BIRDING TOURS THE OBX NORTH CAROLINA

BIRDING TOURS AT THE PEE DEE NWR, NC

BIRDING TOURS AT OLD BYNUM BRIDGE, NC

PAINTED BUNTING BIRDING TOURS AT FT.FISHER, NC

BIRDING TOURS AT WEYMOUTH WOODS, NC

Private birding tours in North & South Carolina are also available for reservation to best suit your needs and schedule!


For more information please contact sallysiko@birdwatchingnc.com or call/text (919) 449-7331 to book a private trip.

Shown below is the Best Life Birding Instagram feed featuring of some of the species I’ve found for my guests here in the United States.

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

A Swamp Sparrow encounter at Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh

Now that cold weather is right around the corner, it’s time to be on the lookout for our wintertime birds like this Swamp Sparrow.
These lovely little ones arrive in North Carolina in early October and although they mostly hang out in our eastern counties their found in varying numbers throughout the state.



Though their name would suggest otherwise, Swamp Sparrows inhabit many types of different habitats including marshes, wetland thickets, bogs and damp fields. The main thing is that they tend to avoid dry forests so look for them in open areas near a water source with tall grass and dense scrub.



As it goes with most species of sparrows, these guys eat a ton of insects during the spring and summer. Unlike others though Swamp Sparrows have extra long legs which they use to wade into shallow water to hunt for aquatic insects.
Once autumn arrives and insects become scarce, they’ll switch to eating weed and grass seeds which makes them a little easier to find in accessible field areas vs. their wetland summer habitats.
In fact, during the winter Swamp Sparrows will congregate with flocks of Song Sparrows to venture to the edges of agricultural fields and suburban parks to find a snack.
They’ll stick around until early May so we’ve still got plenty of time to enjoy these feathered gems in the season ahead.

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

Birdwatching News, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Best Life Birding Sally Siko on the Papa Bear Hikes Podcast

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

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!

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

Birding tour summery from Ft.Fisher North Carolina

I had an excellent weekend birding with my guests during our recent trip to the Ft.Fisher SRA in southeastern NC.
We saw a nice variety of species and although the Painted Buntings proved to be somewhat elusive to find, we finally spotted a few both at Ft.Fisher & Carolina Beach which was a win in my book ; )

It was a lot of fun to spend time with people who love this birding/photography life as much as I do. I mean where else can I relate to folks better when I say, “hey let’s go try for one more pic” or “do you mind if we travel to another spot to see if we can get just one more bird” and the answer is always a resounding YES!

One of the best moments from the trip was trying to see the Clapper Rails at the Rocks at Ft.Fisher.
When I’d call out to them those darn birds would answer me loudly in unison like a crowd of drunk hecklers at a stand up show.
Yet, they stayed hidden and we only saw one once when it briefly flew out of the tall grass before landing again.
So frustrating lol!
I wish I could have got a photo of those guys (there were several of the Clapper Rails hiding in the marsh) but gosh it was such a funny thing for us to hear them laughing at us that I can’t help but think that’s a moment I’ll never forget. Truly a colorful happy memory as good as any photo I could have caught.

I can’t wait to return here next week! If you’d like to join me out there check out the link below for booking information!

BIRDING TOURS AT FT.FISHER

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