Check out this sweet Ruby crowned Kinglet! She was my trail companion on a recent birding trip to the Pungo Unit in eastern NC. It was really neat to get a look at her up close as she followed me closely, fluttering from the bushes that lined the path.
These tiny birds have personalities that are similar to Chickadees in that they are both energetic and curious about people. Although if experienced this type of behavior before with Kinglets, I’ve never had one follow me for more than a minute or two. This one was different. Over a period of 10 minutes, whenever I’d stop to try and photograph another bird in the distance, she would “stop” too (at least by Kinglet standards which means that she was sticking close by the entire time all while flying up and down the branches of wherever the nearest shrub was located along the way).
This flurry of activity comes at no surprise as these tiny birds are constantly on the move. A fellow bird loving friend Mike Kopack @mpkopack once described them as feathered ping-pong balls which I believe fits them nicely lol! Happily, this Kinglet paused just long enough for me to grab a quick portrait which was pretty cool.
The Ruby crowned Kinglet requires a relatively large amount of food (for its size) to fuel their energy needs. In fact, they need to consume around 10 calories a day to keep moving. While this may not sound like very much, this may be a more difficult requirement to meet during the wintertime for a bird that mainly eats small insects, spiders and insect eggs. So, when the opportunities for six & eight legged meals become scarce, Ruby crowned Kinglets will also forage for berries and seeds in the winter. They may even be spotted dining at your suet feeders during the coldest months. They will stick around the Tarheel State until late April along our coastal counties and until early May throughout the rest of North Carolina before migrating to their breeding grounds in the Rockies, Alaska and Canada. Enjoy them while you can!
While looking for birds along the banks of a flooded out field at the Pungo Unit last month, I spotted a tiny Swamp Sparrow watching me from a sapling. It’s not often that I catch a glimpse of one not on the ground behind a tangle of brush so I snapped a couple photos quickly before it flew down into the leaf litter below. It was nice to have a chance to photograph this one on a rainy day. With no harsh shadows or highlights to contend with, the soft lighting made for some excellent photography conditions. Plus that silver glow of cloud diffused lighting really allows those colors to naturally pop!
Although Swamp Sparrows are a relatively common find during the winter in North Carolina they are a bit shy and tend to forage in muddy/ marsh areas that can difficult to access at times. Indeed as their name implies they can be found in swamps, bogs, wet fields and near ponds with brushy shorelines. Their diet consists of seeds, small berries, and aquatic invertebrates. They’ve got unusually long legs (for a sparrow) which allows them to hunt for insects in shallow water.
Swamp Sparrows breed in eastern Canada and throughout the north/ north eastern regions of the United States. Each autumn, they flock together moving south into the mid Atlantic and southeastern United States including right here in North Carolina to spend the winter in warmer locals.
With a local range stretching from the mountains to the coast, they are generally found more frequently in the eastern half of the Tarheel State from late April or early May. There’s still plenty of time for you to see one this season so get out there is you can 😉
I had an excellent time this week birding in the OBX! Spending 3 days straight, I saw thousands of beautiful birds from Cape Hatteras, to Pea Island, Pungo Lake and the Alligator River NWR.
Of all the birds, my favorites were the American Widgeon, Pintails and Redheads. Those ducks are simply gorgeous! It was an incredible sight to see thousands of waterfowl all in one spot. So much squeaking and quacking, these large flocks are pretty noisy once you get close.
With pictures like these, you might ask why is eastern North Carolina such a duck magnet? The answer is that the majority of the waterfowl here in North America breed in Canada’s Prairie Provinces and the United States’ upper Midwest, particularly in the area known as the Prairie Pothole Region.
Every autumn, ducks and geese funnel down the Atlantic Flyway to the farm fields, ponds, lakes and rivers of eastern North Carolina to spend the winter in our temperate regions where there are vast quantities of food still available throughout the colder months. Pretty neat, huh? I’ll have a ton of photos and new videos coming soon from the trip so stay tuned…
Here is a video I made highlighting some of my favorite finds from my latest birding trip to the Pungo Unit at the Pocosin Lakes NWR and Lake Mattamuskeet NWR on the coastal plain of eastern North Carolina last week.
What a neat place to go bird watching, even in the middle of summer! 10/10 recommend a visit 🙂
Filmed on a Canon 5DS at the Pungo Unit at the Pocosin Lakes NWR – Pantego, NC & Lake Mattamuskeet NWR – Englehard, NC
View of a wide open field at the Pungo Unit at the Pocosin Lakes NWRPungo LakeLake Mattamuskeet
Yesterday I headed out to go birding on the Pungo Unit at the Pocosin Lakes NWR and Lake Mattamuskeet. Originally I’d intended to see if I could find another Painted Bunting but that was not to be. Yet as it goes with birding, often disappointing losses actually turn into interesting opportunities to see new birds that one never expected to find. Well, that’s exactly what happened 4 times yesterday!
GREATER YELLOWLEGS
Greater Yellowlegs at Pungo Lake
The first unexpected encounter was with a Greater Yellowlegs that I found looking for food in what may be (generously lol) described as a big puddle at the Pungo Unit. Although they are known to spend the winter here, these handsome birds normally aren’t found in NC during the summer.
A Greater Yellowlegs in breeding plumage at the Pocosin Lakes NWR , July 2020
As seen in this photograph, during the breeding season, the Greater Yellowlegs sports plumage patterns of dense, nearly black lines speckled on their pale grey breast and necks. It’s quite a change from what we normally see of them in the wintertime which is a muted brown buff color.
Check out the map below for the location of where I found this bird.
BOBOLINK
Male Bobolink at Lake Mattamuskeet (molting plumage)
The second unexpected bird I found was a male Bobolink at Lake Landing on Lake Mattamuskeet. This was the place I’d expected to find a Painted Bunting and I was so focused on listening for their familiar call that I nearly missed the Bobolink. I first heard him calling out from the talk rushes sticking up from the mud flats of the drained pond. Initially I thought it was a Red-winged Blackbird call so I ignored it. After hearing it call out over and over again, I focused my camera on it because the calls began to sound different than usual to me. It was pretty far away but as soon as I saw that pale patch of feathers on his nape, I knew that this was no blackbird! I tried my best to get some clear photos but the bird remained far away at the limits of my focal ranges, thus the photos I took aren’t the prettiest. Still, I’m very happy to have documented the moments I first saw a Bobolink in the summertime at Lake Mattamuskeet!
A male Bobolink flying at Lake Landing on Lake Mattamuskeet
The Bobolinks northern breeding range extends from Maine to Washington State which is why it seems unusual to see one on the middle of July. That being said, their spring and fall migration does bring them down here to NC. Perhaps this one arrived in March and is just getting a head start on the autumn journey ahead by sticking around here for the summer.
Check out the map below for the location of where I found this bird.
TUNDRA SWAN
A lone Tundra Swan at the Pungo Unit in July
The third surprise bird was this gorgeous Tundra Swan at the Pungo Unit. I found the bird swimming around in a flooded out field with a flock of Canada Geese. I have had the pleasure of witnessing the great flocks of Tundra Swans during their winter migration here at the Pungo Unit in the past. It’s pretty weird to think that just six months ago there may have been more than 300k Swans filling the waters and fields here but now, there’s just this one.
Tundra Swan at the Pungo Unit July 2020
I met up with another N.C. wildlife photographer, Robert Mullen while I was out on this day who photographs birds here several times a week all year round. He indicated that the belief of the wildlife officials is that this bird may have been injured over the winter and was unable to migrate this past spring. I felt bad for this elegant one, all alone in the refuge. But, if he can survive the next few months, he’ll have plenty of company to spend time with this winter as the rest of the flock makes the southward journey from the Arctic to the Pungo Unit.
Check out the map below for the location of where I found this bird.
MAGNOLIA WARBLER
Last but definitely not least, I got very lucky when I spotted a female Magnolia Warbler while driving on Canal D Rd. in the Pungo Unit. I was headed out to the soybean fields to look for bears in the late afternoon when a flash of small yellowish bird flew in front of my truck and into a tree next to the dirt road.
A single female Magnolia Warbler at the Pungo Unit in July
I pulled over, grabbed my camera and got out of the truck to see if I could find and ID the bird before it disappeared deeper into the woods. Let me tell you, this was a difficult little bird to photograph! The sun was very bright and the shadows very dark when peering into the viewfinder of my camera. I’d lower my lens to look up at the tree to try and spot the movements of this tiny bird, locate it, then bring the camera back up to my face to try and snap a photo. The problem was that Magnolia Warblers are fast movers! As soon as I’d get a clear shot (and good exposure) it would move behind a leaf. I must have taken 15 photos and still only came up with two, half blurry shots lol! At least they are good enough for ID purposes so I’m chalking that experience up as a win in my book 😉
Magnolia Warbler (female)
Their typical breeding range extends from the mountains of WV, western VA, central PA, NY, MN, MI and up into New England and Canada. Although it is uncommon, Magnolia Warblers also breed in the mountains of northwestern NC. That’s why I was surprised to see this sweet female in July. I’m hoping that she will find a mate (or at least some friends) when the rest of the Magnolia Warblers make their way down here in September during fall migration.
Check out the map below for the location of where I found this bird.
Though I never found the Painted Bunting I’d planned for, I’m very happy with how the trip went yesterday. Like searching for gold, then coming up empty only to find diamonds instead, it’s days like this that renew my love for the adventure of birding.
Oh by the way, I did find some other birds yesterday at the Pungo Unit and Lake Mattamuskeet that aren’t rare but still are pretty cool too! Check out the photos below!
One of the best places to go birding in the east coast of North Carolina is the Pocasin Lakes NWR. Especially in the wintertime during the Tundra Swan migration. Each November, these majestic birds arrive by the thousands. Their huge flocks congregate in the Pungo Lake area to feed on the spilled grain in the vast fields which surround the lake.
A flock of Tundra Swans in a canal near Pungo Lake
They are most easily viewed at close range paddling around in the flooded out corn fields and canals which dot the swampy areas surrounding the lake itself. They will be here through mid February to early March before they head back up north to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. If you’ve never witnessed this great migration, there is still plenty of time to go see them!
Tundra Swan in flight
By the way, in addition to Tundra Swans, there are a ton of opportunities to view other wildlife too! The Pungo lake area is well known as hosting a very large population of black bears. You can also see a wide variety of raptor species such as Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles, Red Tailed Hawks, American Kestrels and more.
River Otters in a canal at Pungo Lake
On top of that, there are even families of river Otters swimming around in the canals. Truly, the Pungo Unit of Pocosin Lakes NWR is the crown gem of refuges here in N.C.
