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

North Carolina Rare Bird alert- Dickcissle in Carrboro NC

By Sally Siko

Stoked to finally lay eyes on my first Dickcissle a couple of hours ago in Carrboro, NC!
Luckily this lifer wasn’t too difficult to spot as he was singing loudly in an open field of Blue Cornflowers across the highway from the Maple View Farm Ice Cream shop between the creamery and the farm pond.
It only took about 30 minutes to locate the bird once I was able to pick out his unique song of sharp sounds followed by a buzzy, almost hissed cisssssselll.
What a beauty!



The breeding range of the Dickcissle typically stretches across the great plains region of the United States. Strangely enough though, quite a few of them also breed east of the Appalachian mountains, including right here in North Carolina.
Though a certain number of Dickcissels call the East Coast home during the summer they are still considered a rare sighting here in the Tar Heel state from May through July.



The Dickcissel is the only living member of the “Spiza” genus, inside the family of Cardinals and were named for the male’s song.
As with other members of Cardinal family, during the breeding season, Dickcissels eat both insects and seeds. Insects include grasshoppers, caterpillars, termites, flies, wasps, beetles; they also eat spiders. During migration and in the winter months, they eat almost exclusively seeds including grasses, willows, and buckwheat as well as crops including rice and sorghum.

These handsome birds are best spotted singing from the tops of scrubby branches in open fields, grasslands and in agricultural areas throughout the midwestern states of the US from Texas to the Dakotas.
But as seen here, you never quite know where a pair of Dickcissles will show up so it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for them throughout the summer months.

Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding both captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

PS. 10/10 recommend getting some ice cream at the nearby Maple View Farm Ice Cream ❤️

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, Out There with the Expert

North Carolina Rare Bird Alert: A mountain Bluebird at Wrightsville Beach, NC

Are these the prettiest pics of a Mountain Bluebird you’ve ever seen?
Lol, nope!
Yet, these are the photographs of the first Mountain Bluebird I’ve ever laid eyes on so they are beautiful in my eyes.
Better still, since my mighty megapixel beast the 5Ds is out of commission and I’ve loaned out my R5 and 600mm lens, I took these photos with my old warhorse team, the Canon 5Dmkii & a Canon 200mm lens.



Due to the distance limitations of the 200mm, I had to crop the photos but could only do so much.
Yet, it surprising how well my aged gear holds up against my contemporary equipment in regards to image quality.
Goes to show ya that the best camera for the job is the one you’re carrying at the time.
On this day, it is the capturing of the memory which counts most and I could not be happier with the results 🙂



Mountain Bluebirds are typically found in the Rocky Mountains and in other areas of the western United States and Canada.
That’s why I was so excited to have an opportunity to photograph this one close to home in Wrightsville Beach North Carolina!
What this little blue feathered gem was doing all the way out here is anyones best guess.
Happily though, this Mountain Bluebird displays similar behavior to our friendly native Eastern species so it was quite amicable to having its photo taken at a relatively close range.

Special thanks to @wrightsvillesup for their hospitality in allowing me to photograph this bird on their property 🙌

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the the (alive and still kicking!) @canonusa #5Dmkii

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- Ross’s Geese in Raleigh

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

After finding the Ross’s Geese yesterday morning on Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh, I decided to take a trip back to the area that afternoon to see if I could grab a few extra photos of these beautiful birds.
Happily the decision paid off as I located the pair again swimming (and doing backflips lol!) on a nearby pond behind the Antioch Church off of Lake Wheeler Rd!

Ross’s Geese (morning shots with the Canon R5) Raleigh NC

The first set of photos shown above (morning) were taken with the Canon R5 and while they turned out pretty good, on my afternoon trip I brought my big boy, the 50MP Canon 5DS as I anticipated needing the extra large file size to allow for some post production cropping of the images. Check out those images below!

Ross’s Geese (afternoon photos) captured with the Canon 5Ds in Raleigh NC

*Geese can be kinda skittish so even when photographing them with a 600mm lens, I was still pretty far away so the ability that the 50MP Canon 5Ds offers to crop the photos without losing those feather details was important.

Ross’s Geese are an unusual sight in central NC as they typically migrate further to the east to spend the winter in our coastal waterfowl impoundment and marshes. Normally your best bet in seeing them is at Pea Island, Lake Mattamuskeet, and the Pungo Unit where they will hang out amidst flocks of Snow Geese.
Thus, seeing them in the Raleigh area is pretty special.
That being said, there have been growing numbers of sightings of Ross’s Geese further inland over the past 20 years so maybe this sighting is right on trend.

Since the Ross’s Goose and Snow Goose look so similar, it can make for a tough ID in the field.
The best way to tell them apart is that Ross’s Geese are smaller and lack the broad black edges of the bill (known as a “grinning patch”) that Snow Geese show.
They’ll stick around the Tarheel state until late February so if your winter birding plans lead you to our coast this winter, you should have a good opportunity to enjoy them for a few more months.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on my mighty twin dragons, the Canon R5 & the 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

North Carolina Rare Bird Alert: Cattle Egret in Raleigh

One of the nice things about birding is that there’s always the potential to be surprised and delighted by unexpected finds in the field.
In this case, a Cattle Egret has shown up in the Raleigh NC area and seems to have made itself right at home with a herd of cows on Mid Pines Rd.



At first, the cow didn’t seem to mind its feathered companion but when the bovine stood up, the Egret hopped off and then proceeded to chase the hapless cow around the pasture.
For its part, the cow was unamused by the birds antics lol! It lowered its head and snorted at the Egret every time it approached leaving the bird to forage in grass for itself.



Cattle Egrets are a summertime resident of the Tarheel State but are a rare sight during the winter and even more so here in central North Carolina.
They breed in colonies on our barrier islands and inland in our southeastern counties on lakes and river that are in close proximity to agricultural fields.
As their name suggests they may be found feeding in the pastures looking for insects kicked up by herds of cattle.
Look for them in North Carolina’s southeastern coastal counties from mid March- early November or take a drive on Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh this weekend 🙂

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

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

Rare N.C. Bird News: Sandhill Cranes spotted at Pungo Lake

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching N.C.

Spotted a small group of Sandhill Cranes preening among a flock of Tundra Swans yesterday morning at Pungo Lake in the Pocosin Lakes NWR.
I’ve never seen one in the wild before so it was thrilling to finally have a chance to photograph them. So awesome to get another lifer!

Sandhill Cranes Pungo Lake, N.C.



Scientists believe that ten million years ago, birds similar to these were found to be structurally the same as modern Sandhill Cranes. Today, these beautiful birds are found throughout in North America. Their range extends from Mexico, through the United States and as far north as Siberia.
Despite the widespread occurrence of the species in the Western Hemisphere, they are not commonly found here in North Carolina.
It was wonderful to add one more “rare” bird species to my eBird list as the year draws to a close 🙂

Sandhill Cranes are omnivorous and will dine on items such as lizards, small rodents, frogs and insects, as well as vegetables, such as bulbs, roots, grains and seeds.
The ones I photographed here seemed to split up their time between preening and foraging for food in the mudflats along the shoreline.

Six Sandhill Cranes preening at Pungo Lake, N.C.


This small flock of birds may have hit the jackpot by choosing to spend a few weeks this winter here at Pungo Lake.
In addition to hosting a variety of small lizards and rodents on site, the lake is surrounded on all sides by wide open fields of cut corn stalks, with plenty places available for the Cranes to feed on spilt grain on acres of vast agricultural fields.
I hope they stick around for a little while longer so that my fellow N.C. birders have the opportunity to see them before they head out!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

Here is a map showing where the Sandhill Cranes were sighted in a small flooded out field on the western side of the lake…