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Birdwatching News, North Carolina rare bird alert

Rare bird alert North Carolina- a Trumpeter Swan at Hanging Rock SP in Danville NC

By Sally Siko

Stoked to lay eyes on a Trumpeter Swan this morning while birding with my friend Corie @latta.ridge at Hanging Rock SP in Danville, NC!


Standing at nearly 4ft tall with a wingspan stretching 5.2ft, and a hefty weight topping 30lbs, Trumpeter Swans are both the largest and heaviest species of waterfowl native to the United States. They are much larger than our wintering Tundra Swans and easy to identify by observing that elongated face and low posture in the water.
I was surprised how curious this guy was as the swan casually swam over to get a look at me as I took these photos. At one point the bird was only a couple feet away though it remained calm and unbothered throughout the entire visit.
These large elegant birds are truly awe inspiring to see up close and I was delighted to encounter such a friendly swan out in the wild.



The other reason that I was thrilled to see this bird is because although the numbers of this species are increasing (currently estimated at 63,000 birds), Trumpeter Swans are a rarely spotted here in the mid Atlantic region of the eastern US.
These elegant birds originally graced wetlands across a broad region of North America from Illinois all the way up into northwest to Alaska.
Unfortunately though, throughout the 17- and 1800s, they were hunted relentlessly for their meat, skins and feathers.
That combined with habitat loss meant that by the 1930s, only 69 Trumpeter Swans remained in the lower 48 states, living in the remote Red Rock Lakes area in southwestern Montana.
Crazy!

Thanks to modern conservation practices, this species is recovering however their future remains uncertain due to continued habitat loss and lead shot poisoning.
We almost lost them but at least we’ve got a chance to today to ensure the survival of this magnificent bird.
If you’d like to go see the spread for yourself, here is a Google Maps pindrop of its location at the bottom of this post.
I don’t know how much longer this big boy will remain at the lake, but it’s probably worth a look if you’re anywhere in the area.

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

Birdwatching News

Rare Bird Alert North Carolina: Vesper Sparrows at Mid Pines Rd in Raleigh

By Sally SIko

Here’s another uncommon bird I spotted this week while birding in Raleigh NC, the Vesper Sparrow.
I’d set out to find one of these beauties along Mid Pines road and was rewarded with some great close up looks as they perched on the fence line.
I’ve seen this species before in the same area but the only photos I’d ever managed to take were terribly lit and from below so it was nice to actually capture a couple shots at eye level.
I know sparrows don’t typically catch anyone’s attention but I absolutely adore these tiny birds.
Aren’t they sweet?

Although they do breed in the western counties of the Tarheel state, the Vesper Sparrow are an uncommon sight here in NC. Usually they are spotted during migration but unfortunately numbers of this species are in overall decline so seeing one is indeed a treat at anytime of the year.
As with many other sparrows, the Vespers favor weedy field habitats with sparse grass cover mixed with bare ground. Interestingly they seem to like hanging out with Song Sparrows and Savannah Sparrows so it’s worth double checking who’s who when ya encounter mixed flocks.
The easiest way to ID these guys is to look for a streaky breasted sparrow that has prominent white eye ring combined with white outer tail feathers which are most noticeable when they’re in flight.

These lovely feathered gems should hang out in central North Carolina until mid March.
If you’d like to find these birds at Mid Pines Rd, I’ve included a link below of their exact location.
I hope that you get to see them too!

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

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

A Tropical Kingbird encounter in eastern NC

By Sally Siko

Along with the winter migrants arriving last month, something unexpected popped up on the NC Rare Bird Alert, a Tropical Kingbird!
I’d been birding in early November near Nags Head when I saw that the Kingbird was reported at the Mackay Island Refuge (along the state line of VA & NC).
It was just a couple hours drive north so since I was in the area (well sort of lol) I hit the road in search of the bird.



Kingbirds are one of my favorite birds to find since 99% of them seem to prefer hanging out either on power lines, wire fences or on a bare branch at the tippy top of the tallest trees.
That makes them pretty easy to spot compared to other birds so I was hopeful that I’d be able to see it without too much trouble.
As luck would have it, this Tropical Kingbird was exactly where I’d expected him to be, perched on a power line overlooking a grassy field.
Better still, the bird was not shy and allowed me plenty of opportunities to grab a few pics.
I’d never seen this species before (and usually my lifer pics suck lol) so I was stoked to actually get some good photos to confirm the ID of this rare bird.


So what makes this bird rare?
Well the Tropical Kingbird is normally found from south Texas and Arizona, down through Mexico and into Central and South America.
This particular bird was a bit off track as North Carolina is well out of its typical range.
Still, the habitat offered here at the Mackays Refuge must have felt familiar to the Kingbird as they are fond of hunting for insects in areas of open ground near ponds and marshes.
I even watched the bird dive low, skimming just above the water to get a drink or wet its feathers.
Pretty cool stuff!

If you’d like to go find this feathered gem for yourself, the Mackays Island Refuge gate should be open from 10-4pm Monday through Friday.
I’ve included a map of the exact location of the Kingbird (near the visitor center) at the end of this post.
It’s possible that the Kingbird might hang out here all winter so it might be worth a look if your in the area. Hope that you get to see it too!

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

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News, North Carolina rare bird alert

North Carolina Rare Bird Alert a White-fronted Goose in Wilmington NC

By Sally Siko

Yesterday I got up early and made a two hour and a half hour trip south to the coast of NC in search of two rare birds.
The drive paid off when I found the first species at Ft.Fisher, a Lark Sparrow. Then the cherry on top came in the form of this beautiful White-fronted Goose in Wilmington!



The goose had been reported to be hanging out with a flock of Canada geese resting on a pond on the grounds of a local a high school.
When my friend Corie and I arrived, we immediately jumped out of the car and grabbed our cameras to scan the shoreline of the pond in search of the goose.
As I swept the landscape with my lens, my heart sank. There were a ton of Canada’s snoozing and preening on the bank but no sign of the White-fronted.
Could it have left?
Not wanting to give up, I started walking around the pond to see if another perspective would help me spot the goose.
The pond had a steep shoreline on one side which meant anything roosting at its base would be obscured from view when standing on the flat ground above.
As I made my way around the east corner, a familiar chocolate, brown, and white face popped up from the downslope.
The White-fronted Goose!
Success!!!


Now you might be wondering why I’d care about seeing a single goose.
The reason is that White-fronted Geese are a rare winter visitor to NC.
Though their sightings appear to be increasing over the years, they are definitely not our “normal” wintertime birds.
Their typical range extends west of the Mississippi river north into Canada, Greenland, Alaska, Europe and Russia.

Although the numbers of visiting White-fronted Geese have been increasing in North Carolina in recent years, it is still a remarkable thing to see one!
Look for them hiding in plain sight within flocks of Canada Geese, Snow Geese and Ross’s Geese feeding in the agricultural fields or paddling around the freshwater waterfowl impoundments of our eastern counties from now through March.

@bestlife_birding captured on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina, Birdwatching News, North Carolina rare bird alert

Rare bird alert North Carolina- Lark Sparrow at Ft.Fisher

By Sally Siko

Happy to spot a Lark Sparrow at Ft.Fisher in NC yesterday morning!
My friend Corie and I made a quick trip to the coast to see if we could find this little guy and were rewarded with some great looks for the effort.
*ok yeah it is a 2 1/2 hour drive south for me but these days anything less than a 5 hour drive to see a bird is local drive in my book lol!



These guys are considered a rarity in NC so when I first put this bird into focus on my lens it was pretty exciting!
The reason why is because the Lark Sparrow’s range stretches from primarily the Great Plains and west to the California coast. Year-round populations also occur in Texas and northern Mexico too.
That being said a very, (very!) small population of Lark Sparrows breed right here in North Carolina.
Usually those birds are found during the breeding season in isolated spots within the Sandhill region (central part of the state) so it was incredibly cool to find one here at Fort Fisher during the winter.



When Lark Sparrows do show up in the eastern counties of NC during the colder months, they prefer to forage in areas of wide sandy-scrub patches. The dry dunes and field habitats here on Ft.Fisher are just perfect for them.
Unfortunately these beauties won’t be here for much longer as most will head south for the winter but if you missed them this year, the Lark Sparrows will return to the Tarheel state next April.

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

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

Field Notes, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A common-rarity: the Northern Cardinal of N.C.

the Northern Cardinal is familiar sight at feeders for most of us east of the Rockies. Our state bird handsome bird is a cheerful sight on a rainy afternoon.
Did you know that the Northern Cardinal has even been spotted farther west in places like Southern California, Arizona and Hawaii?
Just a reminder that there are many species of birds that we might consider “common” in our own yards. Yet, they are a rarity and a very precious find in the eyes of others.
🌿
What “common” species do you still enjoy seeing frequently?
Are there any “common” species out of your home area that you wish you could see more often?
Mine are Stellers Jay’s and Magpies.
Only had the opportunity to photograph them once when visiting Colorado a few years ago.
🙂
Photo by @sally_siko .