umstead park birdwatching | Best Life Birding- Birdwatching Tours

My favorite thing about November is the arrival of various migrating waterfowl to North Carolina (or weird Duck season as I call it, haha!).
I took a quick birding trip to Big Lake at Umstead Park in Raleigh to see what might have flown in with the recent cold front.
Although there wasn’t a huge amount of action on the water, I did spot this small flock of Green-winged Teal flying along the far shoreline on the northern side of the lake.

I wasn’t able to get very close to them to get some good shots but anticipate returning here next month when greater numbers of waterfowl should offer me better chances for good photo opportunities.

These little ones are among the smallest of the dabbling duck family. Male Green-winged Ducks have a green stripe going across their faces which is absolutely gorgeous when the sunlight reflects off of it! Both sexes have bright aqua green wing patches (called specula) with white borders which are best viewed when they’re in flight.
*Swipe to the second photo in this post to see an example of this birds name sake feathers.

Green-winged Teals are a familiar wintertime resident of North Carolina as they arrive in droves from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern parts of the United States.
Mainly found in central and eastern regions of the state, look for them in fresh & brackish water areas, marshes, ponds and lakes.
They’ll stick around until March and occasionally early April so there’s plenty of time for you to see them 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the incomparably awesome @canonusa
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During a quick visit to Umstead Park in Raleigh this week, I happened to catch a quick photo of this Great Blue Heron gliding across the water.
The morning sun set the lake aglow with colors as the light reflected off of the trees along the shoreline into the water below.
It was neat to stand there in this moment taking it all in 🙂

Great Blue Herons are a familiar bird to most folks here in North Carolina. From marshes, swamps, lakes, ponds and rivers, pretty much anywhere you find water, the odds are good you’ll likely spot a Great Blue Heron hunting there.
Although they are a year round resident of the Tarheel state, there are populations of these beauties that migrate south to warmer climates during the winter.
We usually see them flying short distances between the stumps and trees, yet these birds are impressive long distance travelers too!
Last year, researchers tracked a Geo-tagged female Heron (named Harper) from Canada to Florida between October 4th and October 6th. Her epic flight path (flying non-stop!) over the Atlantic coastline took just 38 hours to complete.
Just incredible 🙂

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