Tag Archives: yates mill birding

Field Notes

Northern Parula at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh NC

One of our most colorful part time avian residents of NC is the Northern Parula.


These little birds are absolutely beautiful if you’re lucky enough to get a close up look at one. It isn’t easy though as Parulas tend to forage in the treetops during the summer months. That being said, once autumn arrives their behavior changes as they begin to hunt for their meals a little lower towards the ground.
I spotted this one at Yates Mill Park and was pleased that he stopped moving around long enough for me to grab a couple pics.



Measuring just 11.4 cm, Northern Parulas are one of North America’s smallest species of Warbler and due to their energetic habits they can be tough to see or photograph. Happily though, they do respond well to pishing and will sometimes swoop in close to you to get a better look at who’s making all that swoooshing noise.

Parulas breed across the eastern United States and north up into eastern Canada. They favor habitats in swamps and wooded wetlands where Spanish Moss is present as this is their preferred nesting material.
Though they can be tough to actually see in the dense leafy canopy’s of the treetops you can certainly find them by listening for their distinctive buzzy trill call from above.
The Northern Parulas will only stick around NC through early October so you’ve still got a little time to enjoy them before they head south for the winter.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the mighty @canonusa
#5ds

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A star of Yates Mill Park- The friendly Prothonotary Warbler

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Yellow-throated Warblers at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh

One of my favorite spring arrivals is the Yellow-throated Warbler. With that bold yellow, black and white plumage, they’re absolutely captivating to photograph.
I found this beauty at Yates Mill Park this past weekend. Happily he was hopping and flying at a lower level of the tree canopy so that I could get a good view.
Normally they tend to hang out much higher in the trees so it was neat to get a close up look at him 🙂



This species of wood warbler are one of a few which nests exclusively in the eastern part of the United States with a range that stretches from Missouri in Pennsylvania all the way down to Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Their open cup-nests are constructed almost entirely by the female from bark strips, grasses, and weed stems, and lined with plant down and feathers. The nest is usually placed in the canopy of a pine, cypress or sycamore tree on the end of a a horizontal branch well out from the trunk at heights ranging from 15 to 60 feet above the ground.



Happily these gorgeous birds will spend the summer raising their families here in the Tarheel state. They will stick around until late September (or early October in our eastern counties) so there is still plenty of time for us to enjoy them this year!

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

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Eastern Phoebe’s in North Carolina

While birding at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh this past weekend, I was delighted to see this sweet little Eastern Phoebe looking for a meal over the pond.
There were actually several of them flying around and I was able to catch one perching for a portrait as he rested between flights.



Though they are understated in appearance, Eastern Phoebes are easily ID’d by their behavior of pumping their tails up and down while at rest. They’ve also got a unique call which sounds like their calling out their name, “feeeee-bee” so their relatively easy to find by sound too.

Eastern Phoebes are a year round resident of North Carolina. During the breeding season, their best found in wooded areas near ponds, streams and lakes where they nest under bridges or beneath the eves of barns and other man-made structures which provide horizontal surfaces for them to nest on.

Although they’re not the showiest of birds out there, they are definitely one of the cutest and entertaining to watch hunt so it’s well worth taking the time to enjoy them if you can 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the full frame beast of an SLR, the mighty @canonusa
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Field Notes, Out There with the Expert

Indigo Buntings at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC

Check out this handsome fellow singing his heart out at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC.
It’s an Indigo Bunting!
This species is one of the most vibrantly colored birds we’ve got here in North Carolina.
They are normally spotted from April to October and can be found in wide open fields which contain a few tall trees with scrub brush mixed into the grass.



Indigo Buntings are named for their deep blue color that makes them look like they’ve been dipped in indigo dye, yet they are actually dressed in black plumage.
Though they may look colorful, it’s a trick of the light which gives them this boldly hued appearance.
How can this be?

The secret to their incredible colors lies in their unique feather structure which diffracts sunlight to show only a visible blue wave length.
And because the blue is a light show rather than true pigmentation, depending on the angle or quality of the sunlight the Buntings can appear to have several shades of the blue color ranging from aqua to cobalt showing in it’s feathers.
Pretty neat huh?
🙂

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

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A rare Black billed Cuckoo encounter at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh NC

I had an excellent morning of birding last month leading a personal birding tour with Marilyn of @embrblissphotography !
We ticked 20 different species at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh during the tripwith the highlight of the day being this lovely Black- billed Cuckoo! I first spotted him in a willow tree along the Creekside Trail and was super excited to share this bird with Marilyn and other birder/photographers as we snapped about a zillion photos trying to catch this Cuckoo in good light.



Black-billed Cuckoos are caterpillar eating fiends! They have an uncanny knack for finding the juiciest caterpillars in the leaves which this case with the one featured in this series of photos. He gobbled up a huge white fluffy caterpillar in just a few seconds before finding one a few minutes later. If you look closely at the second pic in this post you can see the caterpillars green guts shooting out of it as it succumbed to the squeeze of the Cuckoos bill.
Lol, gross but kinda cool!



During the summer, these handsome birds are typically found throughout the upper midwestern and northeastern United States, south in the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia to Tennessee.

We were lucky to catch some great views of this one who was likely making it’s way through North Carolina along its southern migratory route towards the Yucatán Peninsula and other wintertime destinations in South America.
The Black-billed Cuckoos will pass through the Tarheel State during migration in late April and early May month so get out there and see them this spring!

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

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An Indigo Bunting landed on my hand at yates Mill Park in raleigh N.C.

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I had such a good time birding with Myra Murphy on my trip to Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC this morning! After a week of rain, it was wonderful to get outside again. Everything was as green and fresh as could be, just gorgeous 🙂 Together we ticked 18 species along the way as we hiked west along the Creekside Trail including a White-eyed Vireo, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, an Eastern Kingbird, Great crested Flycatcher and more. One of the coolest parts of the trip was when an Indigo Bunting landed on my hand after I called him. It only happened in a split second but wow was that an incredible moment! Here’s a picture of this brave blue wonder. I’ve found that some birds are more responsive to pishing calls then others. Chickadees, Northern Parulas and Red-eyed Vireos are particularly inquisitive little ones who will often fly in for a very close look when calling them. To try a pish call yourself, just make a loud shhhhhh noise but start with a p instead of an s. Although I’ve experienced this behavior many times, I’m still amazed that pishing at birds actually works. Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the @canonusa #5ds

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Indigo Buntings have returned to Yates Mill Park in Raleigh

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

The Indigo Buntings have returned to Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC!
These gorgeous little birds are one of the best things ever to encounter when birding in the Triangle region.
Absolutely beautiful!



During the summertime, Indigo Buntings can be found foraging in open fields for tiny seeds, buds, berries and insects. They also like to eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, service berries and elderberries.
Invite Indigo Buntings to your backyard by filling your feeders with Nyjer seed or whole sunflower hearts. Since Indigo Buntings are voracious insect eaters, you can also sprinkle a few meal worms into a hanging hopper or platform feeder.
Another idea is to plant berry shrubs in your backyard to help attract these little gems!
Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc

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An American redstart sighting at Yates Mill Park

Finally managed to get a halfway decent few photos of an American Redstart at Yates Mill Park this morning in Raleigh, NC.
These sharp looking birds are a real challenge for me to photograph! They tend to stick to the mid & upper canopies of trees and prefer to keep to the shade.


If I’m lucky, I’ll get the wings in focus but their head is hidden. Then the head pops out and before I can press the shutter, their gone, lol!
The American Redstart is a summertime resident of North Carolina. They are usually found near marshes, ponds and swamps hiding in the hardwood trees along the shore.
Photo by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

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An eastern Phoebe at Yates mill Park, Raleigh N.C.

A few days ago, I arrived at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh at 8am sharp, just as the entrance gates were unlocked.
Now that the wetlands boardwalk repairs had been finished, I wanted to get out there as early as possible to see what birds I could find before more people arrived.

It was a little chilly along the trail to the bridge, but the golden sunlight reflecting off of the dew laden branches made it impossible to be unhappy with the weather conditions as I marveled at the sparkling world around me.

As soon as my feet hit the boardwalk, I heard the familiar call of a nearby Eastern Phoebe.
He seemed to be less than 25 feet away so I walked as silently as possible to try and avoid spooking the bird.
Within a few seconds, I located the bird perched in a low hanging branch of a small tree in the brushy area to the left of the boardwalk.
He looked so peaceful sitting there on that branch soaking up the morning sun.
Every now and again he’d chirp and call out feeeeeebeeeeeee, cocking his head listening to a distant reply from another bird further down into the swamp.



Eastern Phoebes are easy to ID at a distance by noting their distinctive tail movement behavior when perching. They’ll wag, pump, or bob their tails up and down, often spreading the tail slightly.
They can also raise their head feathers, giving them the appearance of having a small, wedge shaped crest the rear of the head as the one seen in this photo is doing 🙂
Such beautiful little birds!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds