I found aYellow -rumped Warblera few weeks ago perched in a tree at Yates Mill Park during the CBC 2019 in Raleigh, N.C. It was drizzling outside but this pretty little bird did not seem to mind. It obliged me the time to take several pics before flying off to join the rest of the flock.
Between November through March, Yellow-rumped Warblers are one of the most common species of warblers found in North Carolina. Unlike other warblers, they can withstand the cold weather and can be found in our state throughout the winter months. But how can this be? Insect are scarce around here in the wintertime. The answer is their unique digestive system. Unlike most of their species, Yellow-rumped Warblers are able to digest a wide range of fruits in addition to insects. Bayberry and wax myrtle are favorites along with juniper and dogwood berries. They also are a familiar sight at backyard feeders, visiting to devour sunflower seeds and suet. Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc Canon 5Ds
Oh wow am I stoked! I finally captured a photo of a Downy Woodpecker right-side up while on my CBC a few weeks ago at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, N.C.
Haha, every other picture I’ve ever got with one of America’s smallest Woodpeckers shows one hanging upside down or partially hidden by the tree trunk or branches! Am so pleased to get a lovely shot after all this time 🙂
Ya know, there is a certain advantage to being so small. Downy Woodpeckers are able to hunt for food where larger woodpeckers can’t, including on the thin branches in the upper canopy’s of trees. They are acrobatic little climbers, (as proved by every photo I’ve ever taken of them ) they can even cling upside-down like a Nuthatch or Brown Creeper.
Being opportunistic little birds, they’ll follow the Pileated Woodpeckers through the forest, taking advantage of the larger bird’s excavations and will devour any insects the Pileated might overlook. During the cooler months, Downy Woodpeckers can be found traveling with mixed-species flocks of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches, thereby maximizing opportunities for an easy meal.
I had an excellent time birding with John, Steve and Diane during the 2019 Christmas Bird Count last weekend. We got started at 8am at Yates Mill Park and spent about an hour and a half walking around the small lake in search of all things feathered. It was damp and cool outside, but all together not unpleasant conditions for birding.
Canada Geese
The first birds we spotted were Ruddy Ducks, Buffleheads and Canada geese.
Bufflehead Duck Bufflehead DuckRuddy Duck
We also found white-throated Sparrows, Winter Wrens an Eastern Phoebe, and a Yellow bellied Sapsucker in the woods along the shoreline.
Once we had circled around back to the visitors center, we were rewarded with a small mixed flock of birds including Yellow-rumped Warblers, Cardinals, Towhees, White-throated Sparrows, a Downy Woodpecker and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
After notating the species that we found, we headed of to check out the Mid Pines dog leg. This is a great spot to find species of birds who require a bit of open fields to hunt and forage in.
There we found a large flock of crows, Canada Geese and an undetermined species of hawk high up in a pine tree in a far away field. John and Steve also heard a horned-Lark singing which was pretty awesome!
American CrowsThere is a hawk up in this tree in the center of this photo. Sadly, he was to far away to ID.
After spending a few minutes at the dog leg, we headed off to Lake Wheeler to continue the count. On the way to the parking lot, we drove past a small pond that contained a flock of Mallards and a single male Wood Duck. I stopped and tried to grab some photos but the ducks stayed behind the brushy stuff at the waters edge. Still, I am always happy to see a Wood Duck in the wild. Such gorgeous birds!
Wood Duck and MallardsMallards
After stopping briefly on the park road to check out some Blue jays, Sparrows, Towhees and Juncos, we arrived at the parking lot to the sounds of loud screeches and squawks coming from a huge flock of Ring-billed Gulls and Cormorants nearby. There were hundreds of them feeding on the lake!
Ring billed Gulls and CormorantsMore Ring billed Gulls and CormorantsEven more Ring billed Gulls and CormorantsDid I mention that there were allot of Ring-billed Gulls?Yup. You guessed it. More Ring billed Gulls and Cormorants! But, if you look closely in this photo to the center of the frame, you’ll spot one of the 4 Bald Eagles we saw on this day roosting high up in the bare branches of that tree!
One of the highlights of our morning birding at Lake Wheeler was that we found 4 Bald Eagles! This might be a record amount of sightings for this location so we were pretty pumped about this 🙂
Bald Eagle
When I wrapped up my count at lunch time, I had tallied 41 different species and counted well over 1000 individual birds. Despite the rain and wind, it turned out to be a great morning!
Here are my complete species lists and count tallies as submitted to eBird. I wish that I had photos of every bird on the count but as with it goes with birding, it is not about the photos with me. I am just happy to see and hear them 🙂
Yates Mill Park List
Yates Mill Park, Raleigh US-NC (35.7202,-78.6875), Wake, North Carolina, US Dec 14, 2019 7:48 AM – 9:48 AM Protocol: Traveling 0.05 mile(s) 32 species
Canada Goose 14 Mallard 15 Bufflehead 4 Ruddy Duck 25 Ring-billed Gull 8 Great Blue Heron 1 Black Vulture 3 Red-shouldered Hawk (lineatus Group) 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 3 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Eastern Phoebe 3 Blue Jay 3 American Crow 12 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Winter Wren 1 Carolina Wren 5 Northern Mockingbird 3 Eastern Bluebird 2 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 6 American Goldfinch 2 White-throated Sparrow 15 Song Sparrow 6 Eastern Towhee 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Northern Cardinal 14
Second List from Yates Mill Park
Yates Mill Park, Raleigh US-NC (35.7202,-78.6875), Wake, North Carolina, US Dec 14, 2019 10:04 AM – 10:24 AM Protocol: Stationary 17 species
Lake Wheeler Park, Raleigh US-NC (35.7202,-78.6875), Wake, North Carolina, US Dec 14, 2019 10:46 AM – 12:16 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.05 mile(s) 23 species
Wood Duck 1 Mallard 16 Ruddy Duck 1 Ring-billed Gull 550 Double-crested Cormorant 750 Great Blue Heron 2 Turkey Vulture 4 Bald Eagle 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 1 Carolina Chickadee 2 Tufted Titmouse 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 Brown Thrasher 1 Eastern Bluebird 2 American Robin 1 Dark-eyed Junco 12 White-throated Sparrow 5 Eastern Towhee 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 Northern Cardinal 6
If you haven’t done a Christmas Bird Count before, what are you waiting for? It is a great opportunity to connect with your fellow bird lovers and spend time outdoors doing something that you love to do. Plus, your observations are helpful to scientists and conservationists in need of local and global population data. Taking part in the annual Christmas Bird Count is a win-win for you and the birds we love!
