By Sally Siko
A Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler encounter in Henderson NV
Cape May NJ birding trips are open for booking
By Sally Siko
Here’s a few of the beautiful birds that I’m looking forward to seeing this year in Cape May New Jersey.
With its sandy beaches, marine forests and wetlands, Cape May is one of the best places to go birding during migration on the eastern seaboard.
It’s going to so much fun to get back up there to show these birds to my tour guests.
Want to join me?
Photographers and birders of all skill levels are welcome to come along as we spend time in this beautiful countryside looking for migrating warblers, raptors, waterfowl and other songbirds.
Cape May tour dates for spring and autumn migration are available for reservation now.
Check the link below for my upcoming tour dates and trip details.
Feel free to shoot me an email anytime if you have any questions.
See ya out there 🙌
Happy birding-
Sally
Black-throated green Warblers have returned to North Carolina
By Sally Siko
With the arrival of spring, tons of new birds will be making their way into the Carolinas over the next couple of months.
Here’s a species, I was happy to see was reported in southern North Carolina last week, a Black-throated green Warbler. I love how visually striking these little birds are! That combination of yellow and black plumage really pops.
As is the case with most of our East Coast warblers, these guys are voracious consumers of insects. This means that the best time to look for them is in the morning hours after the sun has risen high enough to warm the leaves and get the insects moving.
Then it’s game on for hungry birds as they flit among the new leaves in the upper canopies, in search of a six or eight legged snack.
The Black-throated green Warbler is a spring and summertime resident of North Carolina. Curiously, they nest both in our mountains to the west and also in our eastern counties, generally eschewing the central part of the state, other than during migrational periods.
In the Appalachians, they are found in greater numbers at elevations above 2500 feet in mixed hardwood and coniferous forests.
The eastern breeders prefer areas containing American white cedar and along the edges of stands of Cyprus.
The best way to locate one of these beauties is to listen for their song, a high-pitched, rising buzzy “zeee-zeee-zooo-zeee,” in the upper canopy’s of trees. They’ll stick around until early October so we’ve got plenty of time to enjoy them before the year is through.
Aren’t they lovely?
Photo by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5
Swamp Sparrows in central NC
By Sally Siko
Happy to spend time with this cute little Swamp Sparrow earlier this month while birding at Cape Fear Shiners Park in Lillington, NC.
I’d located him in a scrubby area near one of the ponds by listening to his calls emanating from the brush.
That’s not surprising given that these little puffballs are known for their melodious and complex songs, which consist of a series of trills, buzzes, and whistles. Each individual even has its own unique variation of the song which I find fascinating.
True omnivores, Swamp Sparrows primarily feed on insects, seeds, and small invertebrates. During the breeding season, they may also consume berries and other fruits for an added boost of nutrition needed for reproduction.
You’ll usually see them picking off insects from the undergrowth or snacking on the various seeds scattered on the ground. This is nice because usually one can catch a good look at one from eye level vs. having to look high up in a tree to spot ‘em.
These little guys are a common find during the winter months across North Carolina. That being said, they tend to be a bit shy and as their name implies, they’re best found in muddy swamps and wet fields which can be difficult to access at times.
Still it’s nice to sit and enjoy watching them as they flit around cheerfully on a quest to fill that round bird belly so it’s worth the effort and the muddy boots.
They’ll stick around the Tarheel state from now through late April so if you haven’t seen one this year, there’s still plenty of time for you to find one too!
By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule including destinations in Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and even several trips right here in central NC at Cape Fear Shiners Park.
Check out the link below or shoot me an email and book your next birding adventure with me today!
https://birdwatchingnc.com/birdwatching-n-c-trips-birding-in-north-carolina/
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5
Yellow-crowned Night Heron in the Triangle
By Sally Siko
Pleased to see a Yellow-crowned Night Heron in Pittsboro NC!
Spotting this bird in a heavily forested suburban neighborhood was truly a surprise because they’re typically found in wetland habitats including marshes, swamps, mangroves, and wooded areas as long as it’s near water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and ponds.
Though this species has been known to breed in sporadically central NC, they are far more a common sight in our eastern counties so seeing this bird was a treat indeed.
As their name suggests, Yellow-crowned Night Herons are primarily nocturnal hunters. They feed on a diet consisting mainly of crustaceans, insects, fish, amphibians, and small mammals.
They are endowed with specialized adaptations for hunting in low light conditions, including large eyes with a high density of light-sensitive cells and a keen sense of hearing.
The definition of a patient hunter, it typically stalks its prey, moving slowly and quietly through shallow waters, marshes, or along the shoreline.
Once it spots a potential meal, it strikes swiftly with its sharp beak to capture its prey. This bird may also wait motionless for extended periods, hardly moving a muscle while using its keen eyesight to detect movement before striking.
If you ever encounter one in hunting mode it’s well worth the wait to see one strike. Truly an entertaining thing to watch!
These guys are best found from mid April through mid October so we’ve all got plenty of time to tick them off our North Carolina lists this year.
I hope that you get to see one too!
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5
Prothonotary Warblers in NC
By Sally Siko
Come birding with me in South Carolina
By Sally Siko
I love North Carolina but gosh I’m looking forward to heading into coastal South Carolina this spring to go find some cool waders.
Herons, Egrets, Wood Storks, Spoonbills and even Limpkins are all birds that I’ve been lucky to spend time with while leading tours.
It’s neat watching them with my guests as the birds hunt for food and squabble in the marsh.
If you’d like to join me out there to find and photograph these beautiful birds too, check out the calendars below for details about my group trips in South Carolina.
Happy birding!
-Sally
Northern Rough- winged Swallows in central NC
By Sally Siko
While birding at Shiners Park in Lillington NC this past weekend, I spotted a Northern Rough-winged Swallow perched on a power line.
Normally these little guys are seen swooping quickly overhead at about a zillion mph so it was cool to get a couple of shots of one relaxing in the sunshine.
Named for the small hooks or “roughened” edges on the leading edge of their outer primary feathers, Rough-winged Swallows are elegant looking birds. Though they aren’t as visually flashy as other swallow species, with that sweet face they are indeed charming.
As is the case with most swallow species, they are voracious eaters of flying insects including flies, beetles, and mosquitoes. They catch their prey in flight, often gliding low over water or fields to hunt.
Sociable and chatty, Northern Rough-winged Swallows are generally colonial nesters, meaning they nest in groups in the sides of mud laden vertical river banks and under bridge, often near other swallow species.
They can often be seen flying and foraging in mixed flocks of Barn and Tree swallows and can be ID’d by their brown bodies and tan belly’s.
These sweet birds are just returning to North Carolina to spend the summer.
Though they occur in all 100 of our counties they’re best found in the central and western part of the state.
Look for them gliding over ponds, rivers, lakes and estuaries from now through mid August.
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5
By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!
Springtime Prothonotary Warblers in North Carolina
By Sally Siko
One of my favorite springtime arrivals is the Prothonotary Warbler. Not only are they flat out gorgeous, but they’re among the most friendly birds out there!
Although I’ve seen many over the years, none matched this experience I had with this handsome fella a couple of years ago while birding at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, NC.
I’d spotted him flitting in the low branches adjacent to the bridge and decided to to give pishing (making a noise that sounds like a kiss whisper) a try.
Incredibly, the Prothonotary flew right up onto the railing of the bridge right next to me and continued to sing and even was relaxed enough to stop and preen every so often.
This same bird even landed onto the shoulders and heads of a couple of my birding friends too.
Absolutely the best warbler encounter I’ve ever had.
Prothonotary Warblers are best found in swampy areas in the central part of the state. They also favor habitats containing ponds or streams in mixed deciduous forest areas.
Soon the males will arrive, ahead of the females who will come in a couple weeks. The guys have a lot to do before their prospective mates fly in because it’s their job to select a nesting site, which will impress the females.
As cavity nesters, it’s the males job to find the best places to for the pair to raise a family. This means that during the first week or so the males will inspect many potential home sites, peeping in and out of holes in dead or decaying trees. When a couple of spots are selected, the males will start building multiple nests. Once the ladies arrive, it’s then up to them to choose the best nest site which the males have prepared for them.
Pretty cool huh?
These beautiful feathered gems arrived in the Tarheel State just a couple of weeks ago. Listen for their calls in the woods from now through late August.
Photo by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5
By the way, I’ve added more than 80 new birding tour dates to my Best Life Birding trip schedule.
Check out the calendar below and book your next birding adventure with me today!
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers in NC
By Sally Siko
A sure sign that spring is here is marked by the arrival of the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
I spotted several this morning while birding near my home in central North Carolina.
Happily these little guys were super curious about my presence in the woods so they kept flying in close to get a look at me. Normally Gnatcatchers are kinda hard to photograph since they tend to zip around at a zillion miles per hour but not these two lol!
Both birds actually moved through the brush at a slower than usual pace often pausing to eyeball an insect or to inspect their surroundings which led to some excellent photo opportunities for me. 🙂
Among the smallest birds in North America, only measuring around 4.5 inches (11 cm) in length.
What they lack in size they make up for tenfold in energy! They are highly active birds, constantly flitting about in search of insects to eat. Gnatcatchers are known for their agility and can even hover briefly while catching insects in mid-air.
Again, despite their pint size, they’ve got a surprisingly loud and complex song too which makes them easy to locate in the field. Their vocalizations include a series of high-pitched, nasal notes often described as sounding like “spee-spee-spee.”
The Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are just now making their way up the east coast of the United States heading north for their breeding season ahead.
They are found throughout all 100 counties of North Carolina, and will stick around the Tarheel state through mid October.
Be in the lookout for them this summer and enjoy every second with them!
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty mirrorless monster, the @canonusa #R5