Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) - 08May2018

The Olive-sided Flycatcher is a relative rarity in NC.  We get a few each year, but usually in the mountains and usually just a one-hit wonder passing through before anyone can chase them.  This one was found at Reynolda Gardens in Winston Salem, NC and stuck around long enough for me to make the drive.

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) - 08May2020

As I sit here looking through Wood Thrush pictures I am still on lock down for COVID-19.  If there is one thing calling to me with the strongest siren song, it is the Wood Thrush.  If you have never heard this species, google it immediately and take a listen.  Pure music!  They look like punk rockers but sound more like Pavarotti.

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) - 05May2018

The easiest way to ID an Eastern Wood-Pewee is by its plaintive call.  Or just bird in the right habitat in the right time of year and you can be pretty sure that's what it is if it is a flycatcher.  Holly Shelter long-leaf pine habitat in May is a good place and time for them.  That's where this one was photographed.

Veery (Catharus fuscater) - 28Apr2018

The musical calls and songs of the Veery are onomatopoeic.  The forest in the mountains is full of their beautiful veer calls in April. This one was up on Max Patch Rd in western NC.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) - 27Apr2018

I usually hate feeder pics, but this one doesn't bother me too much maybe because this is an especially crisp looking Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the feeder is kind of nice. Taken near the Brevard Hike and Bike path in western NC.

Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera) - 27Apr2018

Love these guys!  The call is a Beee-buzz that is unmistakable and once you see the eye line matched with the all yellow head and breast you know you have a keeper.  In NC they are not seen often near the coast.  I got this one at Jackson Park in Hendersonville, NC.

Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) - 28Apr2018

One of the shorebird species we only see during migration, this one was spotted at Beaver Lake in Asheville, NC.