Took a quick trip up to western North Carolina between Christmas and New Year’s Day to visit family. As a bonus, I got to photograph a handful of new-to-me birds around Lake Junaluska plus some other familiar ones who were settling in for the winter.
With temperatures in the 30s and 40s, I was surprised by how many birds were out and about around the lake. And maybe it was the colder temps or just familiarity with folks, but most of these birds had no problem with letting me approach them and take photos.
Here are some of my favorite pics from the North Carolina trip.
Carolina Chickadee, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Carolina Chickadee, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Carolina Chickadee, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Carolina Chickadee, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.American Robin, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.American Robin, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.House Finch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.House Finch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.House Finch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Eastern Bluebird, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Eastern Bluebird, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Eastern Bluebird, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Eastern Bluebird, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.White-breasted Nuthatch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.White-breasted Nuthatch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.White-breasted Nuthatch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.White-breasted Nuthatch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.White-breasted Nuthatch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Male Mallard, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Male Mallard, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Ring-necked Duck, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Song Sparrow, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Song Sparrow, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Song Sparrow, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Canada Goose, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Canada Geese, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Bald Eagle, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Bald Eagle, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Bald Eagles, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Royal Mute Swan, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.American Goldfinch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.American Goldfinch, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Belted Kingfisher, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Belted Kingfisher, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Carolina Wren, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.American Crow, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.Female Ruddy Duck, Lake Junaluska, N.C., December 2023.
One of the cool benefits of visiting the Orlando Wetlands regularly is witnessing how the little baby birds grow into big birds. Here are two examples.
I photographed a family of American Oystercatchers at Fort DeSoto Park, and I ended up learning a lot about these colorful birds and their interesting backstory.
