Nothing could be finer than these Carolina birds

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.