River Park North in Greenville NC, my home town favorite birding site has been closed for days due to high water. Parkers Creek runs through the park, emptying into the Tar River. When the River floods, as it has done lately, the Creek backs up into the Park. Like most areas of the Southeast, we have had high temperatures and too much rain this fall/winter. Today for the first time in a week or so, we had a blue-sky day with early morning temps in the 30s, so I decided to visit the Park and see if I could get on the trails. The water had indeed receded and aside from a few muddy spots, the trails were usable. I enjoyed a two hour walk and while I did not see a large number of species, I did see a few of our year round residents, a few winter visitors, and a real surprise! There was a Black and White Warbler feeding busily in the bark of the Birch trees! Other than the Pine and Yellow-rumped warblers, most all the warblers we see in the Park are migrants in spring and fall and are usually gone from our area by mid-November at the latest in the Fall migration. So it was a real and pleasant surprise to see and get photos of one here in mid-witer. i can’t help but believe the bird’s presence has something to do with our very warm fall and winter temps. Perhaps he is just arriving with the recent push of cold air that finally feels like winter! See pics below.
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