Spring migration reaches its peak in Charlotte

I had the pleasure of leading a group of enthusiastic birders through Dilworth’s Latta Park last Sunday. Migration was at its peak and the birds did not disappoint.

The stroll started off a bit slow, with the warblers and other migrants keeping pretty quiet. By about 9:30, things really started picking up. Black-throated blue warblers sang their lazy, buzzy song from the shadowy thickets. Cape May warblers started next, with their thin, high-pitched notes from the tops of the trees. One brilliant male dropped down to eye level briefly, closely followed by a male black-throated green warbler.

A thin birch tree along the creek held a breathtaking sight: five rose-breasted grosbeaks all in the field of view at one time. They were easily the most cooperative songbirds of the day. A short while later, a male scarlet tanager in spring finery gave us great looks as it perched obligingly in the bright sun. It was soon joined by a female, much more subdued in dull yellow plumage.

The park’s resident barred owls made themselves available, too. One adult perched close to the nest box, unconcerned as cameras clicked and fingers pointed. Later, a young owl still clad in down perched at the box entrance hole.

A bright orange Baltimore oriole tantalized the group with vigorous singing and loud chattering from the top of a large oak. Despite knowing exactly where the bird was, we all had trouble finding it. A few in the group finally got decent views of it. That is one challenge with birding in Latta Park; the birds are often high in the trees in thick foliage. Luckily some interesting birds are at ground level, too.

Several ovenbirds foraged under the hemlock trees, cocking their tails straight up as they shuffled through the leaf litter. A Swainson’s thrush did the same with the characteristic running gait of the ground-feeding thrushes.

We enjoyed watching pairs of white-breasted nuthatches and red-bellied woodpeckers go in and out of their nest holes, busy feeding the nestlings that were certainly inside. Gray catbirds and American robins also gathered food and nest material.

There are still good numbers of migrants in the park. I recommend a visit before they all pass through.

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Spring migration reaches its peak in Charlotte."