The North Carolina Mountains are home to around 25 species of breeding wood warblers and several more that migrate through. Early to mid-May is the best time to view peak diversity of warblers in the habitat rich region of Western North Carolina. Please join us as we celebrate this wonderful family of birds with our Warbler Weekend. We will arrive in Asheville on Friday, April 29th and plan to bird all day the Saturday and Sunday.
During our two full day warbler weekend we will explore a multitude of habitats including marshes, hardwood forest, and the high elevation spruce fir forest. The lower elevations on the edge of the Blue Ridge Escarpments have been good for Swainson’s, Kentucky, and Prothonotary Warblers. Moving up the escarpment into the hard wood forest we will search or numerous more species including Black-throated Green, American Redstart, and Hooded Warblers. Ascending into the highest elevations in the East we will search out Canada, Black-throated Blue, and Chestnut-sided Warblers.
Western North Carolina is also extremely fortunate to have a small population of Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers in the area. These two species will be main targets for the weekend. We will encounter more than just warblers on our weekend. It is prime time for shorebird migration, and we will check out the local sod fields to see if anything has turned up. The high elevations are home to several species of flycatchers such as Alder and Least.
We will likely see and hear over 120 species for the weekend. This is a great way to study this beautiful family of birds in a gorgeous mountain setting. We hope to see you here in the mountains for an awesome warbler packed weekend.