Winter Birds of Beidler Forest

The cold snap has finally ended! After eleven nights of below-freezing weather and daytime temperatures in the 30F-40Fs, today's high is well into the 60Fs! The warmer weather already has us talking about the return of spring migrants. Seems like it is too early, but it is only six weeks before the Yellow-throated Warblers begin singing, followed by the Northern Parula Warblers and by the end of March we will be spotting Prothonotary Warblers!

Here are a few of the winter residents we spotted from the boardwalk yesterday:

Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)

















Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)























Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)


















Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
















Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
























Pine Warbler (Dendroica striata)


























Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

























Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)



















Barred Owl (Strix varia)


Images by Mark Musselman