North Carolina Mountain Birds: Cooper’s Hawk

Cooper's Hawk [photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildreturn/8474601987/}

For our October 2016 pick in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series, we’ve selected a bird that, like us, loves to be in the woods. Since the Inn on Mill Creek B&B is situated inside Pisgah National Forest, keep an eye out for one of its year-round residents, the Cooper’s Hawk.

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North Carolina Mountain Birds: Common Yellowthroat

Our August 2016 bird in the 12 Months of Birding series here on the Inn on Mill Creek blog is a terrific warbler, the Common Yellowthroat. This bright and cheery songbird arrives in springtime to the mountains of western North Carolina and remains in our neck of the woods throughout the summer months.

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North Carolina Mountain Birds: American Redstart

Bird with black head and orange chest perched observantly on a tree branch

We’ve chosen a decidedly American bird for our July 2016 pick in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series: The American Redstart. Not only does this feathered fellow have “American” in its name, but you can find it in nearly every state in the continental U.S. during the summer or migration period in spring and fall.

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North Carolina Mountain Birds: Acadian Flycatcher

Arriving during spring migration and hanging out all summer long in parts of Pisgah National Forest is the Acadian Flycatcher, our June 2016 pick in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series. If you book one of our rooms in the Deck House, you may see one of these enchanting little birds making the acrobatic feat of catching insects while flying look easy.

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North Carolina Mountain Birds: Swainson’s Thrush

Close up of a medium sized brown bird with speckled chest facing sideways on a branch in the woods

In the spring, we see lots of migratory birds in western North Carolina — some hang around for the spring and summer, while others are just passing through on their way to another destination. One of those “just passing through” birds is our May 2016 pick in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series: the Swainson’s Thrush.

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North Carolina Mountain Birds: White-throated Sparrow

Stout brownish gray bird with a striped head and boldly colored patch between its eye and bill perched on a tree branch

As we transition from winter to spring, one bird that may be spotted on its migration back north to cooler climes is the White-throated Sparrow, a winter resident of the Asheville area and our March 2016 selection in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series.

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North Carolina Mountain Birds: Ruby-crowned Kinglet

The February 2016 pick for our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn series on the blog is a cool-weather resident of Pisgah National Forest around the Inn on Mill Creek,  providing a little bit of spunk to the forest during an otherwise quiet wintry season. Let’s meet the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

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