Fall Warbler Field Trip

September is the best time to observe migrating songbirds in Western North Carolina, and Jackson Park in Hendersonville is the best place to go. This field experience will involve a whole morning wandering the trails of Jackson Park in search of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and more. The “Oklawaha”, or flooded forest, habitat in Jackson Park produces a large number of insects that the migrants need to fuel up for the long journey south. We will be focusing on finding as many species of warblers as we can. In mid-September it is common to find between 12-18 species of warblers, 3-4 species of Vireos, and 4-6 species of flycatchers. This is a great way to observe these birds in their fall plumage, and often at much lower levels in the trees. The trails are flat and wide in Jackson Park and the weather pleasant most of the time. Bug Spray is a good idea, along with good walking shoes, snacks, and water.

Kevin Burke is originally from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. He grew up running around in the woods and trails of Shenandoah National Park, where he spent summers camping and hiking with his family. Kevin was introduced to birding by his grandmother, who pointed out all the feeder birds and helped him identify them. This early exposure to the natural world helped foster a lifelong love of learning and birding! Inspired by his first formal ornithology class at Hocking College in Ohio, Kevin has been birding every day since. He went on to get a Bachelor of Science in Ecotourism and Conservation Ecology from the University of Idaho. He has been leading birding trips in some capacity for almost 20 years, traveling throughout the US, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. His birding journey has also taken him to some other spectacular locations including Portugal, Colombia, The Bahamas and Canada.

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