The birds of the Smokies may migrate hundreds of miles towards other countries,

but I will always carry them in my heart

My summer in the Smokies was full of intriguing adventures and wonderful animals; some of the best animals I could see and hear all day were the birds. Although I did not have a camera to photograph these birds with clearer pictures, I did not let that stop me. All the pictures shown were taken using a steady hand and my phones camera. For documentation purposes, I’ll be writing the dates I took the picture. A note for this blog, I only posted one picture per species, if I were to add every bird picture I took, this list would never end. The purpose of this blog is to document all the bird species I have seen in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and that I have been able to photograph. In total, I saw 30 different bird species during the summer. 

Bird documentations by pictures

Bird documentations by sound

Here is a list of birds I could not see or could see but not photograph, they were still documented using their call through the Merlin app.

• Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) 05/27/22
• Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 05/28/22
• Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) 05/28/22
• Canadian Goose (Branta canadensis) 05/28/22
• Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 05/28/22
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) 05/31/22
• Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) 05/31/22
• Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina) 05/31/22
• Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) 06/04/22
• Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 06/04/22
• Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 06/10/22
• Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) 06/10/22
• Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) 06/12/22
• Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 06/12/22
• Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius) 06/24/22
• Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 06/29/22
• Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 07/03/22
• Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) 07/06/22
• Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 07/18/22
• Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 07/22/22
• Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 07/30/22
• Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 07/30/22
• Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) 08/04/22

Birding

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the best places to go birding. During the summer, we have around 210 documented species of birds. 110 of them migrate to breed and nests in the park, and 60 of them are permanent residents all year round. I am grateful to be witness to the beautiful diversity of birds in the park, all the way from Owls, to Hawks, and Songbirds. The range in elevations make the perfect home for a wide variety of species. The birds were not the only ones to call the Smokies their home, I am grateful for having spent my summer in these woods. Where I could learn about the history, life, and sights that the Smokies can offer. They are without doubt a magical place, where animals, plants, and other organisms work together to form a balance and keep this forest alive. I learned to love these birds, I can now only continue birding in my island I now understand why birds would migrate hundreds of miles just to breed and nest here in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

05/27/22 Broad-winged Hawk

“How describe the delicate thing that happens when a brilliant insect alights on a flower? Words, with their weight, fall upon the picture like birds of prey” 

– Jules Renard