Warren-Wilson Farm Fields: November 21, 2025

This is the second of Simon’s day trips while he was in town. Today we went to one of our favorite bird-rich spots- the farm-fields at Warren Wilson College. There was some rain predicted for the morning, but thankfully it stayed away until the very end and even then, it was barely more than a few drops.

We parked at the church and walked down to the farm with our first stop being to “ooh and aah” over the families of Berkshire cross pigs. This old breed probably originated in the south of England (hence the name!) and was imported into the US in the early 1800’s and is a very good and sturdy breed that’s receiving more popularity these days.

With the amount of rank vegetation much more evident at the moment we had to start the day with sparrows! There were certainly a lot of Song Sparrows around and every time we squeaked several would pop into view. We also had great views of White-crowned, White-throated, Field, Chipping, Swamp and even a couple of Fox Sparrows that didn’t cooperate particularly well. We heard them sing their lovely ethereal songs several times.

As well as sparrows, other birds included Rusty Blackbirds, several fly-over American pipits, a pair of Bald Eagles, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Wood Duck. A quick look at the back of Charles D Owen Park showed that the river had naturalized beautifully since the storm, so hopefully any future park development will continue to allow the river to flow naturally.

The full checklist can be found here:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S285481236

The rough pasture and edges of the fields at Warren-Wilson College are particularly good for sparrows