Members of the Raleigh birding community will toss their binoculars into the car at the drop of a sun hat for a two-hour drive to catch a glimpse of a rare specimen on their lifer list.
So as word got out this week that a familiar — if furtive — feathered friend was back in town, they practically flocked to Dix Park get a look. While dozens of other visitors milled about in the vast sunflower field snapping selfies or zooming in on honey bees, the birders were up the hill behind the parking lot with their noses and camera lenses pointed toward the top of a mulberry tree.
“Psssssssh, pssssssh, psssssh,” Corie Latta hissed toward the vacant foliage Thursday morning, trying to call forth the painted bunting that has made what birders believe is its fourth pilgrimage to the Capital City in as many years…