Brown-headed Nuthatch by Doug Pratt

Chapel Hill Bird Club

The purpose of the Chapel Hill Bird Club is to provide engagement and educational opportunities for area birders of all experience levels. We offer interesting educational programs, local birding field trips, Christmas and spring bird counts, and connection to other members via a Facebook group. Members have access to like-minded people including experts who can answer your questions. Whether you watch birds in your yard or travel to the ends of the earth to chase rarities, our club offers something for you. We are a friendly group and welcome all to join us, especially new birders! Our members are mostly from the Triangle area of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Pittsboro, and surrounding towns.

News

Next Meeting

March 24, 2025

Bo Howes and Jin Bai—Habitat Management and Bird Population at Brumley North

When: Monday, March 24, 2025 at 7:15pm (light refreshments served at 7:15, program to start at 7:30)

Where: Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 or on Zoom

RSVP: Let us know you are coming by responding to our Facebook event. To attend by Zoom, register to get the Zoom link here.

Brumley Forest Nature Preserve is a local popular birding hotspot in the Triangle, managed by the Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC). TLC has been working on land management activities aimed at improving the quality of habitat at Brumley North, including prescribed burns, removing invasive plants, planting native seeds and plugs, and doing bird-centered outreach events. Since the Fall of 2022, TLC and New Hope Bird Alliance have conducted bird surveys to evaluate the effects of these habitat management activities on the bird population at Brumley N. Bo Howes and Jin Bai will co-present a talk presenting information on the management activities at Brumley N with Jin presenting bird population level and trends at Brumley N using data collected and compiled from the bird survey. In addition, Jin will also talk about the warbler index, which gives some unique insights into the birding hotspots with the highest number of warbler species seen during each migration season in the Triangle.

Bo Howes started as Conservation Project Manager for TLC in October 2008 and currently holds the position of Director of Land Protection and Stewardship West. With deep roots in the local community, Bo has successfully identified, initiated, and closed scores of land projects. He is a past president of the New Hope Audubon Society and a former member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation. He remains on the Botanical Garden Foundation Conservation Committee and is president of the Chapel Hill Bird Club.

Jin Bai received his Ph.D. in 2024 in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology program at NCSU and studies the drivers of urban bird diversity. He has extensive experience designing, coordinating, and assisting citizen science projects in the Triangle area, including organizing the Triangle Bird Count and bird-window collision monitoring. Jin is the Community Science Committee Chair and a board member of New Hope Bird Alliance.

Find the lineup of future speakers on our speakers page.

Membership and Donations

Annual dues are $25 per individual or family, or $10 if you're a student. Dues go by calendar year, Jan 1 to Dec 31, so renewal season is now for continuing members. If you are a new member, you can join now and we'll credit your membership as being for 2025. To join the club, renew your membership, or make a donation, visit the membership and donation page.

Field Trips

We have bimonthly field trips from September through April, except during bird count seasons. Check our bird walk schedule for dates and times.

Meetings

We have monthly meetings from September through May (except December), generally on the fourth Monday of the month at 7:30pm. We are exploring holding hybrid meetings this season—in-person meetings with a Zoom option. As the night of the meeting approaches, please look for an announcement with the Zoom meeting link on the Chapel Hill Bird Club email list and Facebook page, and Carolinabirds.

In-person meetings are at 7:30 pm on the fourth Monday of the month at Binkley Baptist Church, in the Lounge. Binkley is at 1712 Willow Drive in Chapel Hill, at the intersection with 15-501 near University Mall (map with meeting room pinpointed). Visitors welcome! Come at 7:15 for light refreshments. We don't have a meeting in June, July, August, or December.

Find the lineup of meetings and speakers for our 2024–2025 season on our speakers page.

Our newsletter is the Chapel Hill Bird Club Bulletin. Current issue: March 2025. For past issues, visit our archives page.

Archives and Club History

Find past zoom meeting recordings, all of our newsletters since 1999, and an article on the first 50 years of the club on our archives page.

Counts and Lists

Bird counts, the Triangle Bird Checklist, and link to the Mini-BBS are on the Counts and Lists page.

Club Stuff

Officers, Constitution, and By-Laws of the Chapel Hill Bird Club.

Questions? Email us!

Facebook Group

If you'd like to interact with other local bird folks online, check out the Chapel Hill Bird Club's Facebook group.

Other Groups

You may wish to join the Carolina Bird Club, which covers both Carolinas, as well as New Hope Bird Alliance or Wake Audubon, which also have bird-related programs and activities.

Morgan Creek mudflats field trip, 8/3/02

Field trip exploring the Morgan Creek mudflats at Jordan Lake, 8/3/2002.

Carolina Nature | Carolinabirds info | Triangle Birder's Guide

Last update: 03/24/2025