Brown-headed Nuthatch
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

April 28, 2025

Robert Driver—Evolution and Functional Characterization of Olfactory Receptors in Birds

When: Monday, April 28, 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 [link to come]

Vertebrates detect odor molecules with olfactory receptors (ORs), a gene family expressed in the olfactory epithelium. Among species, OR diversity is associated with reliance on smell, with some mammals exceeding 2,000 OR genes. Birds are the most speciose class of terrestrial vertebrates, inhabiting nearly all land environments and with diverse social structures and foraging strategies, yet were long thought to make limited use of olfactory signals. Recent behavioral work in birds has shown important roles for olfaction in foraging and species recognition, among other behaviors. Contributing to this surge of interest in avian olfaction, our recent work has shown that birds have hundreds more OR genes in their genomes than previously realized.

Dr. Driver received his B.S. in Biology from Muhlenberg College in 2009 and his M.S. degree in Biology in 2017 from Villanova University. In 2022, Robert received his PhD in Biology from East Carolina University. Robert is currently an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University, in the lab of Dr. Hiroaki Matsunami, where he researches bird olfactory receptors and bird sense of smell.

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.

Newsletter

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! chbirdclub at gmail.com

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

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