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

March Meeting Program

March 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm — Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive, Chapel Hill

Curtis Smalling—Motus Towers and Tracking Birds

We are in a golden age of migration science, with tracking technology revealing new insights into the epic journeys of migratory birds. This session will explore the Motus tower network and Audubon's Bird Migration Explorer, offering guidance on how your chapter can contribute by installing a tower in your community. Motus towers are affordable and easy to set up, but more are needed to build out the network in North Carolina, especially in the Piedmont.

Curtis is a 1985 magna cum laude graduate of Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and in 1996 received a Master of Arts in Appalachian Studies. A life-long bird watcher, Curtis began watching birds with his grandfather, who was very interested in Purple Martins. With Audubon NC for more than 23 years, his current position is Vice President and Executive Director.

He is a member of several conservation committees including the International Golden-winged Warbler working group (including working on this species and others on their wintering grounds in Nicaragua), chair of the NC State Scientific Council Bird Committee, and a member of the steering committee for the Bird Atlas effort in NC. He has been involved in wind and bird interactions for two decades, including service on NC's first wind working group and helping draft legislation and model local ordinances regarding wind energy in NC.

He is a contributing author or editor for several books, publications, and peer reviewed papers. He resides in Garner, NC with his wife of 42 years, Mary, and has three children and five grandchildren.

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 2025–2026 season on our speakers page.

Our newsletter is the Chapel Hill Bird Club Bulletin. Current issue: March 2026. 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.

Chapel Hill Bird Club field trip at Oregon Inlet, 1/19/2026

Field trip exploring Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks, 1/19/2026. Photo courtesy of Loren Hintz

Carolina Nature | Carolinabirds info | Triangle Birder's Guide

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