Carolina Bird Club
The Carolina Bird Club is the pre-eminent group for birders in both North and South Carolina. Founded in 1937, the club now has over 900 members. There are meetings in fall, winter, and spring (at a different location each time), field trips, a newsletter, and a regional ornithological journal, The Chat.
For full details on the club, its activities, and the people involved, visit their web site at http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/.
National Audubon Society
The state offices of the National Audubon Society support many bird programs in the Carolinas. For more details, see the websites of the North Carolina State Office and South Carolina State Office.
Local Bird Clubs in the Carolinas
One of the best ways to learn your birds is by joining your local bird club and going on field trips. If you would like your club to appear on this list, please send brief details in the format used below to cwcook@duke.edu. Here's a shortcut to visit South Carolina.
North Carolina
Audubon Society of Forsyth County, P.O. Box 15111, Winston-Salem, NC. 27113. Annual Dues $15 w/o National Audubon membership. Founded in 1930's. Quarterly newsletters are available on line or distributed through the mail for approximately 500 people. We have around 60 very active members. The monthly meetings are every 4th Tuesday at SciWorks in north Winston-Salem from September thru May. We have 2nd Saturday birdwalks throughout the year and other day trips. In the Spring and Winter we have field trips that last approximately four days. The board meetings are open to all members and are held at the Arbor Acres clubhouse the first Thursday of each month. Our membership chair is Jeremy Reiskind, 336-727-0734, reiskind@earthlink.net. Web site: http://www.forsythaudubon.org/
Blue Ridge Birders, Sparta, NC. Contact: Jim Keighton (brbirders@skybest.com). Blue Ridge Birders is a birding group located in northwest NC and southwest VA. We are an active club with several informal birding trips each year. We also are sponsors for four Christmas Bird Counts and the Mahogany Rock Hawk Watch site located at MP235 of the Blue Ridge Parkway. E-mail group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blueridgebirders/.
Burlington Bird Club Our club meets regularly at 2:00-4:00 on the first Wednesday of most months at Elon Community Church, in Elon NC. Our members are bird watchers and bird lovers who enoy getting together. We usually have a short program presented, we plan trips to allow for bird-watching opportunities, do service projects to aid the birding community, and work together to promote awareness and knowledge of birds. We welcome visitors to our meetings. For more information and updates, see https://www.facebook.com/burlingtonbirdclub. Updated: 5/21/2015
Cape Fear Audubon - local chapter of the National Audubon Society, serving Brunswick, Pender, New Hanover, and Onslow counties. Web: http://www.capefearaudubon.org/
Cape Hatteras Bird Club, founded in 1988, serves as a source of information for birders interested in visiting and finding birds on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Although the club does not offer meetings and programs, it is involved in several activities including the Cape Hatteras Christmas Bird Count, usually December 27, and the annual autumn Wings over Water festival that is sponsored in part by the Us Fish and Wildlife Service and the Carolina Bird Club. Members are involved with National Park bird walks, June through August at Cape Point, and with bird walks year around at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Although dues are no longer requested, donations are appreciated for use in helping with Christmas Count expenses and bird rehabilitation. For more information call Pat Moore, 252-995-4777 or e-mail topatneal@aol.com. Cape Hatteras Bird Club, PO Box 944, Buxton, NC 27920.
Carolina Field Birders - P.O. Box 1155, Cullowhee, NC 28723. Contact Seán O'Connell at soconnell@wcu.edu. A nonprofit birding club primarily serving Jackson and Haywood counties with about 50 members. Regular club meetings are held at the United Community Bank at 1640 East Main Street in Sylva on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30. Monthly field trips are held on the third Thursday and last Saturday of each month. The first annual Jackson/Haywood County Christmas Bird Count was held 4 January 2003. Membership dues are $10. E-mail group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CFBlist/
Carolina Young Birders Club - Charlotte area group for young birders (ages 11-18) started in 2013 by Matt Janson. Website: http://www.carolinayoungbirdersclub.org/
Chapel Hill Bird Club, Chapel Hill, NC. Annual dues $15/address, $10 for students. Founded in the 1930's, about 150 members. Monthly meetings on 4th Monday of Sept-May (except December). Weekly field trips Sept-Apr. Monthly newsletter "The Bulletin". Christmas (since 1924), spring (1952), and fall (1996) bird counts. Contact: David and Judy Smith (davidjudysmith@frontier.com). Website: http://chbc.carolinanature.com/
Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society - P.O. Box 18711, Asheville, NC 28814. Contact Carl Nyberg at chnyberg@aol.com. EMAS is a local chapter of the National Audubon Society serving Buncombe and Henderson counties. Meetings on birds and other topics related to nature and conservation are held at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville, W.T. Weaver Blvd. near Broadway, at 7 p.m. the 3rd Tuesday of the month March through June and September through November. Check the website for board meetings. EMAS owns and manages the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary on Merrimon Ave. in north Asheville, and holds field trips there the 1st Saturday of every month, starting at 8 a.m. June through September, and 9 a.m. October through May; also holds occasional field trips elsewhere. EMAS coordinates the Buncombe County Christmas Bird Count and sponsors the Buncombe County Spring Migration Count. Newsletter the "Raven's Nest" published 9 times a year. Subscription to newsletter is $10 without National Audubon membership. Website: http://www.main.nc.us/emas/.
Foothills Bird Club - serves the northern foothill counties of NC, including Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, and Wilkes. No longer active except for an e-mail group. For information on how to subscribe, contact Dwayne Martin (redxbill@gmail.com).
Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE), Tryon, NC. Annual dues: $25 individual, $35 family, and up. Membership fee gives discount on many birding and natural history programs. Founded in 1985. Membership close to 1000, mailing list of 5000. Newsletter "FENCEPost" comes out quarterly. Monthly calendar distributed to many newspapers, TV, etc. Birdwalks April, May & September-October on every Thursday. Co-sponsors birdwalks in Jackson Park, Hendersonville on second Saturday of every month at 9 AM, and Beaver Lake, Asheville on first Saturday of each month (with Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society). Has birding and natural history field trips throughout Carolinas throughout year (calendar available upon request). Runs Christmas Counts and N.A. Migration Counts. Operates birding and butterfly workshops, butterfly counts, mushroom and wildflower walks, etc. Contact: Simon Thompson, 500 Hunting Country Road, Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, Tryon, NC 28782. Phone: 704.859.9021 Email: fence@teleplex.net Website: http://www.fence.org
Greenville/River Park North Bird Club, c/o Greenville Recreation and Parks, P.O. Box 7207, Greenville, NC 27835-7207. The Greenville/River Park Bird Club was founded in 1988. Presently there are about 50 members. Meetings on first Mondays of Feb, Mar, Apr, June, Sept, Oct, Nov at 7:00pm at River Park North, Greenville. No regular meetings in Jan, July, Aug, Dec. Newsletter published monthly includes calendar of events, meeting information, etc. Regularly scheduled field trips in the local area are listed in the newsletter. Other trips (coastal birding, etc.) are held at irregular intervals. Membership dues: Individual or family $10. For more info, contact: Howard Vainright 252-752-3203 or email asnakeman@hotmail.com.
Henderson County Bird Club, Hendersonville, NC. Formed in May, 2000. Contact: jlbjneal@bellsouth.net.
Highlands Plateau Audubon Society located in Highlands, NC, serves the Highlands, Cashiers, and Scaly Mountain communities. The Highlands Plateau has been designated an important bird area by the North Carolina Audubon Office. This extensive upland area is home to many interesting birds, plants and animals. The chapter was started in 1996 and has a mailing list with 120 members. The chapter has open meetings and programs the first Tuesday of the month, and field trips the first Saturday and third Thursday of each month May through October. The chapter also does its own Christmas bird count in December. The President is Brock Hutchins (828-787-1387, 770-461-5042, brockhutchins@msn.com) and Edwin Poole is the Vice President and field trip coordinator (828-526-2775, kaywick@principia.edu). The web site is www.main.nc.us/nas-hpc.
Lower Cape Fear Bird Club, Wilmington, NC. Monthly meetings and field trips October-May (except December). President: Greg Massey (910) 383-3639. More information at http://lcfbclub.googlepages.com/.
Lower Neuse Bird Club, New Bern, NC. Monthly meetings held on the first Tuesday of the month (except June, July and August) at 7 p.m. at the Garber United Methodist Church, 4201 Country Club Road in Trent Woods. Bird walks at 7 a.m. on the first Saturday of the month. Monthly newsletter. Membership dues: Individual ($15). Contact: Bob Gould by phone at 252-288-4615 or by email at rdrl428@yahoo.com.
Mecklenburg Audubon Society, P. O. Box 221093, Charlotte, NC 28222. Founded by Elizabeth and Eddie Clarkson of Wing Haven in the late 1930s, MAS became the first official chapter of the National Audubon Society in North Carolina in 1970. Mecklenburg Audubon has a long, productive history of bird conservation in the Charlotte area. The current membership of over 1,000 members comes from all walks of life but has one common interest - protecting habitat for birds and other wildlife. Mecklenburg Audubon Society is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. Monthly meetings are the first Thursday of the month from September through May. We host several field trips a month and sponsor three Christmas Counts. More information is available at http://meckbirds.org.
Moore County Bird Club - now merged into the Sandhills Natural History Society, q.v.
Neuseway Bird Club, Kinston, NC at the Neuseway Nature Park. Started January 2013. Bird walks/meetings are held every second Saturday of the month meeting in the nature center parking lot. We go on field trips frequently and have guest speakers come out, please contact before coming to a bird walk to make sure where it will be held. Admission is free! All skill levels and ages are welcomed and encouraged. Contact: Hollie Hardison, email at neusewaybirdclub@yahoo.com, call (252) 939-3302.
New Hope Audubon Society, PO 2693, Chapel Hill, NC 27515, web site: http://www.newhopeaudubon.org/ Serves Durham, Chatham, and Orange Counties. Focus on birds and conservation. Newsletter is free with your annual membership to National Audubon Society. The newsletter alone is $20 a year. Monthly meetings at Totten Center in Chapel Hill, September - May. Field trips offered monthly.
North Banks Bird Club, Manteo, NC. Founded in 2000. Meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Dare County Public Library in Kill Devil Hills. Contact: Jeff Lewis, 131 Sunnyside Lane, Manteo, NC 27954 (jlewis_obx@yahoo.com, 252-473-1086).
NC Bluebird Society, P.O Box 4191, Greensboro, NC 27401. A nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the future of the Eastern Bluebird and other cavity-nesting birds native to North Carolina. Web: http://www.ncbluebird.com/
Piedmont Bird Club, Greensboro, NC. Founded in 1938, about 100 members. Monthly programs, field trips about 2 per month; weekend coastal trips at Thanksgiving and Easter. Christmas and Spring Bird Counts. Newsletter, "The Piedmont Birder," and yearbook. On-going conservation and educational projects. Contact: P.O. Box 38833, Greensboro, NC 27438. E-mail piedmontbirder@triad.rr.com. Web: http://www.piedmontbirdclub.org/
Sandhills Natural History Society, Southern Pines, NC. Meets monthly at Weymouth Woods State Nature Preserve located in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Meetings are usually held on the 4th Monday of each month. Socializing begins at 7:00 pm and the program begins at 7:30 pm. With over 100 members currently, the Society was formed in 2005 from the Moore County Bird Club, which existed off and on since the 1920's. Web: http://www.sandhillsnature.org/
T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society - P.O. Box 10157, Greensboro, NC 27404. See website for dates and locations for monthly meetings and field trips. Web: http://www.tgpearsonaudubon.org/
Transylvania County Bird Club, Brevard, NC. Annual dues $10 per address. Founded 1991, about 85 members. Weekly field trips Sept - June. Quarterly newsletter "Chip Notes." Christmas Bird Count (begun 1972); Spring Count (begun 1973). Contact: Norma and Bill Siebenheller, 2073 Glen Cannon Drive, Pisgah Forest NC 28768, Tel. 828-884-5443, email: sieb@citcom.net; or Marvin and Michele Barg, 265 Sylvan Byway, Pisgah Forest NC 28768, Tel. 828-862-8980, email: mbarg@comporium.net, web: http://web.comporium.net/~mbarg/.
Wake Audubon Society, Raleigh, NC. We meet at 7:30 pm on the second Tuesday of the months of Sept-May at the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. We have a field trip at least once a month during those months. Contact: Lena Gallitano, 919-571-0388. Web: http://www.wakeaudubon.org/
South Carolina
Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society - serves the central Savannah River area and includes communities on both the Georgia and South Carolina sides of the river. Six meetings per year (alternate months beginning in January), birding field trips, Christmas and Migratory Bird Counts, educational and conservation programs. Web: http://augustaaikenaudubon.org/
Cape Romain Bird Observatory - promotes bird conservation and healthy ecosystems through scientific study, volunteer efforts, ecotourism promotion, and education & outreach programs. Web: http://www.crbo.net/
Charleston Natural History Society - Founded as the Charleston Natural History Society in 1905, this chapter of the National Audubon Society (since 1970) serves Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties. They actively promote awareness, appreciation, and conservation of the natural environment through educational programs, field trips, conservation projects, sponsored research, and social activities. Web: www.charlestonaudubon.org.
Columbia Audubon Society - PO Box 5923, Columbia, SC 29250. We are a chapter of National Audubon Society. Dues (to National) are $20 a year and include their magazine and subscription to our chapter newsletter. Membership of about 750; active membership of about 50-60. Meetings are several times per year from September through May. Field trips throughout the year. Visitors and nonmembers welcomed and encouraged to attend all events. Be sure to check our website for current meeting and field trip information. Contact: Dan Tufford (dantufford@yahoo.com). Website: http://www.columbiaaudubon.org/.
Fripp Island Audubon Club - Founded in 1978. Website: http://www.islc.net/audubon/
Greenville County Bird Club, Greenville, SC. Annual dues $10/Individual, $12/Family. Founded in February, 2000, about 40 members. Monthly bird walks and counts. Two board meetings and four newsletters a year. Contact Hilda Reese, membership chair at (864) 877-6467, or hungrybird@aol.com. Address: 101 Pine Forest Drive, Greer, SC 29651. Website: http://gcbirdclub.org/.
Hilton Head Island Audubon Society - Founded in 1974, serves the communities of Southern Beaufort County. Website: http://www.hiltonheadaudubon.org/
Keowee Clemson Bird Club - new group based in Clemson, SC. Contact Matt Johnson (mjohns5@clemson.edu) for more information.
Lowcountry Audubon Society, Ridgeland - Contact Wofford Malphrus (843-726-5663) for more information.
Piedmont Audubon Society, Spartanburg - Contact Lyle Campbell (lcampbell@uscupstate.edu) for more information..
Sun City Hilton Head Bird Club, Bluffton. Meet on the first Wednesday of the month, 4-5 p.m. Weekly bird walks in Sun City in season. Annual dues $5 per individual or $10 per family. Website: http://www.suncitybirdclub.org
Waccamaw Audubon Society, Myrtle Beach - http://ww2.coastal.edu/richard/audubon/