Chapters Gather in Winston-Salem to Share Conservation Successes

The North Carolina flock gathered in Winston-Salem on February 15 for our first in-person Chapter Day in years. Although rainy, the day was made brighter by chapter leaders and members sharing wins for birds and communities across the state. 

We heard how Blue Ridge Audubon is building hemispheric connections in Colombia, how Mecklenburg Audubon installed their first Motus Tower, how Wake Audubon and New Hope Bird Alliance celebrated their 50-year anniversaries, how Forsyth Audubon is engaging young birders, and much more. 

Audubon staff also gave updates on everything happening at the General Assembly and how we can help chapters take their advocacy to the next level. Executive Director Curtis Smalling led a conversation about bird-friendly communities and how chapters can continue to help us lead state-wide conservation efforts. 

“Our chapter network pioneered how we work at the local level to conserve and rebuild habitat for birds, whether it be at a park or someone's backyard,” said Smalling. “We want to continue this work while also meeting new challenges brought by tree canopy loss, extreme weather, and more.” 

This was also the first Chapter Day for our new Community Building Director Dana Sargent, who organized and led the event. “It was great to learn about all the work our chapters are doing,” said Sargent. “It's truly inspiring to see how much they do for birds and people within their communities.” 

Read on for a highlight of chapter successes from the past year. 

Blue Ridge Audubon had a successful Birdathon fundraising event and raised over $12,000 to help protect a vital tract of wintering bird habitat in Santa Maria, Colombia. The project will support many of our treasured summer migrants like the Canada and Cerulean Warblers and Acadian Flycatchers. They’ve also continued their successful Birds and Brews program, and are working to improve habitat at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary following Hurricane Helene. 

Mecklenburg Audubon installed their first Motus tower on UNC Charlotte’s campus. Their first detection was a Wood Thrush in October. They donated thousands of dollars, generated through a Birds & Beans Coffee initiative, to a farm in Nicaragua that protects migratory bird wintering grounds. They’ve continued important partnerships to advance urban landscaping ordinances and to provide science teacher and researcher grants. 

Forsyth Audubon has been engaging their community through donating birding backpacks, hosting young birders walks, and a birdy book club. They coordinated a BioBlitz at Long Creek Park which they helped conserve and are working to advance their bird-friendly habitat yard certification program. They also partnered with the City of Winston-Salem's sustainability department on native landscaping and lights out. 

Wake Audubon is partnering with the Town of Fuquay-Varina and a local chapter of the NC Wildlife Federation on a sweeping project to remove invasive species at Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park. The next step will be to install a native meadow and create a maintenance plan for the town. The chapter is also continuing its partnership with the Oak Folks to advocate for trees in Raleigh. 

New Hope Bird Alliance is kicking off their “Fund for the Future” campaign to raise money to hire an executive director to help the chapter continue to grow its conservation impact. They’ve continued their extremely successful bird outings while engaging diverse people and communities. The chapter is also continuing to work on local land-use rules in Durham and Chatham Counties to make them more bird-friendly. 

The Avian Society at UNC Chapel Hill, our newest campus affiliate, has partnered with New Hope Bird Alliance on a number of initiatives including Chimney Swift conservation and education, lights out, and preventing window collisions.  

Cape Fear Audubon made a new shoreline restoration project possible on the Lower Cape Fear River in coordination with Audubon Coastal Biologist Lindsay Addison. Thanks to the chapter we were able to start installing living shorelines on Battery and Shellbed Islands. The chapter is also working to promote the instillation of Chimney Swift Towers and is hoping to support other chapters looking to install towers.  

Learn more about our chapters and get involved here.