Carolina Bird Club Club News

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13th Annual Wings Over Water Festival. A Celebration of Wildlife & Wildlands in Eastern North Carolina to be held November 3–8, 2009. Annually in November, all the stops are pulled out for folks who come from across the country to participate in the Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival. The six day event celebrates the natural wonders of the area and offers many opportunities to explore and discover the richness of the region’s environment.

Upcoming Fall meeting in Hickory, NC: While migration can be entertaining anywhere in the Carolinas during the fall, migrants seem to like following the highlands of the Appalachians south toward warmer climes. Accordingly, a trip to the mountains and adjacent foothills during this time of year can be quite rewarding. In order to enjoy “nature’s bounty” of fall migrants, the Carolina Bird Club is offering a fall meeting in Hickory, NC September 25–27.

Clemson Spring Meeting: After a long, cold winter, the promise of migrant and returning summer resident neotropical birds brought CBC members to the Upstate of South Carolina to observe some of the nearly three dozen warbler species that breed or pass though the southern Blue Ridge Mountains each year. The bird list for this meeting numbered 139 species.

Photo: Birders visiting Lake Conestee at the Clemson meeting. Photo by Ellen Sutliff.

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Cumulative Chat index: There is a wealth of information about the birds of the Carolinas published in The Chat, and as another step toward making it more accessible, a 20-year index to The Chat, covering volumes 51–70, years 1987–2006 is now available.

South Carolina Purple Martin color-banding project: In 2008, 632 purple martin nestlings were color-banded at 13 colonies in central South Carolina as part of a 3-year project to monitor purple martin nesting success, movements, and colony-site fidelity. The project was funded, in part, by the Purple Martin Conservation Association. Nestlings were banded with a numbered aluminum band on the right leg and a uniquely-coded color band on the left leg. The color band is yellow and has the letters "SC" printed sideways in black followed by the letter "A" and three numbers, also in black. To report a sighting of a color-banded purple martin or for more information about the project, please contact Julie Hovis (803-236-1268) or Jim Beatson (803-481-2095). Band reports should include as much of the following information as possible:

• Where the bird was observed (address and city)
• When the bird was observed (date and approximate time)
• The leg with the color band (left or right)
• The color of the band and the color of the printed letters and numbers
• What is printed on the band (for example: "SC A001")
• Your name and contact information (phone and/or email)

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Williamston Winter Meeting: The Winter meeting focussed on eastern North Carolina's coastal plain and the North Carolina Birding Trail. The 24 field trips observed a total of 126 species. Thanks to Lena Gallitano for organizing such a successful meeting.

Photo: Winter meeting field trip to Goose Creek State Park—Ron Underwood

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Derb's Big Year. CBC member Derb Carter set a new North Carolina Big Year record of 351 species in 2008.

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Wilmington Fall meeting: 165 participants enjoyed a highly successful Fall meeting at Wilmington Oct 3–5, 2008. On the field trips collectively 172 species were observed. A number of bird photos taken on meeting field trips have been contributed to the CBC photo gallery. We also have a few photos of field trip activities.

Photo: Fall meeting field trip to Bald Head Island—Ellen Sutliff

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NC Birding Trail Piedmont Guide is now available!

The second of three planned Trail Guides to cover the state, the Piedmont edition joins the previously released Coastal Plain Trail Guide. Each spiral bound guide includes color photos, detailed maps, site overviews, logistical information, and lists special interest species for each location. Birders can visit sites individually or string together numerous "birding drives" that take in multiple sites.

The 176-page Piedmont guide covers 103 sites from the fall line to the foothills (I-95 to I-77). The guide joins the 172-page Coastal Plain book, which highlights 102 sites along North Carolina's beautiful coast and coastal plain. Both books can be ordered at the discount price of $10 per copy (shipping included) at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's "NC Wild" online store. Watch for the Mountain region guide in 2009.

For more information on the NC Birding Trail, or to order a copy of either the Coastal Plain or Piedmont guides, visit www.ncbirdingtrail.org.

(The CBC is a Partner with the NC Birding Trail.)

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The CBC's Birds of the Carolinas Research & Programming Grants program is again active. Funds are available to support student research concerning North and/or South Carolina birds or secondary school programming designed to promote an interest by students in birds.

Birding North Carolina, the long-awaited guide to birding sites in the state, has now been published. Edited by Marshall Brooks and Mark Johns, this book features the best birding sites in North Carolina as chosen and described by the members of the Carolina Bird Club. The book is available from Globe Pequot Press.

Birding North Carolina was undertaken by the Carolina Bird Club for two purposes: to promote birding in North Carolina and to make birding more accessible to all skill levels of birders by providing information regarding the wonderful birding opportunities that we have in our state; and to further bird conservation by dedicating the income from the guide to bird conservation projects. Proceeds will go into a special account of the Carolina Bird Club to be used to support and further bird conservation projects in the state.

There are so many birding locations in North Carolina that not all of them could be included in the printed book. Descriptions of an additional 44 locations are published exclusively on this web site. Click on "Birding Sites: North Carolina" in the frame at left.