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The Carolina Bird Club is a non-profit organization that represents and supports the birding community in the Carolinas through its website, publications, meetings, workshops, trips, and partnerships, whose mission is


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The Carolina Bird Club, Inc., is a non-profit educational and scientific association open to anyone interested in the study and conservation of wildlife, particularly birds.

The Club meets each winter, spring, and fall at different locations in the Carolinas. Meeting sites are selected to give participants an opportunity to see many different kinds of birds. Guided field trips and informative programs are combined for an exciting weekend of meeting with people who share an enthusiasm and concern for birds.

The Club offers research grants in avian biology for undergraduate and graduate students, and scholarships for young birders.

The Club publishes two print publications (now also available online). The Chat is a quarterly ornithological journal that contains scientific articles, reports of bird records committees and bird counts, and general field notes on bird sightings. CBC Newsletter is published bimonthly and includes birding articles and information about meetings, field trips, and Club news.

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Sandy Creek Park

by Kent Fiala

Description

Sandy Creek Park is a small but productive birding location within the city limits of Durham, North Carolina. The site of a long-abandoned sewage treatment plant, the 102 acre tract was about to be put up for sale by the City of Durham in the early 1990s. But following its identification as a key access parcel in the 1992 New Hope Creek corridor Master Plan, the property instead became a City of Durham park in 1997, with development complete several years later. Dangerous sewage treatment facilities were demolished, parking and restrooms were provided, and a .75 mile paved Sandy Creek Trail was built connecting the park entrance off 15-501 with Pickett Road. Long-term plans call for extension of Sandy Creek Trail; most of the current trail is contained within Sandy Creek Park.

Birds

In spring, the swampy area along the paved trail usually hosts Prothonotary Warblers and Wood Ducks. The upland woods has a few Wood Thrushes. Typical resident and migrant songbirds of the piedmont may be seen throughout. The pond often hosts Spotted or Solitary Sandpipers during migration, and occasionally other shorebird species have been seen. Northern Rough-winged Swallows also may be seen at the pond. There is a small Great Blue Heron rookery, and recently Yellow-crowned Night Herons have also started nesting here. Purple Martin nest gourds and a Chimney Swift tower have been erected.

In winter, the upland woods usually hosts a few Winter Wrens. Sparrows are numerous in winter, mostly Field, Fox, Song, Swamp, and White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos. A Lincoln's Sparrow has been seen here.

Directions

To drive to the park, take Pickett Road and turn south onto Sandy Creek Drive literally right at the west end of the Pickett Road overpass over US 15-501. Follow Sandy Creek Drive to its end.

Maps



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