Note:

• Starting times from the hotel lobby are noted in the Field Trip descriptions.
• Space may be limited on some of the trips so sign-up early. If you don’t get your first choice, you will be placed in your second choice, etc.
• Unless otherwise noted, trips will depart from and return to the hotel via carpooling.

Jump to Day:

• Friday Field Trips
• Saturday Field Trips
• Sunday Field Trips

FRIDAY FIELD TRIPS - Some trips are half day, and others straddle lunch time.

1. Howell Woods

All day departing at 6:30 a.m. returning approximately 2:30 p.m.
Approximate drive time: 1 hour 15 minutes each way
Activity level: Easy
Restrooms available at entrance.
Special Note:  Must bring own food, water and snacks.No food nearby.

Howell Woods contains a great diversity of habitats and wildlife species within 2,800+ acres situated between the Neuse River and Hannah and Mill Creeks.  The property consists of over 1,600 acres of bottomland hardwood forests, over 600 acres of mixed hardwood/pine, nearly 400 acres of pine forest (both longleaf and loblolly type), and nearly 100 acres of early successional habitat. Breeding species include Mississippi Kite, Red‐headed Woodpecker, Brown‐headed Nuthatch, a variety of wood warblers, Summer Tanager and Orchard Oriole, among others. At Howell Woods we will drive unpaved roads and take short hikes on the trails.

2. Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve and Swift Creek Greenway

7:00 a.m. - noon. 
Approximate drive time: 25 minutes
Activity level: Moderate walking on paved trails.
Restrooms available at the Preserve.

Hemlock Bluffs has an unusual geological formation that promoted the survival of a remnant stand of Eastern Hemlocks far from the mountains. These blend with mixed hardwoods and pines to create a diverse landscape. More than 130 bird species, including 28 warblers, have been documented at this 150‐acre property in southern Cary. Trails at the top of the bluff provide tree-top views and creek-side trails penetrate the wetland communities. Expected birds include Ovenbird, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, and Red‐eyed and Yellow‐throated Vireos, Great Crested and Acadian Flycatchers, Eastern Wood‐Pewee, Wood Thrush, Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush. Down the hill and across Swift Creek from Hemlock Bluffs is the greenway which offers excellent birding opportunities with a different perspective than the bluffs. We’ll take a walk along the greenway and then explore Hemlock Bluffs.

3. Prairie Ridge Ecostation for Wildlife & Learning and Schenk Forest

7:15 a.m. – noon.
Approximate drive time: 20 minutes
Activity level: Moderate walk.
Restrooms available.

Prairie Ridge is the Museum of Natural Science’s outdoor classroom. The habitat here includes a 10‐acre restored Piedmont prairie, along with a permanent pond and vernal pools that are an additional attraction for wildlife. There is also an arboretum of lowland forest trees and shrubs including some rare and unusual species. Two short trails of mowed grass loop around this site and include the observation blind by the pond. Participants will visit Wake Audubon’s Chimney Swift roosting chimney site. Species seen at Prairie Ridge include Eastern Kingbird, Summer Tanager, Field Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole. A two-minute drive leads to Schenk Forest, a 245‐acre forest managed for timber production and wildlife habitat. Yellow‐breasted Chat, Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak nest in the recent timber harvests adjacent to the picnic shelter near the forest’s main entrance. During the breeding season, Northern Parula, Summer Tanager and Ovenbird are seen along the trails.

4. Midpines Road and Historic Yates Millpond - Meadows and Wetlands 

7:00a.m. – noon.
Approximate drive time: 30 minutes
Activity level: Easy walk along road and unpaved paths/boardwalks.
Restrooms available at the park.

Historic Yates Mill County Park is a 174‐acre site that features the only gristmill (circa 1756) still standing in Wake County. The park habitats include oak forest & mixed hardwoods/pine, floodplain forest, and small wetland communities in addition to the millpond. We will walk the trails and boardwalks. Possible summer‐breeding songbirds include Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood‐Pewee, Red‐eyed and Yellow‐throated Vireos, Wood Thrush, Yellow‐throated Warbler, Northern Parula, Prothonotary and Hooded Warblers, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers and Indigo Bunting. There are active Wood Duck boxes along the pond and boardwalks. The Upper Beaver Pond area is changing as the beavers have become more active; altering the habitat. Over 160 bird species have been documented in the park on a list that grows each year.

5. Urban Red-tails and other Hawks – Capitol Square and Museum

11:30 am – 1:00 p.m.
Approximate drive time: 30 minutes
Activity level: Easy, little walking. Standing and observing Wake Audubon’s hawk nest monitoring program.

The Red-tailed Hawks are back, nesting on capital square. Join Wake Audubon for one of our Lunch Break Hawk-Abouts. Spotting scopes and binoculars are provided by the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Volunteers from the museum, NC Parks and Wake Audubon share information about the hawks and other downtown birds with passing pedestrians. A fun activity that will take you downtown, where there are great lunch options for people too!

6. Walnut Creek Wetlands Center and Lake Raleigh

1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Approximate drive time: 30 minutes
Activity level: Easy walking on paved trails.
Restrooms available.

In the 1930s when the Brimley Brothers, Charlotte Hilton Green and other locals birded in Raleigh, it was often at Walnut Creek and Lake Raleigh in what were then undeveloped areas. In addition to birds, this trip will also review the history and the changes to this area. Walnut Creek and the surrounding wetland has grown from a poor neglected area to a green building Nature Center with access to Raleigh’s award winning greenways where resident and migrant birds continue to find suitable habitat. The resident Red-shouldered Hawks are sure to greet birders on this trip. Lake Raleigh is now an integral part of NC State’s Centennial Campus but land has been preserved and continues to provide outdoor classroom experiences for biology classes.

7. Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Museum of Natural Sciences Herpetology, Ichthyology, and Invertebrate Collections  

1:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Approximate drive time:  20 minutes
Activity level: Easy indoor activity.
Restrooms available.
Limited to 12 participants.

The North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences' Research Laboratory at 4301 Reedy Creek Road houses the Museum's amphibian and reptile, fish, and invertebrate (primarily mollusk, crustacean, and myriapod) collections, totaling hundreds of thousands of specimens. The building also contains office and lab space for a staff of about a dozen curators, collections managers, and technicians who work with the collections. The facility was built specially to house the Museum's fluid-preserved (i.e.,“wet”) collections, and has been occupied since 1998.  Jeff Beane, Collections Manager for Herpetology at the Museum since 1995, will provide a tour of this outstanding state resource—the part of the Museum that the public never sees—and answer questions about the collections.

8. Behind the Scenes Look at Bird Collections, Museum of Natural Sciences

1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Approximate drive time: 30 minutes
Activity level: Little walking but standing to review collections.
Restrooms available.
Special note: No eating/drinking in the collections space.

From seabirds to mountain birds, from Carolina Chickadee to Carolina Parakeet, the bird collection at the Museum of Natural Sciences holds the evidence of North Carolina’s rich bird heritage. John Gerwin, Curator of Birds, and Brian O'Shea, Bird Collections Manager, will provide a tour of the bird collection which is housed in the lower level of the main Museum building in downtown Raleigh. Not open to the public, this is a rare opportunity to see the collection and learn how specimens are used more than ever in today’s changing climatic, scientific, political and physiographic environment. The collection consists of more than 23,000 specimens, including study skins, skeletons, eggs, nests, tissues, spread wings and a variety of taxidermy mounts for over 1,000 species, including a few hundred from the 1800’s. A variety of the cabinets will be opened to show what is inside, and discuss why. Bring cameras and questions.

SATURDAY FIELD TRIPS -- All of these are half-day trips

9. Bird-banding at Prairie Ridge Ecostation for Wildlife & Learning 

7:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Approximate drive time: 20 minutes
Activity level: Easy, standing and some walking along grassy trails.
Restrooms available.

Join John Gerwin, Curator of Birds, along with several assistants, of the Museum of Natural Sciences for a morning of bird banding at Prairie Ridge, the Museum’s outdoor classroom. Mist nets are opened early in the morning so participants will be able to observe all phases of the banding procedure. Participants will also have the opportunity to enjoy Prairie Ridge’s trails as described in Field Trip 3. Another option is to use the outdoor classroom deck and watch the bird feeders for any notable visitors.

10. Wood Duck Nest Monitoring at Turnipseed Preserve  

6:30 am. – 1:00 p.m.
Approximate drive time: 40 minutes
Activity level: Flat but trails could be muddy.
Special Notes: No restrooms available. Limited parking so car-pooling a must.  
Limited to 10 participants.

The Turnipseed Preserve is a 221-acre site located in eastern Wake County in the Marks Creek watershed, a sub-basin of the larger Neuse River watershed. Owned by Wake County, the preserve features a mixture of bottomland hardwood forest and marshes, along with open sandy meadows, rock outcrops, and mixed pine-hardwood forest. Exceptional flora and fauna of the preserve include Michaux’s sumac (Federally endangered), Sundial Lupine, Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Orchard Oriole, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Wood‐Peewee, among others,  along  with Spotted Salamander,  Marbled  Salamander, and the Eastern Box Turtle. A group from Delta Waterfowl has built and monitored Wood Duck nest boxes here for several years and this trip will include monitoring these nests.

11. Midpines Road and Historic Yates Millpond - Meadows and Wetlands 

7:00a.m. – noon.
Approximate drive time:  30 minutes
Activity level: Easy walk along road and unpaved paths/boardwalks.
Restrooms available at the park.

Historic Yates Mill County Park is a 174‐acre site that features the only gristmill (circa 1756) still standing in Wake County. The park habitats include oak forest & mixed hardwoods/pine, floodplain forest, and small wetland communities in addition to the millpond. We will walk the trails and boardwalks. Possible summer‐breeding songbirds include Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Wood‐Pewee, Red‐eyed and Yellow‐throated Vireos, Wood Thrush, Yellow‐throated Warbler, Northern Parula, Prothonotary and Hooded Warblers, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers and Indigo Bunting. There are active Wood Duck boxes along the pond and boardwalks. The Upper Beaver Pond area is changing as the beaver have become more active; altering the habitat. Over 160 bird species have been documented in the park on a list that grows each year.

12. Shelley Lake – An Urban Treasure

7:15 a.m. – noon. 
Approximate drive time:  20 minutes
Activity level: Easy walk on paved path around the lake.
Restrooms available.

Shelley Lake is a 53-acre flood control lake surrounded by approximately three miles of paved trails with additional connecting greenway trails. This city park offers a surprising variety of birds for a popular urban park. There is a growing Great Blue Heron rookery, nesting Pileated and Red-headed Woodpeckers, and the big surprise of last year, nesting Warbling Vireos. Belted Kingfishers and Wood Thrushes attest to the variety of habitats at this site.

13. NC Museum of Art Park and Audubon Gallery

8:00 a.m. – noon.
Approximate drive time:  20 minutes
Activity level: Easy walking on paved trails.  Standing to view Audubon’s Birds of America prints.
Restrooms available.
Limited to 20 participants.

The NC Museum of Art is surrounded by a 164-acre art-and-nature park. This trip with a former curator will begin with an outdoors walk along the easy trails of the park. Along the way through fields and forest habitats, we will visit the resident bluebirds and any other spring species present. Surprises in the form of nature-inspired sculptures are installed at strategic points on the trails. These include art you can go inside of, art that moves, and art that responds to the environment, including the memorable Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky. Inside the original Museum building is a gallery devoted to the great nature artist, John James Audubon. The Museum’s original, complete Audubon collection, recently treated to restore its condition, is displayed with bird specimens on loan from the Museum of Natural Sciences. A selection of pieces in the exhibit will be examined for their artistic, ornithological, and historical value.

14. National Wildlife Federation Certified Backyard Habitat

7:15 a.m. - noon.
Approximate drive time:  45 minutes
Activity level: Easy walking around gardens and pond.
Restrooms available.

Harry and Hallie Wilson have created a wildlife retreat at their home in Zebulon that has received a National Wildlife Federation certification. Native plants, feeders, nest boxes and water have contributed to this recognition.  The Wilson’s habitat provides food for the birds, wildlife and their own needs. They have invited us not only to tour their gardens but also to bring our lunches and sit a spell on their screened porch to enjoy the visit. They will provide drinks for anyone wishing to linger. They are happy to answer questions on the creation and maintenance of this lovely retreat.

15. Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve Park 

7:30 a.m. – noon.
Approximate drive time:  20 minutes
Activity level: Easy walking on grass and trails.
Restroom available.
Limited to 15 participants.

Raleigh’s newest park and first dedicated nature preserve was donated by Dr. Annie Louise Wilkerson, a renowned Raleigh doctor with many pioneering achievements in her 53-year career in medicine. Her will stipulated that the park be maintained as a "nature preserve park" used for the primary purpose of nature and wildlife education.  This 157-acre nature preserve is composed of oak-hickory forest, open fields that will be maintained as Piedmont prairie, three farm ponds and five perennial streams that shelter various aquatic species. Falls Lake is the northern boundary of the property. Woodpeckers, Wood Thrushes, Ovenbirds, Vireos, Blue Grosbeaks, and Indigo Buntings are among the birds commonly seen here.  This “leave no trace” park is still in transition to honor Dr. Wilkerson’s wishes. It will be a dynamic and valuable resource for wildlife and wildlife education for Raleigh citizens.

SUNDAY FIELD TRIPS - These trips are arranged so participants may depart from the field trip site at any time to depart for home.

16. Lake Crabtree

8:00 a.m.
Approximate drive time: 10 minutes
Activity level: Easy walking on grass and trails.
Restrooms available.

Lake Crabtree Park is a versatile 735-acre recreation site with a 520‐acre flood control lake that dominates the park. Park trails pass through a variety of habitats including oak forest & mixed hardwoods/pine, floodplain forest, and small wetland communities offering outstanding birding opportunities. Bald Eagle is possible almost any month of the year, with an active nest on site, and Osprey are occasionally seen. There are abundant nesting songbirds, including Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Red‐eyed and Yellow‐throated Vireos, Wood Thrush, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Hooded and Yellow‐throated Warblers, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, and Indigo Bunting.

17. Falls Lake State Recreation Area 

8:00 a.m.
Approximate drive time:  25 minutes
Activity level: Moderate walking on trails.
Restrooms available at some sites.

Falls Lake was created in 1981 as a flood control project of the Neuse River.  The resulting 12,000-acre lake is both the primary water supply for Raleigh and a recreation destination. Public lands around the lake host seven NC Birding Trail sites, as well as a portion of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail on the western shore. Diverse habitats from open water to woodlands, sandy beaches to successional fields makes Falls Lake an excellent destination for birds and birders. This trip is designed to explore the best birding spots around the lake with experienced Falls Lake birders.

18. Umstead State Park 

8:00 a.m.
Approximate drive time:  10 minutes
Activity level: Moderate walking on trails.
Restrooms available.

Umstead State Park provides a welcome natural retreat from the urban development that has grown up around it. The 5,579-acre park includes three small lakes and several miles of creeks offering birders a variety of different habitats to explore. Great Blue Herons and Kingfishers can be seen at the lakes. Other habits include primarily pine/hardwood successional forest. Many of the woodland bird species found here include a variety of woodpeckers, vireos and warblers.

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