Forest Landbird Legacy Program

Learn about our work to preserve forest blocks across the state.

Photo: John Isenhour/NCWRC

The Forest Landbird Legacy Program (FLLP) guides and supports land management and habitat restoration to benefit forest birds. By establishing a protected and properly managed network of forested landscapes along the Atlantic Flyway, Audubon will work to increase and maintain healthy populations of forest dependent priority species including the Wood Thrush and Golden-winged Warbler. 

Working Lands at Work 
Audubon enlists landowners and foresters to help support birds that depend on forested landscapes along the Atlantic Flyway. This program provides outreach, financial assistance, tools and training that promote bird-friendly forestry practices and drive forest conservation. 

In North Carolina, Audubon collaborates with conservation partners to lead the FLLP initiative establishing outreach and forest stewardship in four focal areas: Northwest Mountains, Central Piedmont and the Uwharries, the Northern Piedmont and the southeastern Coastal Plain. 

Audubon NC staff will reach out to landowners though local foresters and land trust organizations to maintain forest blocks in a way that mimics the characteristics of natural forest dynamics. Methods will include hosting workshops, partnering with landowners to demonstrate beneficial management techniques, and encouraging management that creates quality bird habitats (through varied activities like creating small canopy gaps and cavity trees among other practices) to support forest landbird diversity. Audubon is working with private landowners, government entities and conservation partners, focusing on land parcels with at least 50 acres of 50-year-old+ trees. Working with partner agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NC Wildlife Resources Commission, we have  identified the best locations to focus our work, facilitating technical and financial assistance on private lands.  

Help Our Work Continue
In just a few years, Audubon North Carolina’s private lands outreach has expanded from early successional forest work focused in Western North Carolina, now leading forest ecosystem stewardship for the conservation of all forest-dwelling landbirds across the North Carolina.

Internationally, FLLP will contribute to Audubon’s goal to impact 35 million acres in the United States and 140,000 acres in Belize as part of the Eastern Priority Forests Initiative

Contribute to the Forest Landbird Legacy Program and all of Audubon’s work to restore habitat for our most imperiled land birds. Click here to make a gift to the Working Lands Program.

Learn more about becoming a Landbird Steward. Start with our training webinars, found here and here. Contact Audubon North Carolina Conservation Biologist Aimee Tomcho for more information.

The Forest Landbird Legacy Program will work to protect habitats for North Carolina’s most imperiled landbirds including: 

  • American Woodcock
  • Whip-poor-will
  • Wood Thrush
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Swainson’s Warbler
  • Cerulean Warbler
  • Prothonotary Warbler
  • Kentucky Warbler
  • Brown-headed Nuthatch
  • Prairie Warbler
  • Worm-eating Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Golden-winged Warbler 

A special thank you to the program partners collaborating on the Forest Landbird Legacy Progam:

Forest Management
Forest Management - Working Lands

Forest Management

Integrating bird conservation strategies with the existing goals of landowners, biologists, hunters, foresters, recreationists and other groups will expand our conservation efforts and the impact for North Carolina birds.

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Working Lands
Working Lands

Working Lands

Putting Working Lands to Work for Birds and People

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Golden-winged Warbler Conservation
GWWA Conservation - Working Lands

Golden-winged Warbler Conservation

Golden-winged Warbler populations are on the decline in the United States. Learn how Audubon North Carolina is impacting that decline.

Read more

Wood Thrush

Latin:  Hylocichla mustelina

Illustration for Wood Thrush

American Woodcock

Latin:  Scolopax minor

Illustration for American Woodcock

Cerulean Warbler

Latin:  Setophaga cerulea

Illustration for Cerulean Warbler

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Latin:  Sitta pusilla

Illustration for Brown-headed Nuthatch

News & Updates

For One Western North Carolina Landowner, Retirement is for the Birds
Working Lands

For One Western North Carolina Landowner, Retirement is for the Birds

Russell Blevins' commitment to habitat management is good news for the Golden-winged Warblers that share his property with him.

Letting it Grow: How Landowners are Helping Birds by Mowing Less
Forest Legacy Landbird Project - Working Lands

Letting it Grow: How Landowners are Helping Birds by Mowing Less

Allison Bovée and Mary Vogel have changed their landscaping practices at BirdTown Cabins in western North Carolina to create new bird habitat.

Neighbors Band Together for Golden-winged Warblers
Conservation

Neighbors Band Together for Golden-winged Warblers

In Mitchell County, landowners are turning a power line right-of-way into prime habitat for a declining warbler.

Welcoming Golden-winged Warblers to a Working Farm
Conservation

Welcoming Golden-winged Warblers to a Working Farm

The owners of Shady Grove Gardens in Ashe County open their farm to birds and birders every spring.

Steward It and They Will Come
Working Lands

Steward It and They Will Come

The owners of B and L Organic farm carefully steward their land for Golden-winged Warblers and other wildlife.

Baseball for the Birds: A New North Carolina Team Rallies Around an Endangered Species
Working Lands

Baseball for the Birds: A New North Carolina Team Rallies Around an Endangered Species

Inspired by the Red-cockaded Woodpecker's resilience, the Houston Astros affiliate has chosen the bird to be its official mascot.

Priority Bird Profile: Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Working Lands

Priority Bird Profile: Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is one of about a dozen “priority species” that the National Audubon Society’s Healthy Forest initiative has chosen to help through active forest protection and management.

Old Homestead Seeds Change
GWWA Conservation - Working Lands

Old Homestead Seeds Change

"Since I’ve owned my property I’ve been looking for ways to benefit wildlife," explains Broadwell. "I want to make it a more interesting and attractive place for myself and the animals that depend on it."

Land Trust Property Certified As Bird-Friendly Habitat
Forest Landbird Legacy Program

Land Trust Property Certified As Bird-Friendly Habitat

Audubon North Carolina is happy to officially recognize the LandTrust for Central NC’s Low Water Bridge property in Montgomery County as a Certified Forest Landbird Legacy Habitat.

Biodiversity Brings New Birds Home
Forest Landbird Legacy Program

Biodiversity Brings New Birds Home

In this series, we profile local landowners to share all the amazing and exciting ways various properties can be enhanced to support struggling populations of priority bird species.

How you can help, right now