This year, Audubon North Carolina is working to grow the Bird-Friendly Communities initiative. A new partnership program with a vision for North Carolina, bird-friendly communities give birds the opportunity to succeed by providing connected habitat dominated by native plants, minimizing threats posed by the built environment, and engaging people of all ages and backgrounds in stewardship of nature.  

Please welcome guest blogger Trudie Henninger. Trudie joined the BFC implementation team at its start and joined Audubon North Carolina as an intern for the Treasure Highlands program. She now works as an environmental education specialist at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville.

“Potato-Chip…potato-chip… potato-chip…” sing the students at Hall Fletcher Elementary in Asheville. But these students are not singing for a snack; they are excitedly practicing the call of the American Goldfinch!

Learning About Birding

With the help of environmental educators from The North Carolina Arboretum, students across western North Carolina have been collecting data for Project eBird, a citizen science project designed to encourage people of all ages and skill-sets to go exploring in their backyards, neighborhoods and parks, all while keeping a checklist of the birds they identify.

The Arboretum educators, thanks in part to the support by a Ribbon of Hope Grant from the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, are traveling to seven counties and 15 schools to teach Project eBird, and other citizen science projects. Students have been learning how to identify birds by colors, shapes, behaviors and calls before heading outside, armed with their binoculars and eBird checklists!

More Homes for Nuthatches

Because of this program, more homes for nuthatches are popping up around the state! Along with gaining the knowledge and skills to observe birds, schools participating in Project eBird receive a Brown-headed Nuthatch nest box from the Bird-Friendly Communities initiative. With a new home for nuthatches, students will be able to check periodically for new residents and observe a new family grow.

Where to Start

Local students are learning about the fun of birding. Now it’s your turn!

Bird watching is easy to start and will quickly become a regular pastime. If you want to learn how to identify birds or just spend a day observing them, the NC Arboretum is a great place to start. A stop on the NC Birding Trail [link to ncbt blog post], the Arboretum has a total of 434 acres, with 65 acres of cultivated gardens and 10 miles of hiking and biking trails in Asheville. Families can borrow a Discovery Pack for free, and all that you can discover will amaze you! Discovery Packs come with a pair of binoculars, bird field guide, notebook, magnifying glass, bug box and more.

Before beginning your journey outside, be sure to stop by the Arboretum’s Nature Discovery Room where you can learn about Project eBird, view birds’ nests and watch wild birds from our viewing station. You might just get to see nuthatches walking upside down, woodpeckers tapping on nearby tree trunks or our brightly colored state bird, the northern cardinal.

Be sure to pick up a Project eBird checklist before heading outside so that you can record which birds you spot.