About the Club

Mission Statement

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


Join us — Join, Renew, Donate

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.

The Club provides this website to all for free.

By becoming a member, you support the activities of the Club, receive reduced registration fee for meetings, can participate in bonus field trips, and receive our publications.

Join, Renew, or Donate now!


Other Resources (NOT sponsored by Carolina Bird Club)



CBC Bonus Field Trip

Burke's Garden, Virginia - February 5

Join us as we travel to Burke's Garden in the southwestern mountains of Virginia. Burke's Garden is a high elevation "bowl", in which cold air is trapped, therefore making it very attractive to bird species that normally winter further north. Species that we might expect to see include Rough-legged Hawk (both morphs), Golden Eagle, other various raptors, Black-capped Chickadee, woodpeckers, and wintering waterfowl. We will meet at the Holiday Inn Express in Elkin, NC at 8 am and carpool from there.

If you need overnight lodging, hotels in the Elkin area include Holiday Inn Express, 336-835-6000; Days Inn, 800-695-8284; and Hampton Inn, 336-835-1994.

Cost is $10 and limited to 15 birders. The inclement weather date is February 5th. Be sure to dress warmly as it can be very cold at Burke's Garden. We will stop at the country store to have lunch and warm ourselves by the pot-bellied stove. Contact leaders Lori Martin (828-638-1193) or Dwayne Martin (828-312-1064) before mailing your registration money.

Trip report - Dwayne Martin

Nine members of the Carolina Bird Club went to Burke's Garden, Va. We were starting to get worried by 12:30pm because we had not seen any of our target birds. After lunch, we headed down Lutz Lane which is a dead end road. When we got to the end, we were turning around when Lori told me to wait she wanted to check out a "Turkey Vulture". Well, her Turkey Vulture turned out to be a 2nd year Golden Eagle! It was far off, but suddenly it folded its wings in and headed straight toward us. We were amazed as it dove behind a little hill only 50 yards in front of us and out from behind the hill came a Great Blue Heron with the Eagle in chase! The Eagle gave up and went behind the hill again and was back there for about a minute when out came another Great Blue Heron and the Eagle chasing it. Anyone ever heard of Golden Eagles eating Great Blue Herons? Anyway, we left there and 10 minutes later we were looking at TWO Rough-legged Hawks in the same tree! It turned out to be a great day (although I was the only one in the group who didn't get a life bird). Burke's Garden is only about a hour and half north of the NC border. It's a great place for anyone who hasn't been.

Return to CBC Main Page