Welcome

New Hope Audubon Society (NHAS) is the chapter of the National Audubon Society that serves Orange, Durham, and Chatham counties in central North Carolina.

Our Mission:

The mission of the New Hope Audubon Society is to promote the conservation and enjoyment of birds, other wildlife, and natural ecosystems through public education, field research, advocacy, direct citizen action and contributions to other non-profit organizations with similar goals.

Next Monthly Meeting

Our next membership meeting will be held Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 7:00 pm. Our meetings begin with refreshments, some friendly talk and perhaps a bit of chapter news. Our speakers usually begin around 7:30. The meeting will be at the NC Botanical Gardens Visitor Education Center at 100 Old Mason Farm Rd in Chapel Hill.

Our speaker will be Rachel Grindstaff, "Salamanders of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina."

Please join us. Meetings are free and everyone is welcome, including non-members.

White-tailed Tropicbird
Gulf Stream, off NC coast

New Newsletter Available Now

Our new bi-monthly newletter is now available online. Click here for the January/February 2012 newsletter.
Here's some of what you will find:

An article on the progress of the bird blind we are sponsoring and helping to build at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, by Tom Driscoll
In Search of Kiwis, Part 2, by Norm Budnitz
An article about conservation easements by our new Conservation Chair, Jae Furman
And more, including Feeder Watch, membership meeting calendar, and Bald Eagle Count information.

NC Botanical Garden Bird Blind

Elisha Taylor of the North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG) in Chapel Hill approached us a few months ago, asking if we might be interested in sponsoring a bird blind for a new section of the Garden being set up for children of all ages--the Garden of Wonder. We jumped at the opportunity, offering both financial support and labor. Dave Ringenburg volunteered to be the designer and construction supervisor. Dave donated many, many hours of his time, and with his expert guidance, a number of NHAS members hauled lumber, pounded nails, and climbed the roof to lay down shingles.

The bird blind is now finished and ready to be occupied by adults and children as they look out at bird feeders in the Garden of Wonder. Charlotte Jones-Roe, Associate Director of NCBG recently sent us this note:

"Elisha was kind enough to share the good news with me, and I wanted to take this opportunity to add my thanks to all of you in New Hope Audubon, especially Tom [Driscoll] who jumped at the idea and Dave [Ringenburg] and every single one of you who came out and contributed so generously of your time, effort and skills to make the project happen. I am so pleased to hear that the blind is now finished and that it will be in use right away. As sturdily built as the blind is, I trust it will be in use for a long time to come!

"I have never forgotten the critical role New Hope Audubon members played in saving Mason Farm Biological Reserve from being bisected by the Laurel Hill freeway during our 15-year struggle, attending hearing after hearing, until the DOT and the University finally took the lines off the map. I couldn’t be more pleased that NHAS has remained a strong supporter of the Garden and its mission, individually and as a group, through your generous contributions to the Education Center--and now by constructing this wonderful new facility to share the love of birds with our youngest naturalists. Thanks, New Hope Audubon members, for your investment in future generations of young birdwatchers and nature lovers."

Yes, your donations to New Hope Audubon are being put to good work. Thank you, our members, for all your support.

Birds and Birding Course

Our Birds and Birding Course was such a success last winter, we are offering it again this winter. We will provide more details in early January, but here are the basics:

Four consecutive Monday evenings, 7:00 to 8:30 pm, Feb. 20, Feb 27, Mar 5, Mar 12, plus a field trip (date to be determined)
This class is for beginners of all ages.
Topics will include: how to identify birds, what are birds (behavior, anatomy, physiology), birding optics, field guides, and more.
Place: St. Thomas More Church in Chapel Hill.
Price: $50.

If you would like to reserve your space or give a gift to a friend, you may click on the "add to cart" button and make a payment using PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account, you will be able to pay with a credit card. If you have questions, please contact us at newhopeaudubon@gmail.org.

Jordan Lake Bald Eagle Cam

Unfortunately, the nest cam is off line due to technical difficulties. It looks like the people in charge won't be able to fix it in time to watch the young birds fledge. Maybe next year.

Bird Houses for Sale

New Hope Audubon sells bird houses for Bluebirds and Wood Ducks. Free delivery. All profits go toward fulfilling our mission.
Buy one for yourself or give one as a gift. For more information or to make a purchase, please click here.

McDougle Middle School Project

Friends of Bolin Creek is pleased to announce that the stories of the McDougle Middle School Rain Garden and Water Harvesting Project are available for viewing on line at this link . Watch these stories of the creation of a rain garden under the talented direction of Cara Biacussi, and learn about what rain gardens do for water quality and our environment.

The Rain Garden project was conceived by Randy Dodd, Environmental Planner for the Town of Carrboro, as a demonstration to help students and the public understand the benefits of rain gardens and rainwater harvesting. The Town collaborated with Friends of Bolin Creek, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and North Carolina State University (NCSU) on the grant proposal which was funded by EPA through the North Carolina Division of Water Quality.

NCSU designed the rain garden and rainwater harvesting system, supervised the installation, and coordinated with Friends of Bolin Creek to provide an outdoor day of instruction for eighth grade students at McDougle Middle School which included planting the rain garden and installing the cistern. In addition, Friends of Bolin Creek incorporated storm water classroom activities into Leigh Aultman's 8th grade class water resources curriculum, and helped water and mulch the garden to get the plants established. Over 100 students at the school participated in the project.

Can We Heal Our Local Waterways?

There will be a Symposium and a Community Exchange on February 11th, 2012, "Can We Heal Our Local Waterways?" The Symposium will focus on current water quality problems and actions needed to restore our urban streams in North Carolina's Piedmont, with case studies from Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

As part of the program we are featuring a Community Exchange (noon - 1:30 pm) . For planning purposes, please register on line at www.bolincreek.org/blog to participate in the Community Exchange.

What? A Symposium and a Community Exchange, "Can We Heal Our Local Waterways?"

When? Saturday, February 11th, 9 am - 1:30 pm

Who? Creek lovers, elected officials and leaders, advisory board members, neighborhood groups, recreation users, environmental groups, and interested community members from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and beyond.

Where? The North Carolina Botanical Garden, 100 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill

This event is planned by Friends of Bolin Creek and the UNC Institute for the Environment, and co-sponsored by the NC Botanical Garden.

Archive Articles

As articles outlive their timeliness but retain their interest, we will move them to our Archive page. So if you are looking for a piece you have seen before, it may appear there after it leaves the home page. Articles will be arranged alphbetically by title.

Coral Honeysuckle

Passion Flower (Maypops)

Last Updated: February 21, 2012

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