New Hope Bird Alliance

06/09/2026

NHBA had a great time at a recent Master Naturalist Class. Karen Stine provided information about all things bird. Tom and Barbara Driscoll and MN candidates Jennifer Maher and Mary Abrams helped show students how to use binoculars and Merlin. It was a lot of fund despite the heat. A number of Master Naturalists have volunteered or created projects with NHBA - check here for those projects: https://ncmasternaturalists.org/impact-projects/ They will soon be accepting applications for the 2027 class.

04/28/2026

Please join us for this webinar on toxic free ways to address mosquitos where you live.

04/24/2026

New Hope Bird Alliance's Birdathon is off to a great start. Check it out at: https://charity.pledgeit.org/newhopebirdathon. We have other wonderful news. Purple Matin monitoring at Patterson Place revealed 2 new eggs. All 14 nests have material in them and leaves. Hopefully if we get a little rain there will be more insects and more chicks this year.

03/18/2026

Registration for the 2026 New Hope Birdathon is open! Learn more and sign-up here: https://charity.pledgeit.org/newhopebirdathon

03/17/2026

Join the Chapel Hill Bird Club to learn more about Motus towers and tracking birds! Curtis Smalling--Vice President and Executive Director of Audubon NC--will explore the Motus tower network and Audubon's Bird Migration Explorer, offering guidance on how your chapter can contribute by installing a tower in your community. Motus towers are affordable and easy to set up, but more are needed to build out the network in North Carolina, especially in the Piedmont.

Monday, 3/23, at Binkley Baptist Church. 7:15 pm for pre-meeting treats or at 7:30 pm on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DoAGVsyUQLCnXFeSCZxDog).

02/23/2026

The Big Night(s) Yes, we love birds but amphibians are also extremely important in our ecosystems.

The sounds of toads and frogs fill the night. Please be on the lookout for spotted salamanders, wood frogs, spring peepers and other amphibians who venture out from the woods to make their way to vernal pools in the spring on warm, rainy nights.

Best Conditions: Nighttime temperature above 40° F and the ground is wet or it is raining. Although the term Big Night is used, there are multiple nights when this occurs. The event takes place at night to minimize predation. Depending on the weather and the environment, the timing of migration can vary but usually in February- April. Amphibians such as salamanders and frogs in a local area typically use the same overwintering area and the same breeding area, returning generation after generation to the area in which they were spawned

The Challenges of Migration: When migrating from woods to wetlands, amphibians face logistical challenges — most notably, busy roads. Frogs and salamanders are relatively small and can be hit by cars. To aid amphibians, tunnels and culverts can be designed to enhance their ability to cross the road.

How You Can Help:
Studies from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic show that road mortality during amphibian migration nights averages 50-90% on unmitigated road crossings. In some monitored populations, a single rainy night eliminates half the breeding adults for the entire year.

1. DRIVE SLOW on rural roads near wetlands on warm rainy nights (20 mph or under)

2. WATCH for small shapes on wet pavement — they look like wet leaves until they move

3. VOLUNTEER: help NHBA identify crossings so in the future we may have signage or notifications for people in the area.

The salamanders, toads and frogs cannot wait for a safe night. There is no safe night. There is only the right conditions — warm, wet, and dark — and they go, road or no road.

01/08/2026

Whether you live in Durham or not, please take a moment to complete the Durham Open Space Survey. It takes less than a minute to fill out the google form.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScM2MGRuAiMP2HHl5CYcLuj0BrOrRl9wudD-uLvk97XenczMA/viewform?mc_cid=94135d0a97&mc_eid=b882598c12

10/22/2025

Several Updates on Environmental Actions in Durham:

Monday evening Durham City Council unanimously passed a resolution towards making Durham a Biophilic City - joining a world-wide network of cities that work towards creating nature based urban spaces. We want to thank Councilman Carl Rist for putting forward the resolution and for the rest of Council for adopting this resolution. Lexie Chen with the Durham Academy helped us create the resolution as part of her studies on sustainability. Find out more on biophilic cities here: https://www.biophiliccities.org/

Secondly - If you are a Durhamite and concerned about development in the city/county. There are a number of upcoming meetings on development ordinance changes: https://engagedurham.com/211/Upcoming-Engagement

Durham is launching the last portion of their updated Unified Develop Ordinance. Module 3 of the new UDO, will include the proposed infrastructure and subdivision standards. More specifically, these draft regulations will include environmental protection standards, required street designs, and the rules for new subdivisions (and their required infrastructure).

Please attend either virtually or in person one of the upcoming meetings to promote bird friendly development:

Code Connect – Technical Code Presentation and Q&A
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 6-7PM
Code Studio, the technical consultant team for this project, will walk through the proposed Module 3 content on Environmental Protection, Subdivisions, and Infrastructure. This session will include a Q&A. A recording of this meeting will be posted on the website.

Attend a Meeting:
Staff will provide an overview of draft Module 3 content, Environmental Protection, Subdivisions, and Infrastructure, including how the drafts differ from current regulations and how they implement the vision in the Comprehensive Plan. (Virtual meeting option is also available - see below.)

In-Person Meeting
Thursday, November 13, 2025 6-7:30PM
Durham County Administration Building II (201 E Main St), Room 126 RSVPs are requested for this in-person session.

Virtual Meeting
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 6-7:30PM
Registration is required for this virtual session.
More information can be found here: https://engagedurham.com/211/Upcoming-Engagement

10/16/2025

The final day to support our annual Bird Seed Sale fundraiser is Saturday, October 18th! Thank you so much for your support to keep our conservation work going in Durham, Chapel Hill and Chatham counties!

Bird Seed Sale Evening Grosbeaks – photo by Tom Driscoll Each fall, New Hope Bird Alliance holds a Bird Seed Sale for fund-raising. All profits go toward fulfilling our mission to promote the conservation and enjoyment of birds, other wildlife, and ecosystems, focusing on Chatham, Durham, and Oran...

10/14/2025

Good news! The Town of Chapel hill has joined forces with New Hope Bird Alliance and other partners to encourage community members to “Leave Your Leaves.” Leaving leaves in your yard has many benefits for birds and people: https://www.townofchapelhill.org/government/departments-services/public-works/streets-and-construction/leaves/leave-your-leaves