everyone is a birder
You might already know what the NC Birding Trail is: a driving trail that links birders and nature-based tourists with great birding sites across the state and the local communities in which they are found. Rather than a physical trail, like the Appalachian Trail, we are a collection of noteworthy birding locations, assembled to accomplish this goal: to make birding in North Carolina accessible for everyone.
But how do you use us as a resource? What can you get out of the NC Birding Trail?
We provide a few primary recourses: the Map, the Blog, social media pages, and more.
Our map (the “Explore North Carolina” page) is our most significant resource. It’s a complete layout of all of our 330+ sites throughout the state.
By browsing different regions of North Carolina, you can select one of our sites by clicking a point on the map, which will then pull up a description of that site. You’ll find hours, recently spotted birds, directions, and a link to that location’s website.
Basically, anything you need to know before you visit can be found with the map. Consider all these ways you can utilize it:
No matter where you are in the state, you can discover nearby birding sites with us. Simply find your location—you can share your current location to see where you are—and you’ll see all the nearby sites. You can even get directions from where you are to any site you choose.
If you’re looking for a specific species, we can help you with that as well! Each site description has a “Birds” tab, which tells you which birds you might find in the area. This function uses automatically updated data from eBird as well as noteworthy birds that tend to be spotted there overtime. You can click on locations near you to see if the bird you’re looking for has been spotted at any Birding Trail sites recently.
We are easy to use on the go. The map is designed to be mobile friendly, meaning if you’re already out and you’re looking for a nearby place to bird, you can quickly find a site and get yourself navigated there.
Whether you’re new to birding and aren’t sure where to start or you want to add to your list of great places to bird, we can help you out with that. Our map helps you not have to start from scratch when you’re looking for locations.
Our blog page is becoming populated with content that expands on what we provide as a trail. There, you can find some inspiration for your next bird watching outings, from site highlights to full weekend trip itineraries. To start, we have a site highlight of Lake Benson Park in Garner, NC, and a Nantahala Sites itinerary (Highlands, NC), but there will be plenty more to come.
We also want to point out our blog series What is Birding? which consists of six posts that answer many questions around how to start bird watching. The series is being released throughout this month, and we highly recommend checking it out if you’re new to bird watching or even if you’re just curious. It’s a fun way to get your questions answers, as it covers what bird watching REALLY is and how effortless it can be.
Our blog will also answer common questions like what’s the difference between birding and bird watching? are binoculars necessary? and what are some helpful identification tools? Stay tuned as we launch posts weekly on those topics and many more!
Finally, another way you can utilize the NC Birding Trail is by connecting with us on social media. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get daily content on all things birds and bird watching in North Carolina. It’s another way to engage with the vast community of those who enjoy birding.
We are happy to offer you these resources online, but most of all, we hope that what we provide for you goes well beyond our website and our social media pages. May the most joy you find out of using us as a resource is in many memorable bird watching experiences. Hopefully, we can help take you there!