We are the New Hope Bird Alliance (formerly New Hope Audubon Society) after a successful vote by our membership on May 2 made it official. We still remain the local chapter of National Audubon for Durham, Orange, and northern Chatham counties and maintain close ties with Audubon NC. To find out more about why we changed our name from New Hope Audubon and the process we used, check out this link: New Hope Bird Alliance. We are eager to enter this new phase of bird conservation work under our new name. Thank you to everyone involved for your dedication, patience, and support throughout the process to find a name that better reflects our focus: birds, their protection, and the joy they bring. This decision is anchored in feedback from our community, and was cemented by an overwhelming majority membership vote.
More to come soon on our redesigned new logo, tagline, and yes…merch!
Items of special interest
CALENDAR OF EVENTS web page to keep informed about upcoming events including bird outings.
FIELD NOTES BLOG to be sure to keep up with the latest posts.
BIRD COUNT CHARTS web page to explore our historical data going back to 1977 for both our Spring and Christmas Bird Counts.
VOLUNTEER web page for ways you can help and fill out our updated Volunteer Form to tell us about your interests.
MEETING RECORDINGS web page for recordings of past membership meetings via Zoom.
Announcements
New Hope Bird Alliance invites you to our year-opening potluck dinner on Thursday, September 5 at 6pm. The location will be the NC Botanical Garden (Reeves Auditorium), 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC. Please bring a food item to share with others. NHBA will provide paper plates and utensils – bring your own drinks and utensils if you want. Presentation will be member slides. Please share up to 10 photos with Ross McKinney at [email protected], or send him a link to download photos by September 1.
Join us for a Swift Night Out! From mid-September to early-October, migrating Chimney Swifts move through central North Carolina on their way to their wintering grounds in central South America. While en route, they spread out to feed during the daytime and then gather in large numbers for roosting at night. There are several roosting places in our local area where swifts can be seen. Learn more about swifts here.
Chimney Swift Night Out events:
September 3, Accordion Club, 316 W. Geer St., Durham – 6:30-8pm. Neighborhood bar with viewing of swifts as they enter nearby chimneys.
September 16, Durham Hotel Rooftop Bar, 315 E. Chapel Hill St., Durham, 919-768-8830 – 6:30-8pm. Arrive early for seating. Scopes will be provided by NHBA for viewing swifts as they enter roosts. Swifts also typically fly around the roof at sunset. Rain date September 17 if needed. Durham Hotel is providing 5% of their food and beverage sales to NHBA.
September 18 and October 2, Davie Poplar Historic tree on UNC Campus – 204 E. Cameron Avenue, UNC Campus, Chapel Hill, time 7-8pm. This historic tree is 
located on the campus grounds between the Old Well and McCorkle Place. This is the only known tree roost in NC. Swifts can be seen in mass circling over the grounds before entering the tree. Parking is available at parking decks around campus and Morehead Planetarium. NHBA is partnering with the UNC Avian Society for this event.
September 30, Velvet Hippo Neighborhood Bar, 119 Orange Street, 3rd Floor, Durham, NC – 6:30- 8pm.. Swifts may be seen swirling about at sunset and entering the chimney of the Mechanics and Farmers Bank of Durham.
New Hope Bird Alliance is selling Protect Aerial Insectivores t-shirts to help fundraise for activities conserving and promoting chimney swifts, purple martins and other aerial insectivores. NHBA has started a campaign with Bonfire where you can purchase a t-shirt or hoodie in multiple colors and sizes. We will have a limited supply of shirts at some of our swift night out events.
