What we’re about
Welcome to Wake Audubon Society – where our love for nature meets a commitment to inclusion and belonging and providing programs, outings and activities where all can safely access and celebrate nature.
As a chapter of Audubon NC and the National Audubon Society, our 1,900-strong community in Wake, Johnston, Franklin, and Nash counties, North Carolina, is proud to lead education, conservation, and advocacy efforts to grow our region responsibly and with concern for the birds, wildlife and places we all live.
There is no requirement to join Wake Audubon Society in order to be a member of this Meetup. There is no fee for this Meetup. We encourage you to join Wake Audubon, however, as we depend on member fees to support our environmental projects.
This group enjoys local (and regional) outings to experience wildlife in the Raleigh, Wake County area of North Carolina. We focus on birding, and we enjoy teaching anyone who is new to birding. We welcome visitors to the area who want to attend our outings.
Wake Audubon hosts free, public, in-person educational programs that are generally held on the second Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m. in the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Nature Research Center, 121 W Jones St. Raleigh, NC, 4th floor meeting room. Most of these programs can also be viewed virtually via Zoom. See the topic, and confirm the location and Zoom link for each program in our Meetup or calendar posts.
We also volunteer for various events, including river cleanups, invasive species removal, nestbox maintenance, helping with events at various parks and museums, and community science projects such the Christmas Bird Count and Great Backyard Bird Count.
Thanks for your interest in Wake Audubon. Come, join us!
Our mission statement: "To foster knowledge, appreciation, and enjoyment of nature; to encourage responsible environmental stewardship; to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity."
Upcoming events
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First Friday Bird Walk at White Deer Park 2025-12-05 (Register Off Meetup)
White Deer Park Nature Center, 2400 State Rd 2710, Garner, NC, USEnjoy an easy walk at White Deer Park while looking and listening for birds. Learn how to identify the birds in our area and discover their behaviors and preferred habitats. This walk is great for first-time and experienced birdwatchers. Pre-registration is required. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair. Walk leader is Colleen Bockhahn.
RSVP ONLY via the Town of Garner website at: Program: First Friday Bird Walk (12/5/25) Registration ends at 12pm on Thursday, December 4th.
The specific meeting location in the park will be shared with registered participants. Questions or trouble registering? Email Colleen at cbockhahn@garnernc.gov.1 attendee
VOLUNTEER: Woodcock Habitat Restoration 2025-12-06
Schenck Forest Access Road, Schenck Forest Access Rd, Raleigh, NC, USWoodcock Habitat Management Workday
*Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025
*Time: 9-11:45
*Place: Schenck Forest, meet at entrance road off Reedy Creek Road in Raleigh (near Bandwidth building)
*Project description: American Woodcock use small clearings to perform their "Sky Dance" mating ritual on winter evenings. We will cut and remove shrubs and weedy growth from three courtship grounds at Schenck Forest. These sites were established nine years ago in the Longleaf Pine regeneration stand by the Wake Audubon chapter in partnership with the NCSU School of Forestry in the College of Natural Resources. NCSU’s Leopold Wildlife Club has helped with site management as well.
To register: contact John Connors by December 1.
EMAIL jconnorsbird@gmail.com or call 919-841-8206
and leave your name and contact information.
*Bring: work gloves, garden tools such as lopping shears, hedge clippers, pruning saw, metal rake. We recommend appropriate footwear work boots, eye protection, hat, water, snack.
**NO POWER TOOLS, no shorts, no open toe shoes. Adults only.
*Important Information: This project involves physically challenging work in a semi-remote setting, so participants need to be physically fit, provide contact information, and sign release forms when they arrive.
Thanks for helping wildlife!
Addendum by Lynn Erla Beegle:
The American Woodcock are shorebirds adapted to living in forests, feasting on earthworms. They have a complex mating ritual, often referred to as a Sky Dance. They For courtship dances, they need a relatively open space, about the size of a basketball court, surrounded by brush and woodland. For more information, read: https://forestsociety.org/forest-journal-column/timberdoodle-talent-skydancing-day-away
To watch a Sky Dance (it occurs at dusk): watch "Woodcock Displays" from Maine Audubon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaza-IgWiDs
Updated November 6, 20241 attendee
Past events
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