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 their authentic selves.
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 (4+)
See all- Birding at Lake Betz, Sunday May 18Netapp, Morrisville, NC
Join us for a guided 1 mile round trip outing between Lake Betz and the adjacent marshy habitat. Lake Betz hosts a wide range of nesting local and migratory birds. Recent observations include Osprey, Hooded Mergansers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Indigo Buntings, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Pine Warblers, and more. We may even see some late migrating warblers passing through.
Park in the paved NetApp employee lot at 7301 Kit Creek Rd, Morrisville, NC. There are multiple entrances to this parking lot and they all say 7301 Kit Creek Rd even if they enter from another road. We will meet at the south end of the lot near stairs that lead to the trail. This location is on the Louis Stephens Rd side of the lot.
The trail is nearly flat and is made of hard packed soil and pea gravel. There are about 7 steps from the paved parking lot down to the trail. If you use a mobility device, you may find parking in the pull out on Louis Stephens Drive across from the volleyball courts by the little bridge easier to access the trail. There is a 15 ft strip of packed soil between the paved pullout and a paved walking trail that leads north to the gravel trail.
Bring a water bottle and close toed shoes since we may have to step off the trail into grass to allow others to pass. There is no shade along most of the route. Please leave your furry friends at home for this group activity.
Bring your own binoculars or borrow ours. Please let Mary know by May 17 if you would like to borrow binoculars.
Contact: Mary at mabrams.was@gmail.com with questions or if you have trouble locating the group.
Note: There are no restroom facitilies on site.
- Chapel Hill Bird Club - Disease Spread at Feeders - Bradley ScholtenBinkley Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, NC
Bradley Scholten—Assessing the spread of antibiotic resistant Salmonella and E. coli in songbirds and at birdfeeders
When: Monday, May 19, 2025 at 7:15pm (light refreshments served at 7:15, program to start at 7:30)
Where: Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Zoom link below.Bradley will talk about his research which focuses on understanding the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in songbirds, specifically looking at Salmonella and E. coli – two pathogens that can cause epidemics in both humans and birds. Currently, he is looking at potential sources for where songbirds acquire these bacteria. Ultimately, he hopes his research will contribute to solutions for limiting the spread of antibiotic resistance and zoonotic diseases.
Bradley is a fifth year PhD student in the Biology program at North Carolina State University, advised by Drs. Roland Kays and Martha Burford Reiskind. He is a 2020 Genetics and Genomics Scholar and a 2024 Global One Health Fellow. Before starting his PhD, Bradley received his BS in Biology at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he studied schistosome parasites in common mergansers at inland lakes in Northern Michigan, and also researched how drone flying affects behaviors and stress physiology in tree swallows.
Register for Zoom access: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/dFW8x8QNTR2wpCFwnMEwew - History of Horseshoe Farm (Raleigh Parks event)Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve, Wake Forest, NC
Title: History of Horseshoe Farm
Date/time: Thursday, May 22, 6:30 pm - 8 pm
Location: Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve, 2900 Horse Shoe Farm Road, Wake Forest, NC
Description: Have you ever wondered about people who lived in this area hundreds of years ago? Horseshoe Farm Preserve has a rich and complicated history. Come to explore that history with us. Children must be accompanied by adults. Preregistration is required for planning purposes.
Cost: $5
Register Off-site only (which is why the Meetup RSVP is closed): Requires a free login and password for Raleigh Parks website.
Login first at Raleigh Parks
Then register for this event at:
Registration link: https://ncraleighweb.myvscloud.com/webtrac/web/iteminfo.html?Module=AR&FMID=360478075This event is published on Wake Audubon Meetup in cooperation with Raleigh Parks and Recreation. For questions and more information, contact Tracy Feldman, (he/him/his), the Assistant Manager of Durant and Horseshoe Farm Preserves, at tracy.feldman@raleighnc.gov
Not open - Hilltop-Needmore Park (North), 2025-05-24Hilltop Needmore Town Park & Preserve, Fuquay-Varina, NC
Hilltop-Needmore Park (North)
Saturday, MAY 24, 2025
Time: 8:30 to 10:30 am
4621 Shady Greens Drive, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526
Leaders: Kyra Bartow (leaders also include Larry Zoller and David Southwick)
Free Bird Outing with Wake AudubonJoin us for a Wake Audubon bird outing at Hilltop-Needmore Park on the fourth Saturday of most months (check here for updates). You can RSVP after the Wake Audubon newsletter publishes on APRIL 1.
We will meet at the lower end of the old Club House parking lot. Look for a "Bird Walk Here" sign. We will start promptly at 8:30 am regardless of the weather and should finish by 10:30 am.
Dress for the weather and be prepared to walk paved trails and occasionally on wet grassy fairways. There is some elevation change but we will not be moving quickly as we stop frequently for birds. No birding experience is necessary. Bring your binoculars and a bird guide if you have one. The walk is not recommended for children under 6. Please leave your pets at home.
Ebird hotspot site: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L16295752
The hotspot has over 115 birds observed!Let's Go Birding!
The Leader will make and share an ebird list and share it with your ebird account. Individual lists are discouraged because they duplicate the data, but you can edit your list once it's shared to you.
