NHBA Birdathon 2026

April 23-26 2026

Birdathon link

My Birdathon fundraising page

Raising funds for the New Hope Bird Alliance, by encouraging friends and family to donate for each species that I find.

By bicycle

Fun to have green constraints on the challenge, and follow the joy of City cycling and urbanism. Some precedent with Corinne Hibbard and Alex Nickley's 2023 bicycle big day, which found 100 species!

Options by difficulty

• Easy - Ellerbe Creek Trail, Beaver Marsh, 17 Acre Wood, Indian Trail Park, Duke Gardens, Forest Hills Park, American Tobacco Trail, Al Buehler Trail, Third Fork Creek Trail
• Sandy Creek, Hollow Rock, Duke Forest
• Ellerbe Creek RR grade, Brumley North and South, Flat River and Brickhouse Rd.
• Hill Forest, NCSU fields
• Hard - Would it be crazy to ride the ATC down to Jordan Lake and bike-camp at Poplar Point or Crosswinds? Probably won't have time for that, due to the Durham Spring Bird count being on that Sunday, but would've been a fun option otherwise!

Bicycle route resources

• Durham bicycle map
• Oaks and Spokes map
• Bike Durham routes
• Carolina Tarwheels routes
• Ride with GPS app
• Cyclers app I like Ride with GPS more, at least for planning routes in advance.
• Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) map
• Reddit - bike to Jordan Lake

Expected species totals

I've created a spreadsheet where I've coded all of the species found in the area in April/May, by rough likelihood of finding.

By my count, 80 species is a minimum count to expect with good coverage over a weekend. This aligns with my Spring Bird Counts typically finding 70-80 species in a morning. Cresting over 100 is definitely possible with targeted efforts and decent luck with migrants. Even 150 is in the realm of possibility with an exceptional planning and some luck (and probably time off work).

Of course, with my only going by bicycle, these numbers would be lowered, though by how much depends on my ambition, and what feels safe and reasonable to reach.

Itinerary thoughts

• Thu 23 Apr and Fri 24 Apr
  • Depending on work schedule and time available in the morning, choose from Sandy Creek, Al Buehler Trail, Ellerbe Creek Trail, Beaver Marsh, and Duke Gardens.
• Sat 25 Apr
  • This is the day with most freedom, and perhaps best spent targeting tricky out-of-the-way birds
  • Ellerbe Creek RR grade, Hickory Hill boat ramp, Panther Creek loop, NCSU dairy ponds
• Sun 26 Apr - Durham Spring Count
  • Cover my usual area - Cabin Branch, Penny's Bend and MST, Sykes Lake, etc.
  • Also swing by Eden Lakes, if still missing waterbirds
  • If still feeling strong, could even swing by Flat River, Brickhouse Rd, and/or Ellerbe Creek? But I doubt this.