Duke Forest Bird Surveys

Welcome to the Duke Forest Bird Survey information page. These surveys are conducted by volunteers who are interested in monitoring bird usage of the Duke Forest. Established in 2003, these surveys are conducted along five established survey routes (two in the Blackwood Division and three in the Korstian Division) on a seasonal basis:
Winter ~ 1 Feb - 28 Feb
Spring Migration ~20 April - 15 May
Summer Breeding ~1 June - 15 June
Fall Migration ~1 Sep - 30 Sep
Occasionally surveys are conducted outside of these time frames, and those are included as well. Note that a few additional routes were established in the early years in the Durham Division, but monitoring of those routes did not persist due to volunteer availability. If you're interested in participating on Duke Forest Bird surveys, please contact me (Jeff Pippen) at jspippen@duke.edu

Surveys are conducted "Christmas Bird Count" style, with participants walking an established trail system and recording all individual birds seen and heard. Routes are generally conducted first thing in the morning, and each route takes about 2-3 hours to complete.