The NC Birding Trail Takes Flight

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A Low-cost Tourist Attraction

Unlike a typical trail that winds its way across a forest floor, the NC Birding Trail will be a driving route that connects bird-watching sites. The goal is to have at least one site in each of the state’s 100 counties. Because most potential sites are already established and open to the public, the Trail will require little in the way of new infrastructure, making it a new but low-cost tourist attraction.

It’s a model that is gaining popularity across the country. Already more than three dozen states have at least one birding trail. Perhaps the oldest and most successful is in Texas. Almost 2,110 miles long, the Great Texas Birding Trail connects 300 wildlife-viewing sites in 40 counties along the Texas Gulf Coast and the Rio Grande Valley. Since it was founded in the early 1980s, the trail has put people in touch with nature, promoted wildlife habitat conservation and boosted local commerce.

Birders tend to travel far from home to see birds during the spring and fall, a time that’s considered off-season in most of our coastal communities. Economic impact studies reveal that those who visit the Texas Trail spend about $78 per day while traveling, with an average trip lasting seven or eight days. North Carolina is located along the Atlantic Flyway—the bird migration route that extends from the Atlantic Coast west toward Ohio—making it a popular destination for birders from around the world. The coastal plain section of the NC Birding Trail promises to attract these birders to eastern North Carolina, bringing valuable dollars to a rural region that is rich in natural resources, yet economically distressed in some areas.

Initial plans for a state bird trail started seven years ago, but sputtered to a halt due to a lack of funding. Tomas revived the idea in 2003 and pulled together a steering committee that includes representatives from six organizations: the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Audubon NC, NC Sea Grant, NC Cooperative Extension, NC State Parks, and the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Thanks to volunteer Lena Gallitano, a long-time birder and past president of the Wake Audubon Society, the project gained momentum. Under her leadership, the steering committee developed a strategic plan, a mission statement and a Web site (www.ncbirdingtrail.org). “She’s the angel of the bird trail,” Tomas says. “We couldn’t pay her enough for what she’s done.”