Cerulean Warbler. Photo by Heather Russell

We hope you will join us for a joint program with Forsyth Audubon in Winston-Salem.

Program Description: The cerulean warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is facing a 74% decline in the Appalachian Forest primarily due to habitat loss impacting their breeding grounds, stopover habitats, and wintering grounds. The Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) has identified the cerulean warbler as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Ceruleans are brilliant skyblue songbirds that migrate over 2,500 miles between their breeding and wintering grounds. This species needs mature and old-growth deciduous forest in the eastern United States to maintain and grow its population.

In the spring of 2025, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation partnered with the National Parks Conservation Association, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, MountainTrue, and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission with support from the U.S. Forest Service to help with a cerulean warbler and avian diversity survey project focused on the last remaining patches of old-growth forests and maturing second-growth forests within the Craggy Mountains – Pisgah National Forest where presence of ceruleans and many other avian species is largely unknown. This project began in 2024 and will in subsequent years continue into public lands adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail in North Carolina.

This presentation will discuss the details of the project and some of the preliminary results. We'll also highlight the importance of collaborative projects and the critical role that volunteers will serve in the conservation field moving forward.

Our speaker is Luke Bennett who served as one of the leads on the cerulean project and currently works for the North Carolina Wildlife Federation as their Conservation Coordinator based in Asheville.

Location: Held at the activity building of Highland Presbyterian Church, 2381 NW Cloverdale St, Winston-Salem. The activity building is across the street from the sanctuary. (Use the doors off the parking lot).  Social time starts at 6:30 PM and the program starts at 7:00 PM.