The

Raven's

Nest

June

2026

Friends,

Soon after we moved to the area in 2015, my middle-school daughter announced that her class was going to do a Friday afternoon bird walk at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary, and that since I was a birder she had volunteered me to come as a chaperone for the outing (her teacher would later confirm this). I was delighted as I had recently discovered this treasure of a birding spot. When we arrived there, we met the leader from Elisha Mitchell Audubon Chapter (since renamed Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter), a charming and knowledgeable man who introduced himself as Tom Tribble. Hey—I knew of this guy! He was the one always being interviewed by the Answer Man John Boyle in the Asheville Citizen-Times on various bird topics.  

Over the next few years, as I got to know Beaver Lake and the people that ran it, Tom seemed to be everywhere. Aside from articles in the newspapers (I counted 47 references to Tom Tribble in the Citizen-Times archive!) I would see him repairing planks on Beaver Lake’s Boardwalk or helping construct a Chimney Swift Tower. I started going to Audubon Programs where Tom would be giving the announcements, or presenting the program—or both! The next year we got a team together for the Birdathon. But Tom’s team-the Beaver Lake Bluebirds, crushed us both in birds counted and in funds raised.

But it was only when I joined the Board of Directors in 2021 that I truly saw all the vital roles that Tom has played for this organization. He has run the Audubon Climate Watch program. He has chaired the Beaver Lake Committee and has arranged everything from routine grass mowing to making major repairs caused by the Merrimon Sinkhole. He was President of the Chapter for six years from 2013-2019, and he has assumed numerous roles from Ambassador of Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary to the Chapter’s Email Ambassador. He has received numerous awards for his outstanding volunteer service including the North Carolina Audubon Volunteer of the Year in 2018 and National Audubon’s Atlantic Flyway William Dutcher Award for outstanding service.

In diplomatic circles, the most senior diplomat in a locality is known as the Doyen, and the Doyen is often sought for counsel on all sorts of intricate matters that require not only keen knowledge but also uncommon insight and historical perspective. There is nobody who fills this role more than Tom for all things avian and Audubon in the Asheville area.

After 18 years on the Board of Directors, Tom Tribble will be stepping down at the end of June and simply becoming a volunteer for us. At our Annual Members Meeting on June 24th, we will give Tom a tribute for his incredible service and then celebrate that service with cake and refreshments afterwards. We hope you can join us for this memorable occasion.

John Koon

BioBlitz Bird Walk

Thursday, June 11, 8 am

Asheville Municipal Golf Course Clubhouse

226 Fairway Drive, Asheville

Meet us at the clubhouse for our special BioBlitz bird walk on June 11 as we explore the Muni’s front nine. Its open grass/shrub habitat has attracted lots of birds this spring, including beautiful Blue Grosbeaks. We’ll search for them as well as Chimney Swifts and swallows, including the not-so-common Cliff Swallow, whiz overhead. No doubt we’ll hear the whistles and chatters of the Orchard Orioles, along with the electric zap sounds from a flycatcher called the Eastern Kingbird. 

Beginning and experienced birders of all ages are welcome. Bring your kids but please leave dogs at home. Also, bring binoculars if you have them. This will be a slow and easy stroll along the cart path as we look and listen for our feathered friends. Meet us at the Muni’s clubhouse and join the fun!

Plants for Birds

Saturday, June 13, 11 am - 12 pm

Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary

These outings will focus on the native plants, trees, and shrubs that sustain the birds that visit our sanctuary. Florrie Funk will be your naturalist guide, highlighting blooming wildflowers and notable trees and shrubs, sharing anecdotes about each along with their role in supporting our avian visitors. No special equipment is needed, just bring your curiosity!

How Audubon’s Plants for Birds Program is Supporting Migrating Birds

Redesigning Owen Park Workshop

Tuesday, June 16, 4 - 7 pm

Bee Tree Fire Substation

510 Bee Tree Road, Swannanoa 

Buncombe County Parks & Recreation invites residents to review conceptual design alternatives for Charles D. Owen Park. The drop-in style workshop will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16 at the Bee Tree Fire Substation in Swannanoa.  

In March, nearly 1,000 community members gave input on the future of Owen Park through an in-person workshop and a virtual survey – and now it’s time to see the designs those ideas inspired. Attendees will be able to view two concepts for bringing the storm-damaged park back to life, share feedback, and meet with staff and project designers. 

Participants are welcome to drop in anytime from 4 to 7 p.m. Spanish-language interpretation will be available. 

Additional input opportunities for the project will be added to the project page. A virtual review of the designs will also be shared for those who cannot attend in person. Stay in the loop by subscribing for updates on the project page. 

Chapter Membership Meeting and Celebration

Wednesday, June 24, 7:00 pm

Reuter Center, UNC Asheville

Join our Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter for a fun summer membership meeting on Wednesday, June 24^th. You’ll hear about Chapter plans and accomplishments, meet new board members and celebrate departing board members. There will also be a tribute to Tom Tribble who has been a stalwart member of our board for 18 years! We hope everyone will come out to thank Tom and all the board members who do so much to keep our vibrant chapter running. This is your chance to connect and celebrate with Blue Ridge Audubon members.

During the brief meeting, you’ll hear from current president, John Koon, about the successful Birdathon, learn about upcoming Chapter plans and vote for new board members. After a special tribute to Tom, we’ll adjourn the meeting for cake and socializing. We hope you can join us to celebrate Tom and the chapter!

Moth Mania

Saturday, July 18, 8:30 - 10:30 pm

Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary

Come celebrate the start of National Moth Week (July 18-27th) with educators and entomologists at Beaver Lake! We’ll have special UV lights setup throughout the boardwalk to attract moths and other nighttime insects. Bring your curiosity (and a camera) to help scientists observe moths and earn FREE BADGES with ecoEXPLORE & Science Across NC. All ages are welcome for this FREE and family-friendly event! 

May Bird Walks

by Kiti Reynolds

Our Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary walk in May, led by Clifton Avery, attracted at least 30 people including a family of 5 children- some of whom had binoculars and bird id cards. The kids loved looking at images of a nesting yellow-throated vireo which Clifton digiscoped for us all. We had to skirt a recently fallen tree which just missed taking out our remembrance corner! We also welcomed 3 first-time birders.  

Mike Resch was our guide for the Jackson Park walk on May 9. Eighteen folks showed up, including a young lady who was definitely not a first time birder, and one newbie birder. Mike had scouted the area at 7 AM and was able to show us an active pileated woodpecker nest hole along the famous Warbler trail. We were treated to the rambunctious singing of a soon-to-head-north white-throated sparrow, plus a couple of northern water thrushes and one lovely veery. Our most amazing sighting was a nighthawk fluttering above us and even giving some short peents!

Thanks to Danny Raleigh, our group of 12 birders at Lake Julian were treated to a veritable flock of late migrating blackpoll warblers – fluttering around low in the trees and posing pertly for us. Cute isn’t a strong enough word for the two fledgling brown thrashers who hopped along the path ahead of us, nor the obliging titmouse who popped in and out of the nest hole Danny had found last month. I was impressed that one birder, eager to bird in the mountains, had left her home in Charlotte at 5:30AM in order to join us. One of our two new birders had chosen birding as a way to help her recover from hip-replacement surgery. We do need to spread the word that the Lake Julian walk meets in back of Wild Wings Café on Long Shoals Rd. at the Lake Julian Extension parking lot.

Advocacy Day

by Dora Brande

On June 3, 2026, a group of advocates from local Audubon chapters convened in our state capital for Advocacy Day. We were joined by staff from Audubon North Carolina and National Audubon Society. Our local chapter, Blue Ridge Audubon, was represented by board members Heather Brannan and Dora Brande. Together with staff John DeLuca from Audubon North Carolina and Jess Hoey from National Audubon Society, we made up Team Blue Ridge. We were one of several teams from counties throughout our state who met with lawmakers to advocate for their support for conservation funding and the Conservation Tax Credit.

Preparation

Prior to our trip, staff from Audubon North Carolina led several webinars informing us of the issues and protocols and giving us an opportunity to ask any questions we had about not only the issues but any concerns we had such as logistics and dress codes. These webinars were extremely helpful in easing any anxiety about meeting with lawmakers in Raleigh. The webinars were informative but also fun because we got to meet other advocates and staff prior to our trip. When we arrived in Raleigh, we recognized faces and names. Introductions were natural and comfortable, like being reunited with friends. 

Issues

There are two main issues we asked our lawmakers to support. The first issue is the sustained and increased recurring funding for our state’s conservation trust funds. Currently, the NC Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) have each a budget of $28M recurring. The NC Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Fund (ADFPTF) has a current budget of $5M recurring. The Land and Water Fund alone has helped protect over 300,000 acres of bird habitat across North Carolina. This represents two-thirds of the land protected by these trust funds.

The second issue is the retention of the Conservation Tax Credit which allows landowners to donate land or a conservation easement with an eligible public benefit to a qualified recipient and receive a credit of up to 25% of the fair market value at the time of the donation. 

For the future, we want to grow support for North Carolina to bolster wetlands protections.

Meetings

Our Team met with Representative Brian Turner, Representative Lindsey Prather and Senator Julie Mayfield. Representative Eric Ager was in session and unable to meet with us. His Legislative Assistant looks forward to setting up a meeting with us here in Asheville when Representative Ager returns. Meetings were scheduled by Heather with the Legislative Assistants and were spaced far enough apart to allow us time to reconvene after each meeting in our conference room at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, across the street from the Legislative Building. We looked over our notes and submitted our reports online to National Audubon. Breakfast and lunch were provided in this same space. It’s exciting to be in the presence of like-minded people working towards a common goal. Good people. Good energy. Good work.

Blue Ridge and National Audubon members meet with NC Representative Brian Turner.

Blue Ridge and National Audubon members meet with NC Representative Lindsey Prather.

 Blue Ridge and National Audubon members meet with NC Senator Julie Mayfield.

Our elected officials were welcoming and receptive to supporting our issues. They were grateful for our participation and were genuinely pleased to meet us. We invited each to a bird walk and look forward to participating in future events with our chapter. At the conclusion of our meetings, they were happy to take a group picture with us. Encouragement flowed both ways. We were thankful for their support. They were thankful for the time spent with us.

Participation

We look forward to creating opportunities throughout the next twelve months for members of our chapter from Buncombe and Henderson counties as well as surrounding counties to meet our lawmakers and participate in projects that support our chapter’s mission to protect birds and the places they depend on. Our vision is to return next year for Advocacy Day with several teams from our chapter, to reach a larger number of lawmakers, to make a greater impact for conservation. We are united by our love for birds. Advocating for them and making sure the places they depend on are protected is a natural next step.  We’re excited for you to join us!

Birdathon

Thanks to all who have made donations to Birdathon! Donations will be accepted until the end of June. We hope that you will help us support our migratory birds on their wintering grounds in Colombia. 

Blue Ridge Audubon is a chapter of the National Audubon Society, serving Buncombe, Henderson, and surrounding counties in western North Carolina.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are

tax-deductible to the extent

allowed by law.

Raven's Nest Editor: 

Jennie Burke

jennifer_bradbury85@yahoo.com

Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter

PO Box 18711

Asheville, NC 28814

Blue Ridge Audubon's mission is to protect birds and the places they depend on. We believe that a world in which birds thrive is a world that benefits all living things.

Our vision is a vibrant and just community where the protection of birds and our natural world is valued by everyone.