The Sandhills Natural History Society will host the spring Carolina Bird Club meeting in Southern Pines Thursday, May 1, through Sunday, May 4.

Over a hundred birders and other naturalists from North and South Carolina and other states will gather to participate in field trips and presentations by well-known wildlife researchers and photographers. Meeting headquarters will be the Days Inn Conference Center in Southern Pines.

Scheduled field trips include outings to various area farms, Woodlake, the Sandhills Game Lands, Weymouth Woods, and Hobby Field in Southern Pines, nesting site of the regionally famous scissor-tailed flycatcher. A number of the field trips focus on interesting organisms within the Sandhills ecosystem including plants, butterflies, and moths, in addition to birds.

There will also be unique opportunities to observe demonstrations of locally important wildlife activity. An experienced woodpecker biologist will demonstrate the techniques used in monitoring and conserving the red cockaded woodpecker, an endangered species and a very important avian resident of the Sandhills. There will also be songbird and hummingbird banding and perhaps a demonstration of a prescribed burn in a longleaf pine forest.

On Friday, the Sandhills Natural History Society will host a social hour at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve from 4:30 to 6 p.m., with refreshments, folk music, and a photo display. At 8 p.m. Jeff Marcus from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's Wildlife Diversity program will present results from bird studies in the Sandhills Game Lands, including information about Bachman's sparrow and bobwhite populations.

On Saturday evening, participants may enjoy a buffet dinner at the hotel, followed by the annual meeting and a presentation by local biologist and wildlife photographer Todd Pusser. A Moore County native, Pusser grew up exploring the Sandhills. Now an internationally renowned writer and photographer working all over the world, he regularly publishes articles and photographs in N..C Wildlife, and his work has been featured in National Wildlife and National Geographic. He will present a collection of his favorite images from around the region.

For more information about this event, contact meeting organizer Susan Campbell at (910) 949-3207 or e-mail her at susan@ncaves.com.