Birding spots · North Carolina

Best Birding Spots in Orange County, North Carolina

Orange County Water and Sewer Authority Property leads Orange County's birding spots with 185 species reported, best in fall. 60 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Orange County Water and Sewer Authority Property	185	2,212	106	141	103	153
Mason Farm Biological Reserve	163	3,873	81	144	97	130
Triangle Land Conservancy Preserve	159	6,987	68	140	106	143
Eno River State Park	133	1,063	59	104	69	113
Lake Overlook	126	631	49	107	67	104
Quail Roost Lake Number Two	123	362	64	99	73	100
Bolin Creek	121	797	67	103	70	84
Triangle Land Conservancy - Johnston Mill Nature Preserve	121	691	54	103	75	97
Eno River Association Preserve - Confluence Natural Area	120	529	48	102	62	100
Orange County Open Space - Blackwood Farm	104	392	56	87	65	72
University Lake	104	198	54	87	66	39
Town of Carrboro Open Space - Anderson Community Park	102	785	55	83	61	76
Piedmont Nature Trails	101	1,246	54	87	61	76
Morgan Creek Trail	101	486	51	86	60	62
Lake Michael	100	228	48	66	60	54
Orange County Water and Sewer Authority Property (north)	96	203	44	78	54	52
Piedmont Minerals Lake	92	291	47	73	53	62
North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation Preserve	91	353	43	85	40	41
Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area	91	268	40	81	59	46
Duke Forest	91	202	43	81	44	21
Orange County Open Space - Cedar Grove Park	91	150	39	70	53	36
Orange County Open Space - New Hope Preserve	90	313	41	75	55	57
Merritt's Pasture	90	209	43	77	47	57
Triangle Land Conservancy Preserve (southwest)	90	95	19	55	46	65
Carolina North Forest (Jolly Branch)	88	201	40	68	39	61
Orange County Open Space - Seven Mile Creek Preserve	87	312	35	77	51	61
Carolina North Forest	87	226	52	70	48	54
Eastwood Lake	87	196	49	66	48	65
Town of Hillsborough Open Space - Gold Park	84	180	42	67	48	54
Town of Chapel Hill - Southern Community Park	84	163	46	73	39	42
Town of Carrboro Open Space - Adams Tract	82	150	35	63	49	56
Town of Chapel Hill Open Space	80	461	46	74	50	55
Coker Arboretum	79	420	46	52	38	58
Piedmont Nature Trails (Meeting of the Waters)	77	141	37	66	38	32
Eno River State Park (Stony Creek)	76	73	38	50	37	37
Duke Forest (West Hills)	76	71	24	68	26	21
Town of Chapel Hill - Ephesus Park	74	217	45	61	52	22
Mountains-to-Sea Trail	74	158	37	52	42	45
Town of Chapel Hill - Library Park	72	351	43	53	38	46
Town of Chapel Hill - Homestead Park	71	163	37	58	42	42
Kings Highway Park	71	92	36	55	38	38
Battle Park	69	127	34	53	35	40
Town of Carrboro Open Space - Martin Luther King Jr. Park	67	235	41	45	39	53
Community Center Park	66	125	35	52	34	26
Town of Chapel Hill - Umstead Park	65	118	38	47	33	29
Orange County Open Space - Little River Regional Park	63	108	39	43	30	34
Briarcliff	61	216	40	43	29	33
Coker Arboretum (Chapel Hill)	56	98	30	37	18	31
Briarcliff (The Oaks II)	51	172	34	35	27	29
Town of Chapel Hill - Cedar Falls Park	48	55	21	37	5	17