Ornithologists and ordinary people alike are invited to celebrate the "Year of the Bird" in 2010.
North Carolina's state parks and Audubon North Carolina will pay tribute to its winged residents and visitors in 2010 by celebrating the "Year of the Birds," according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.
 Throughout the year, birds and bird-watching will be the focus of special education programs and activities in the state parks, many of them in partnership with Audubon North Carolina, which works with the state parks system on research and management projects involving bird habitats. The state parks system is also making available a special bandana of some of the signature birds found in the parks.
Elk Knob State Park in Meat Camp will be holding a number of special programs this year, though the schedule is not yet finalized.
State parks are regularly involved in annual bird counts, and the parks are among Audubon's Important Bird Areas, sites for research about the health of bird populations and habitats.
Curtis Smalling, Mountain Region Biologist for Audubon North Carolina, said mountain bogs, Bear Paw State Natural Area, Grandfather State Park and other public lands are good bird resources. "All those parks present opportunities for high-elevation birds," Smalling said. "There will be lots of programs in partnership with Grandfather Mountain. Grandfather has a naturalist's weekend that falls on the second Saturday in May. That program will be rolled into 'Year of the Bird.'"
Audubon North Carolina, the state parks and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission were also among partners that are establishing three distinct birding trails in North Carolina in an effort to combine eco-tourism and natural resource protection. Smalling said there would be a number of bird counts during the year to help track populations and migratory patterns.