If you already love birds (or you think you might learn to), you’re going to love birding with The Lee and Lois Herndon Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, informally called the Elizabethton Bird Club. With 200+ bird species in Northeast Tennessee, we can help you find and identify many birds, from the tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird to the majestic Bald Eagle, from colorful spring warblers to ducks that winter with us. We’ve got mountains, valleys, lakes, wetlands, grasslands and farmland edges to bird.

Based in Elizabethton, the bird club welcomes members and nonmembers from across the Northeast Tennessee region to meet on the first Tuesday of the month to plan birdwatching outings and bird counts, discuss recent sightings, enjoy programs on various subjects and generally socialize with fellow bird lovers.

The organization was first formed by Dr. and Mrs. Lee R. Herndon along with Fred W. Behrend as the Bird Life Study Club, and then became a chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society in 1944. After the deaths of the Herndons, the chapter was renamed in their honor.

Dr. Herndon stressed the recreational value of the study of bird life and, as the club does today, he welcomed any interested persons to participate.

In addition to enjoying watching birds, club members also contribute to citizen science by helping track trends in populations and migration patterns through records and seasonal bird count data that go back to the 1940s throughout a five-county area.

Here is a sampling of the events we host. Come see what you’re missing!

Monthly meeting – the first Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m.

Meets every month except July and August

Quarterly (seasonal) bird counts
Birdwatching outings
Trips out of the local area
Annual spring banquet
Annual summer picnic
Annual Planning meeting
Programs
Holiday gathering

Recent Reports

Henderson Marsh Field Trip, Nov 9
Jacob’s Nature Park Field Trip, Oct 19
Elizabethton Fall Count, Oct 5

Members of the Elizabethton Bird Club come from many local areas, including Elizabethton, Johnson City, Bluff City, Blountville, Erwin, Unicoi, Kingsport, Bristol, Piney Flats, and others. With about 50+ members, it is a large and varied club that incudes ornithologists, photographers, educators, retirees, students, you name it! But we all have one thing in common: a love of birds. It’s not just a club, it’s a community.