Greenville County
Bird Club

Upstate South Carolina

Greenville County Bird Club

Upstate South Carolina

Outings and Events

The club typically holds multiple birding outings each month, detailed below. Non-members are always welcome on GCBC outings. We also offer occasional workshops and social gatherings. Outings and events are typically free-of-charge; any exceptions will be clearly identified. At the bottom of the page, we also list some events scheduled by other organizations which may be of interest to our members.

We try to organize carpooling as frequently as possible. If you ride along with someone, please consider contributing approximately $0.10 per mile towards gas.

Safety Protocol Update

Please read the summary below carefully.

Updated 7/8/23

As safety concerns related to the Pandemic have waned, the GCBC Board has instituted the following outing guidelines.

To reiterate, trip leaders may choose to limit groups to small numbers and restrictive protocols.

Recurring Outings

Conestee Nature Preserve
Third Saturday of Each Month

Each month we offer two separate outings at Conestee Nature Preserve; one longer than the other. Trip leaders for each outing will be announced by email to our membership prior to each outing, along with contact information to sign up. If you are not a member and would like to participate, please email Carson Johnson.

Longer Walk: 7:00 AM until noon, Apr-Sep, and 8:00 AM until noon, Oct-Mar
Meet at Conestee Nature Preserve behind the baseball stadium to bird a variety of paved and natural surface trails in the Preserve. The Preserve entrance is at 840 Mauldin Road, Greenville (opposite a FedEx facility and the junction with Ridge Road). Upon entering the Preserve, drive ~ 200 yards and then follow the road around a curve to the right towards a parking area behind the main baseball stadium.
Shorter Walk: 8:00 AM until 10:30 AM, year round
We offer this slower-paced walk for anyone not up for a full morning of birding. Meet at the Spanco Drive parking area next to the old Conestee mill and dam at 8:00 AM to bird a section of the paved trail, planning to be done by around 10:30 AM. The total out-and-back walk distance is 1.8 miles, but participants can easily leave early and return to parking if needed. The route is ADA acceptable aside from one 200-foot section of trail with a 10% grade. There are no restrooms along our route.

Scheduled Outings

Outings Calendar

Click here to open our Google calendar, where we share our scheduled and recurring outings.

As many of the outings are limited to a certain number of participants, registration is required for all events. Members will receive a reminder prior to each event with registration instructions. If you are not a member, go to our Membership Page or email Carson Johnson for registration instructions.

Impromptu Outings

To provide more opportunities for birding, we encourage our members to invite others on impromptu outings. For these outings, please adhere to the guidelines detailed at the top of this page.

For our more experienced birders: If you are going birding and would be willing to have guests, please send a notice to the club indicating when, where, and how many people you welcome.

For our less experienced birders: If you want to go birding, please send a notice to the club indicating when you would like to go, and hopefully someone will reach out to you.

Events by Other Organizations

Carolina Bird Club
Fall Meeting: Various Locations, September 21 and September 28, 2024
The CBC is changing up hte format for its seasonal meeting this fall. For detailed information and to register, visit the Carolina Bird Club website.

Keowee-Clemson Bird Club
This nearby club has a regular slate of great outings as well as occasional presentations and gatherings. They have a recurring outing to the ever-productive Townville area on the fourth Saturday of every month. See the KCBC Facebook page for more information about their activities.

Ventures Birding, Incorporated
Ventures is a local professional birding tour company with a regular schedule of outings in the Carolinas, throughout the United States, and internationally. For details, visit their web site at www.birdventures.com.