| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FULL Evening Owl Walk at Jensen River Ranch 4:00 pm FULL Evening Owl Walk at Jensen River Ranch @ Jensen River Ranch Dec 7 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Evening Owl Walk at Jensen River Ranch This event is currently full. You can try using the register here link to see if there are any cancellations. Registration is required for this event. Register Here Join FAS for an evening Owl Walk on the Jensen... | ||||||
| Field Trip to Merced National Wildlife Refuge 2022 11:45 am Field Trip to Merced National Wildlife Refuge 2022 @ Merced National Wildlife Refuge Dec 14 @ 11:45 am – 5:30 pm Merced National Wildlife Refuge Wednesday, December 14 Please register here. With winter migrants filling local refuges and putting on a tremendous show, it is a wonderful time to bird Central Valley wetlands. Join Fresno Audubon on Wednesday, December 14 for a tour of the... | ||||||
| Introduction to Birding Dec. 18, 2022 9:00 am Introduction to Birding Dec. 18, 2022 @ River Center Dec 18 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Introduction to Birding at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies 11605 Old Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93730 Please register for the December 18 event here. The Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon Society have joined forces to offer a birding class that combines instruction,... | ||||||
Evening Owl Walk at Jensen River Ranch
This event is currently full. You can try using the register here link to see if there are any cancellations.
Registration is required for this event.
Join FAS for an evening Owl Walk on the Jensen Trail. We plan to start close to sunset to be on the Jensen Trail at dusk when the Great Horned owls and Barn owls come out to hunt. The outing should take about 1 1/2 hours. We will meet at 4:00 p.m. in the parking lot adjacent to the Art of Life Healing Garden in Woodward Park.
The $5.00 City entrance fee applies if you park in Woodward Park. Alternative parking may be available in the Fort Washington Shopping Center.
Registration is required for this event. Any questions, please contact trip leader Larry Cusick at (559) 313-1777, larrywcusick@gmail.com.
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
Wednesday, December 14
With winter migrants filling local refuges and putting on a tremendous show, it is a wonderful time to bird Central Valley wetlands. Join Fresno Audubon on Wednesday, December 14 for a tour of the Merced National Wildlife Refuge. We will meet at the MacDonald’s parking lot in the Marketplace at El Paseo (6741 N Riverside Dr, Fresno, CA 93722, see map below) at 11:45 for a noon start.
Secondary meet up is at the first parking lot of the refuge, near the bathrooms and the first observation deck, at 1:00pm (see map). After driving the auto tour, we will gather at the second observation deck at sundown for the spectacular crane fly-in, which should end around 5:30pm.
Target birds include Lesser Sandhill Cranes, Black and Say’s Phoebes, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, American Pipits, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, Green-winged and Cinnamon Teals, Greater White-fronted Geese, Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, American White Pelicans, Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, American Coots, Black-necked Stilts, White-faced Ibis, Long-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin, Wilson’s Snipe, Least Sandpipers, Long-billed Curlews, Red-tailed Hawks, and Northern Harriers. Also possible are Cackling Geese, Red-shouldered Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Bald Eagles, Kestrels, and Great-horned Owls. Both a Burrowing Owl and female Vermillion Flycatcher have recently been seen at the refuge as well.
Participants should bring day packs, hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, plenty of water, snacks, lunch (if desired), and binoculars, and should dress in layers. We probably will not be doing much hiking, but comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Please bring radios (walky-talkies) if you have them.
Registration is required for this event.
Introduction to Birding at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies
11605 Old Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93730
Please register for the December 18 event here.
Contact rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials
Registration Required.
Link to Registration.
On January 18, Fresno Audubon will have its Wednesday Walk to Avocado Lake and nearby Choinumni Park, led by Larry Parmeter. Avocado Lake, an often-overlooked little jewel of a birding site, has a large open lake, riparian areas along the Kings River, and oak woodlands. It’s a great place for woodpeckers, nuthatches, sparrows, finches, including Lawrence’s Goldfinch, towhees, and raptors. Wintering waterfowl may be on the lake, along with possible Common Loons. Choinumni Park is known for woodpeckers and raptors among many other species. We’ll meet at 7:45am at the Walmart parking lot at Ashlan and Blackstone for an 8am departure. Carpooling arrangements must be made beforehand.
Checklist: binoculars, scope, field guide, snacks, lunch, water, sunscreen, hat, radios
Trip Leader: Larry Parmeter (559)276-8753, lanpar362@gmail.com
Registration Required.
Link to Registration.
Registration required for all FAS field trips.
Registration for this trip is here.
Event details subject to change.
Jeff Seay will lead this trip through the Merced Grasslands Important Bird Area finishing at Merced National Wildlife Refuge. Meet at that Walmart parking lot at Ashlan and Blackstone at 6:45 am for a 7 am departure. The trip will cover the Madera County’s foothill Grasslands on the way to the Merced Wildlife Refuge. We expect to see wintering raptors and other birds of the low foothills and grasslands. We will mostly be driving and getting out of the car periodically with possible small walks. At the end of the trip we will enjoy the spectacle of sandhill cranes, snow and Ross’s geese, and other waterfowl. It will last most of the day, ending about 5:45 at the refuge.
Checklist: binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras, radios, jackets, lunch/snacks, water, and insect repellent.
Registration for this trip is here.
Directions to the assembly point are here.
Trip leader: Jeff Seay, (559) 960-0849, jeffseay@sbcglobal.net
Introduction to Birding at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies
11605 Old Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93730
Please register for the January 21 event here.
Field Trip to River West Open Space, Saturday, January 28, 2023
Event Details Subject to Change
Join Fresno Audubon for a bird hike at River West Open Space on Saturday January 28. We will meet at River View Dr and W Bluff Ave at 8 a.m.
This is a rich area with many target species. We can expect to see a wide variety of ducks, including Goldeneye, Mergansers, and Bufflehead. There are many resident raptors – including Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, and occasional Osprey and Bald Eagle sightings. There are many songbirds waiting to be discovered as well – sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and Loggerhead Shrikes. It is not unusual to log more than 40 species.
Participants should bring snacks, water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars, and should dress in layers. There really isn’t anywhere to eat lunch at this property; we will likely be wrapping up by 12:30. Registration is required for this event.
The trip leader is Susan Estep. She can be reached at (402)212-1215 or sbse820@gmail.com if you have any questions. There is plenty of on street parking available on River View Dr and W Bluff Ave. It is about a 3-mile loop of flat walking. There are no restrooms or water available so come prepared!
Contact admin@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials
Field Trip to River West Madera
Wednesday
February 1, 2023
We will meet at 8:00 a.m. just outside the Valley Golf Center (which is south and down the hill from Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera County). For those who participated in Rachel Clark’s outing last fall from Wildwood Native Park, a lot of the terrain will look familiar. However, as the park is not open during the work week, we will be assembling west of the park.
Weather and trail conditions permitting, the plan is to take Palm Avenue down from the golf course, following the river downstream, first on the service road to Sycamore Island, then along the Riverfront Trail, ultimately emerging at a grouping of several ponds and a large lagoon just north of the river channel. The Riverfront Trail follows a berm next to the river and is somewhat narrow and uneven. For anyone not comfortable with it, the Sycamore Island road can be followed instead. Total distance is about 3.5 miles.
Although this is directly across the river from River West Open Space (that walk is set for January 28 and led by the incomparable Susan Estep), be prepared for some different birds on the Madera County side, including black-crowned night heron, wigeon, green-wing teal, cinnamon teal, phainopepla, various wrens, and acorn, Nuttall’s and downy woodpeckers. We may also see early signs of nesting activity by the returning osprey and great-horned owls, and perhaps an appearance by one or two bald eagles.
Bring suitable clothing (layers) and walking shoes (note the trail may be sloppy in some areas), snacks, water, head covering, sunscreen, and binoculars. The ponds and lagoon will be quite amenable to spotting scopes, although they are more than a mile and a half from the assembly area.
Directions: Take Highway 41 north from Fresno, to the first exit north of the San Joaquin River (Exit 138A). Turn right at the intersection and follow Cobb Ranch Road back toward Fresno until you get to the first intersection. Turn right and proceed under the Highway 41 bridges to the parking area just outside the golf course where we will assemble.
Leader: John McDaniel
Phone: (559) 779-7186
Email: mandomac@comcast.net