Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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Lake Yosemite in Merced Jan. 4, 2025 9:00 am
Lake Yosemite in Merced Jan. 4, 2025 @ Lake Yosemite
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Lake Yosemite in Merced Jan. 4, 2025 @ Lake Yosemite
Lake Yosemite in Merced Details subject to change.   All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here The Fresno Audubon Society Wednesday Walk to Lake Yosemite in...
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Pixley NWR Field Trip 8:30 am
Pixley NWR Field Trip @ Pixley NWR Field Trip
Jan 9 @ 8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Pixley NWR Field Trip @ Pixley NWR Field Trip
Pixley NWR Field Trip Details subject to change. Registration is required for this event. All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here Registration Link      Date:...
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Save the DATE Big Dry Creek Reservoir Grasslands 8:00 am
Save the DATE Big Dry Creek Reservoir Grasslands
Jan 11 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Save the DATE! Time subject to change. More details and registration link available soon.
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General Meeting – Jan. 2025- Benny Jacobs-Schwartz: Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca 7:00 pm
General Meeting – Jan. 2025- Benny Jacobs-Schwartz: Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca @ Zoom
Jan 14 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
General Meeting - Jan. 2025- Benny Jacobs-Schwartz: Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca @ Zoom
 Virtual General Meeting Benny Jacobs-Schwartz Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca   Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting Jan. 14th, 7:00pm This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom  Register to receive login information. New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before...
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Introduction to Birding Saturday Jan. 18, 2025 9:00 am
Introduction to Birding Saturday Jan. 18, 2025 @ River Center
Jan 18 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Introduction to Birding Saturday Jan. 18, 2025 @ River Center
Introduction to Birding at the River Center 11605 Old Friant Rd Fresno, CA 93730     Registration link  All registrants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here Description...
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FAS Board Meeting 11:00 am
FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting
Jan 26 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Contact admin@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials
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Wednesday Walk – Ball Ranch 8:00 am
Wednesday Walk – Ball Ranch @ Ball Ranch meeting location - Target
Jan 29 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Wednesday Walk - Ball Ranch @ Ball Ranch meeting location - Target
Wednesday Bird Walk Ball Ranch Registration is required for this event. All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here Register for the walk here. Ball Ranch, on the...
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Jan
4
Sat
2025
Lake Yosemite in Merced Jan. 4, 2025 @ Lake Yosemite
Jan 4 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Lake Yosemite in Merced

Details subject to change.

 

All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here

FAS Release of Liability Form

FAS Release of Liability Form

The Fresno Audubon Society Wednesday Walk to Lake Yosemite in Merced will be on January 4. Registration is required for this event.

Register Here

 

Bring lunch and be prepared for cool to warm weather, with possibility of rain. The Lake Yosemite website shows an entrance fee of $6. We may see late wintering birds, including Bald Eagles, Ospreys, several species of ducks, bluebirds, woodpeckers, shrikes, sparrows, and possibly Ferruginous Hawks and falcons, among others, and early spring migrants.
We will congregate at the Lake Yosemite park parking lot just past the entrance kiosk at about 9am.

To get there-Take Hwy 99 north to Campus Parkway/Mission Road, turn right, go east on Campus Parkway past one roundabout, at the second roundabout, go north on Lake Avenue all the way to the UC Merced campus-just beyond it is Lake Yosemite Park-

 

 

Leader contact info:
Cell:  please text 559-377-8427 ( voicemail is problematic so text is preferred)

Register Here

 

Jan
9
Thu
2025
Pixley NWR Field Trip @ Pixley NWR Field Trip
Jan 9 @ 8:30 am – 3:00 pm

Pixley NWR Field Trip

Details subject to change.

Registration is required for this event.

All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here

FAS Release of Liability Form

Registration Link

 

 

 Date: January 9, 2025

 

Trip Leaders: Susan Heidebrecht & Lowell Young

 

Meeting time: 8:30 AM

 

Meeting location: Pixley National Wildlife Refuge at 8:30

We will meet in the parking lot at the Pixley National Wildlife Refuge at 8:30 AM. We will form carpools immediately, enter the refuge and lock the gate behind us. After that point, those who are late will be out of luck. But, they will be able to bird along the path to the viewing platform and see some of the refuge from there.

Duration of Field trip: 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM

Weather: We will go rain or shine. So, be prepared for any weather.

 We will have walkie-talkies available.

Location: Pixley National Wildlife Refuge: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fRTKEtGJjkdA9cRBA

 

 

What to bring: Binoculars, clothing, (this is the month of January, almost any weather is possible), walking shoes, sunscreen / hat, water, snacks and lunch, free downloads of Audubon and/or Merlin Apps are very useful, western bird identification field guides are also useful. Be advised, there may be insects such as mosquitos, gnats etc.

Walking will be limited and will be on dirt roads. Driving will be on dirt and/or graveled roads. Rest rooms are available in the parking area of the Refuge.

Using the Merlin Sound ID app as an enhanced identification tool.

Possible birds: Over 100 bird on the wildlife refuge in January. Approximately 300 acres (120 ha) of managed wetlands provide habitat for migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. 

Other possible sightings…Threatened and endangered species include the San Joaquin kit fox, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, Tipton kangaroo rat, and the vernal pool fairy shrimp.

 

 

Contact:

Lowell Young

(209) 617-9921

yosemite.birder@gmail.com

Susan Heidebrecht

(559) 313-1777

email: sunheidebrecht@comcast.net

 

Registration Link

All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here

FAS Release of Liability Form

Jan
11
Sat
2025
Save the DATE Big Dry Creek Reservoir Grasslands
Jan 11 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Save the DATE!

Time subject to change.

More details and registration link available soon.

Jan
14
Tue
2025
General Meeting – Jan. 2025- Benny Jacobs-Schwartz: Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca @ Zoom
Jan 14 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Virtual General Meeting

Benny Jacobs-Schwartz

Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca

 

Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca

Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting Jan. 14th, 7:00pm
This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
 Register to receive login information.

New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

Description: 

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Get ready for a dive into South America’s birdiest country! Together we’ll explore Colombia’s unique ecology, breathtaking scenery, and unparalleled avian diversity! Colombia holds the record with nearly 2,000 bird species and an impressive 80 endemics!

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During our time together we’ll discuss the country’s five regions, conservation successes, and how the mighty Rio Magdalena and Rio Cauca eroded the continent’s spine and split the Andes Mountain Range into three distinct cordilleras. From sloth-eating Harpy Eagles to shy antpittas, and menageries of colorful tanagers and hummingbirds, Colombia’s astonishing diversity will leave you wanting more!

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Bio:

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Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz owns and operates a bird-guiding business and lifestyle brand called BIRDS by BIJS (pronounced Bee-jus). With a background in biology, ecology, and outdoor education, Benny has worked professionally for over 10 years as a naturalist guide, expedition trip leader, and international bird guide.  Through his business, Benny offers professionally guided birding outings in Southern California and offers small-group birding tours to his favorite tropical locales like Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Colombia.

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Benny is a passionate educator and photographer, specializing in birds! Benny is active on social media where he creates fun, educational videos and posts to inspire others about the natural world with the goal of getting folks to put down their phone and pick up their Binos.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.
Jan
18
Sat
2025
Introduction to Birding Saturday Jan. 18, 2025 @ River Center
Jan 18 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Introduction to Birding at the River Center

11605 Old Friant Rd
Fresno, CA 93730

 

 

Registration link 

All registrants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here

FAS Release of Liability Form

Description
The Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon Society have joined forces to offer a birding class that combines instruction, exploration, and fun! Beginning birders will see and learn about local and migratory birds that might be visiting the River Center. New birders will discover easy ways to identify migrating and year-round, local birds. The class will include a walk looking for birds in the various habitats found at the River Center. We will meet at the new picnic shelter on the north side of the center. After learning about using binoculars and various aids in bird identification like guide books and phone apps, we will bird around the property. Bring binoculars, lunch, water and sun protection.  Fresno Audubon will have binoculars to loan if you do not have your own. Children are welcome!
BegBirdHO
QR Code for Beginning Birding Handout.
Heavy rain cancels this event.
Class is held from 9 AM -12 PM on the third Saturday of each month from October through May. Subject to change.

Registration link 

All registrants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here

FAS Release of Liability Form

 

Jan
26
Sun
2025
FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting
Jan 26 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Contact admin@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials

Jan
29
Wed
2025
Wednesday Walk – Ball Ranch @ Ball Ranch meeting location - Target
Jan 29 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Wednesday Bird Walk

Ball Ranch

Registration is required for this event.

All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. Use the QR code below or the form can also be found here

FAS Release of Liability Form

FAS Release of Liability Form

Register for the walk here.

Ball Ranch, on the San Joaquin River Parkway, offers various habitats including grasslands, wetlands, ponds, riparian areas and oak groves. Cormorants, ducks, mergansers, grebes, raptors, sparrows, finches, quail, gnatcatchers, woodpeckers and many others can be found there. Occasionally we have found Lewis’s Woodpeckers.  We will walk 1 to 2 miles on dirt roads and a short trail.  There are restrooms on site.
We will meet at Ball Ranch in the recently developed parking lot at 8:00. We plan to be finished by noon.
The property is open to the public, so the gates will be open if anyone needs to leave early.
Checklist:  binoculars, scope, field guide, snacks, water, sunscreen, hat.

Ball Ranch meeting location    (36.9361267, -119.7309237)

 

 

 

Green Heron by Clayton Dahlen

 

 

 

 

May
13
Tue
2025
May 2025 General Meeting @ Zoom
May 13 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

May 2025 General Meeting

This meeting will be broadcast online via Zoom
Register to receive login information.

Registration Link

 

New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

May 13, 2025

Speaker: Scott Harris
Title: RaptorQuest


New to Zoom? Check out all you need to know here before the meeting.

 

Description: 

Scott Harris spent 17 months, chasing 53 Raptors across 34 states—his version of a Raptor Big Year. RaptorQuest is about his adventures, misadventures, successes and failures. From -36 degree days, to ones over 100 degrees, to just getting on the bird just in time, to the frustrations of missing one by minutes. It’s about the birds—of course—but it’s also about the people he met, the things he learned and why he’s already working on his next adventure.

 

 

Speaker Bio: 

Scott Harris and his wife Randi retired to South Carolina in March of 2020-something. Scott will tell you it was one of the best decisions they have made in their 45 years of marriage. It was also when he first started birding – a hobby he never imagined himself participating in, but now can’t imagine living without.

 

They sold their long-time home and business, Mustang Marketing, a marketing/branding company they had owned for 35 years. They are blessed that both their children and their grandson are also in South Carolina.

 

While in California, Scott had a syndicated newspaper column and two weekly radio shows. He and his son Justin also hosted a Los Angeles Dodgers weekly live radio show. Scott sat on dozens of boards over the years, including Boys & Girls Club, United Way, The Sheriff’s Foundation, Pepperdine University, Moorpark College and California State University Northridge.

 

In the month before leaving Ventura County, Scott was honored as Man of the Year, with his company having won Business of the Year two years previously. His interests and hobbies include the largest collection of John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley in the world, playing harmonica in a blues band and he has written more than fifty books in the past seven years – though the one he’ll be discussing today is his first entrée into the world of birding and birds. 

 

That book, RaptorQuest: Chasing America’s Raptors, is the story of his year-long adventure tracking down every species of Raptor in the Lower 48 states. And today, we’ll learn about his adventures, misadventures, successes and failures.



Fresno Audubon Society
Thank you for your continued involvement in and support of Fresno Audubon Society.