Bald Eagle, George Folsom

Millerton Lake Eagle Tours

Reserved Space for Eagle Tour (25 people)

Boat ramp #1, 5290 Millerton Rd, Friant, CA 93626

Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM (PT)

Cost: $20 per person (NON-REFUNDABLE) 

(If the event is canceled due to weather a refund will be issued)

Event is full.

Payment of $20 will be collected at time of registration.

Please Note: Registration Closes Sunday, January 26, 2025.

Event information:

You will be given a ticket to place on your vehicle dashboard when you meet the host at boat ramp #1. Tour fee includes vehicle day-use fee, do not pay for admission at entry kiosk. This ticket solely reserves your space for the selected date and does not waive fee.

Tours meet at Ramp#l on the South Shore (Fresno side) of the lake. Address is 5290 Millerton Rd Friant, CA 93626 . Follow signs for Millerton Courthouse after going through the entrance kiosk.

Tours depart promptly at 9:00 am and run through 12:00 pm. Please plan to arrive by 8:45 am to allow time for check-in and fee collection.

Be sure to dress warmly for the weather. We recommend dressing in layers, along with beanie style hat, gloves, sweater or jacket, and even long johns for those who are extra sensitive to the cold. Blankets may also be brought aboard for your comfort. Boat makes one bathroom stop l ½ hrs into the tour. Please be sure to use the restroom prior to boarding the vessel.

Complimentary hot chocolate will be served.

Tours may be canceled for inclement weather.

Parkfield/Cholame Valley Bird Walk

February 12, 2025

Register here

Join Kevin Enns-Rempel on February 12 for a birding trip to Cholame Valley and Parkfield. We will meet the leader’s home at 6:45am, and depart there by 7am. The address will be provided in you confirmation email. It’s about a 90-minute drive to our destination, so we’ll try to do as much carpooling as possible.

From the junction of Highway 41 & Cholame Valley Road, we’ll bird our way slowly up to the little community of Parkfield. Expect to see good numbers of wintering raptors as well as grassland birds. With some luck we’ll also see both Tule Elk and Pronghorns.

Bring lunch and water. This will be mostly a stop-and-go driving route, so there won’t be much walking. From Parkfield, participants are free to retrace their steps back to Fresno or take the Parkfield-Coalinga Road back home through Coalinga. We should be done birding by early afternoon, so expect to be back in Fresno by late afternoon.This is always a great trip, so we hope that lots of you can make it.

Please reach out to trip leader Kevin Enns-Rempel (559-313-4546 or kevin.enns.rempel@gmail.com) with any questions. 

Register here

Contact admin@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials

Mendota Wildlife Area

March 1, 2025

Registration Required.

Link to Registration.

All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register.  The form can be found here

Registration Required.

Link to Registration.

Canceled Due to Rain!

The Raptor Trail on The Kings River at Pine Flat Dam

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

Join FAS for birding along the Kings River. The trail begins across from the parking lot on the south side of the bridge just below Pine Flat Dam. The trail is basically an easy walk of approximately a mile and a quarter each way, but there is some uneven terrain and river rocks create a cobblestone surface in parts. Some of our target species include Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Oak Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker,  California Quail,  White-Breasted Nuthatch and Osprey.

Meet in the parking lot at the south side of the bridge. If you want to look for directions from the eBird map, the Raptor Trail is just across the river from the North Riverside Access Park eBird Hotspot. GPS Coordinates 36.8298592686927, -119.33621274737327.

Participants should bring snacks, lunch (if desired), water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars, and should dress in layers. Registration is required for this event. If you have any questions, please reach out to the trip leader.

Contact:

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

Field Trip to River West Madera

Wednesday

March 12, 2025

REGISTRATION Link 

Rain Cancels 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

River West Madera

March 12, 2025

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Leaders:  George Folsom

(559) 351-7192

georgefolsom@icloud.com

Carpooling arrangements 

Location: Target Parking Lot (see River Park Shopping Center map)

7600 N Blackstone

Time: 8:00 a.m.

We will meet at 8:00 a.m. in the Target parking area in River Park Shopping Center to carpool to our destination due to limited parking at the destination. We will proceed from Target to Valley Golf Center (which is south of and down the hill from Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera County). 

Directions from Fresno: 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. Park along either side of the road or under the bridges. Do not park in the Golf Center parking area or in the posted no parking areas immediately to the south.

Weather and trail conditions permitting, the plan is to walk on Palm Avenue 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 service road can be followed instead. Total distance is about 3.5 miles. 

Although this is directly across the river from River West Open Space, be prepared for some different birds on the Madera County side, including black-crowned night heron, wigeon, gadwall, green-wing teal, cinnamon teal, phainopepla, wrens, and acorn, Nuttall’s and downy woodpeckers. Expect also to see the usual assortment of white-crowned, song and Lincoln sparrows, several flavor of egrets, red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks,  On our spring walks we may see signs of nesting activity by the returning osprey and great-horned owls, and perhaps an appearance by a bald eagle. 

Bring suitable clothing (layers) and walking shoes (depending on the season, 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. 

REGISTRATION Link 

Male Nuttall’s Woodpecker by Rachel Clark

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All participants must agree to the FAS Liability Waiver Form when they register. The form can be found here

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Cancelled

Registration: Please register for the field trip here.

Join FAS on Thursday, March 20 as we go birding at Kearney Park (6725 W Kearney Blvd, Fresno, CA 93706). Kearney Park is a great local destination that attracts a wide variety of bird life. Our target species include Spotted Towhee, White and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Red-shouldered Hawk, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, and many more. This is definitely one of those locations where fun and unexpected birds tend to show up, so you never know what you might see! There is a $5 park entry fee, which is paid at the kiosk on the drive in. We will be meeting at 7:30 in the parking lot adjacent to the mansion. Participants should bring snacks, lunch (if desired), water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars, and should dress in layers. It is forecasted to be a mostly sunny day with a low of 46° and a high of 71°, so it will definitely be cold first thing in the morning. We will likely be wrapping up between noon and 1:00 PM.

Registration is required for this event. If you have any questions, please reach out to trip leader Brandon Flores at bpflores559@gmail.com.

Registration: Please register for the field trip here.

Checklist: binoculars, scope, field guide, snacks, lunch, water, sunscreen, hat

Trip leader: Brandon Flores  bpflores559@gmail.com.

Rescheduled from March 5!

The Raptor Trail on The Kings River at Pine Flat Dam

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

Join FAS for birding along the Kings River. The trail begins across from the parking lot on the south side of the bridge just below Pine Flat Dam. The trail is basically an easy walk of approximately a mile and a quarter each way, but there is some uneven terrain and river rocks create a cobblestone surface in parts. Some of our target species include Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, Oak Titmouse, Acorn Woodpecker,  California Quail,  White-Breasted Nuthatch and Osprey.

Meet in the parking lot at the south side of the bridge. If you want to look for directions from the eBird map, the Raptor Trail is just across the river from the North Riverside Access Park eBird Hotspot. GPS Coordinates 36.8298592686927, -119.33621274737327.

Participants should bring snacks, lunch (if desired), water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars, and should dress in layers. Registration is required for this event. If you have any questions, please reach out to the trip leader.

Contact:

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

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

Ball Ranch meeting location    (36.9361267, -119.7309237)

Green Heron by Clayton Dahlen