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

Join Larry Parmeter for a morning of urban birding in Clovis. We will meet at the parking lot of the Clovis Botanical Garden, on Clovis Avenue just north of Alluvial Avenue, at 8:30 am, and will bird the Garden and the Dry Creek Park area around it. Then we will go across the street to the ponding basins to the east of Dry Creek, along Alluvial Ave. Finally, we will head back to the intersection of Clovis and Alluvial and check out Cottonwood Park. Lots of waterfowl in the winter, riperian and woodland birds, hawks and even occasional Bald Eagles show up here. We often don’t think of the great birding areas in our own backyards, and we have many such areas right in the middle of the Fresno-Clovis area.

Registration for this trip is here

Directions to the assembly point are here

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

Trip Leader: Larry Parmeter, lanpar362@gmail.com, (559)288-3456

Join a tour of one of the great remnants of the historically bountiful wintering grounds for migratory waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway located in the Bear Creek, Salt Slough, and San Joaquin River floodplain.  It hosts a myriad of tree-lined channels, wetlands and native grasslands.  There is a good chance of seeing Tundra Swans, several species of geese, numerous species of ducks, raptors, shorebirds, sparrows and many other wetland and grassland species.  Along the way we will keep an eye out for the native Tule Elk that once numbered in the millions in the Central Valley.  We will stop at the visitors center and view the wildlife and history exhibits before starting the auto-loop drive.  This is an all day trip so plan accordingly.  We will meet at Target near Herndon and highway 99 at 7:45 am for an 8:00 am departure.

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

Register for this walk here

Northern Pintail by Dan Cobb, Merced NWR, 19 November 2019

Meeting location

Join the River Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon for an Introduction to Birding Class at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies.

Class participants will learn how to use binoculars, why birding is a fun and valuable hobby, and about the resources available to help identify birds. After the initial class work, participants will accompany Fresno Audubon experts on a bird walk around the River Center property including the Hidden Homes Trail. This class will begin at the Wisteria Shade Arbor just north of the Ranch House.

Participants should bring binoculars, snacks, water, and sun protection. Fresno Audubon will have binoculars to loan for anyone who doesn’t have their own pair.

There is no cost to attend. Children are welcome.

Please register for the event here.

Join Fresno Audubon Society experts for an entry-level bird walk at the River Center. This is a follow-on birding trip for our Introduction to Birding class, but all (including children) are welcome. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair from Fresno Audubon. Also bring sun protection such as a hat and sunscreen plus water and snacks.

Please register for the event here.

Pectoral Sandpiper by Gary Woods

Join us for an exciting field trip to the Stevens Ranch in Moss Landing. This unique property was originally purchased by David Packard to stop the development of the northern side of Elkhorn Slough. His son-in-law Robert Stevens continues to run the ranch as a haven for birdlife. Expect to see numerous species of upland birds as well as shorebirds in the multi-thousands.

This is an out of town trip starting at 8:00 am, so you can either stay the night before nearby (Watsonville is the most economical) or leave Fresno at 5:30 am to arrive by 8:00. After birding we will eat lunch and then return home, so expect the day to end around 4:00 pm.

Meeting place for carpooling from Fresno is the Target Parking lot at 6655 N Riverside Dr, Fresno, CA 93722. We will meet at 5:15 am for a 5:30 departure.

Register for this walk here

Checklist: binoculars, bird guide, water, sun protection and lunch.

Leader: Robert Snow, (650)483-2347, rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org.

Directions to the Stephens Ranch: You can navigate to the Elkhorn Native Plant Nursery (now closed) in Moss Landing, then turn east on Struve road. Proceed towards the former nursery, and you will see the ranch house on your right. The coordinates are Struve Rd, Moss Landing, CA 95039, 36.831258, -121.758357.

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.

There are no restrooms on this property. We will walk a mile or more on dirt roads, but most of the area can be driven for those who prefer driving. Please meet at Target in the River Park Shopping Center near Highway 41 and East El Paso Ave at 6:45 am. We plan to be finished by noon. The gate to the property must be locked while we are on the property so plan to stay until noon

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

Register for the walk here.

Green Heron by Clayton Dahlen

Linda Schafhauser will lead this trip through the Madera grasslands and foothills along Rd 26 to Eastman Lake. Expect to see eagles, hawks, shorebirds and owls, and possibly migrating Rufous Hummingbirds if the right trees are in bloom. After lunch at Eastman Lake we will have a chance to walk the numerous trails in the area.

We will bird along the 13 mile driving route to Eastman Lake. The return to Madera route may include sections of unpaved road. Return to Madera AmTrak Station approximately 2pm. The car caravan will pull off the road, in safe places, to bird on route and in the park. There may be short trail walks. Spring migration can bring a variety of ducks and shorebirds such as the long billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, American Widgeon, Buffleheads and Northern Shovelers. There have been recent sightings of Common Mergansers sharing the creek flowing out of Eastman, with Cinnamon Teal. Two Swainson’s Hawks and a Loggerhead Shrike often greet drivers as they near the park, while Bald and Golden Eagles make appearances soaring over the adjacent hills.  Sightings, but more often calls in a rocky campground area include wild turkeys and California Quail. The resident campground Roadrunner can sometimes be seen standing camouflaged among the rocks.  Scanning the lake may provide views of gulls and cormorants.  More common Western Meadowlarks, California Scrub Jays, Red-Tailed Hawks, Ravens and Crows line the grasslands and trees.  Lunch will be in a picnic area within a walking view of the lake. After lunch, for those interested, the return route to Madera Amtrak Station may include (condition permitting) birding along a short section of unpaved road along a grassland and orchard.

We will meet at the Amtrak station in Madera (18770 Rd 26, Madera, CA 93638) at 8:15 for an 8:30 departure.

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

Trip Leader: Lynda Schafhauser rufusradar@me.com (559)474-0651

Please register for the event here.

Map to meeting location:

Join the River Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon for an Introduction to Birding Class at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies.

Class participants will learn how to use binoculars, why birding is a fun and valuable hobby, and about the resources available to help identify birds. After the initial class work, participants will accompany Fresno Audubon experts on a bird walk around the River Center property including the Hidden Homes Trail. This class will begin at the Wisteria Shade Arbor just north of the Ranch House.

Participants should bring binoculars, snacks, water, and sun protection. Fresno Audubon will have binoculars to loan for anyone who doesn’t have their own pair.

There is no cost to attend. Children are welcome.

Please register for the event here.

Join us for dinner at BJ’s Brewhouse with Biopsychologist Susan Schneider. Susan has over 25 years of research and teaching experience in the science of consequences and nature-nurture relations.  She’s also an avid birder, field trip leader, and environmental activist.  President of San Joaquin Audubon (just stepped down this summer), she was on the Tropical Audubon board in Miami and is a past president of Mountaineer Audubon in West Virginia. She’s published numerous scientific articles and book chapters, and has been a faculty member at St. Olaf College, Auburn University, and Florida International University; she’s currently a Visiting Scholar at University of the Pacific.  Her book for the public, The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World (see www.scienceofconsequences.com) was a selection of the Scientific American Book Club and took her on a 3-year international book tour.  It describes the science of reinforcement learning, its important role in the larger realm of nature-nurture relations, and its many beneficial applications for people and animals.  Schneider is currently focused on fighting climate change:  giving talks, consulting professionally, and co-chairing the San Joaquin County Climate Action Coalition.

Please register for the event here.