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 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.

Please join us for an evening discussion of bird intelligence by Biopsychologist Susan Schneider, PhD. 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. Her talk is titled No Birdbrains Here: The Latest on Bird Learning, Instinct, and Intelligence. Birds can learn from consequences, as we and many other species can:  Baby chicks learn to peck accurately, wild mockingbirds can learn to recognize individual people, and pigeons were able to learn to categorize art and music.  Even instinctive behaviors like imprinting can be more flexible than scientists used to think, and songbird song appears particularly malleable.  This talk will explore bird learning and intelligence, from everyday foraging, to learning through observing, to tool use.  Such adaptability may be critical as wild birds attempt to adjust to the many threats they face.  Scientists also take advantage of this powerful learning ability to help save endangered species.

Please register for the event here.

Map to the UC Center:

Join us for a trip to the beautiful and important Audubon Kern River Preserve and Lake Isabella. We will begin birding at 7:00 am on Saturday, so it is best to leave Friday and spend the night in Kernville. Accommodations in Kernville can be found online (e.g. here). To learn more about the preserve click here. A map of the trails on the preserve is found here. A list of winter birds can be found here.

Please register for the event here.

We will meet at the preserve headquarters at 7:00 am on Saturday 14 March. A map to the headquarters is here:

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

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

Kearney Park, which was originally the estate of Martin Kearney,  a land developer and agricultural promoter in the late 1800s, was once owned by the University of California, and is now a Fresno County park.  Kearney Park is good for sparrows, nuthatches, wrens, woodpeckers and sapsuckers, and finches among many other birds. Spring migrants such as flycatchers, tanagers, and warblers can be seen at the park. Kearney Park is also one of the few places in the Fresno area where Yellow-billed Magpies can be seen. Owls are sometimes found at the park, as are nighthawks. Wear walking shoes and warm clothes; early April mornings in the country can be cool. Bring a lunch.  There is a $5 entrance fee. Register for this walk here

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

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

The Kearney Park entrance location is here

Map to meeting location:

Gray Flycatcher by Gary Woods

Join us for a trip to the San Joaquin Experimental Range (SJER) with Rebecca Ozeran from UC Cooperative Extension. The SJER is a US Forest Service research area and active cattle ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This property has restricted access so this is a great opportunity for Fresno Audubon. We may see Gray Flycatchers and Western Bluebirds, as well as a variety of sparrows and Lewis’s Woodpeckers. We will meet at 7:15am for a 7:30am departure at the UC Cooperative Extension parking lot, 550 E. Shaw Ave., Fresno.

There will be restrooms available. The terrain is sometimes rocky and sloping, so it’s not a good site for people with limited mobility.

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

Trip Leader: Rebecca Ozeran (livestock and natural resources advisor). Please contact Susan Estep estepmail@yahoo.com (402)212-1215 with any questions.

Please register for the trip here. Registration is limited to 25 people.

Map to meeting location:

Join Fresno Audubon Society for a birding hike on the McKenzie Preserve. Explore local birds during spring migration.

This is a Sierra Foothill conservancy event staffed by Fresno Audubon Society. Cost is FREE but you must register here: https://sierrafoothill.org/event/birding-on-the-mckenzie-3/?instance_id=411.

Join us on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day for a bird walk on Fresno State’s campus with Biology professor Dr. Tricia Van Laar. We will meet in the southwest corner of the parking lot at Campus Pointe – across Chestnut Ave from the SaveMart Center. We will carpool together to the Planetarium on Fresno State’s campus, meeting there at 8:10am. The Fresno State campus has several unique microcosms that we will be able to visit.

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

Trip Leader: Dr. Tricia Van Laar. Please contact Susan Estep estepmail@yahoo.com (402)212-1215 with any questions.