| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
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| FAS Board Meeting 10:00 am FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting Jan 4 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Contact rsnow@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials | ||||||
| General Meeting – Julie Brown, Why count raptors? 7:00 pm General Meeting – Julie Brown, Why count raptors? @ Zoom Jan 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Virtual General Meeting Julie Brown Why count raptors? Register for Fresno Audubon General Meeting January 10th, 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. Julie... | ||||||
| Wednesday Walk – Avocado Lake/Choinumni Park 7:45 am Wednesday Walk – Avocado Lake/Choinumni Park Jan 18 @ 7:45 am – 1:00 pm 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... | Saturday Field Trip – Merced Grasslands & Merced NWR 6:45 am Saturday Field Trip – Merced Grasslands & Merced NWR Jan 21 @ 6:45 am – 5:45 pm 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... Introduction to Birding Jan. 21, 2023 9:00 am Introduction to Birding Jan. 21, 2023 @ River Center Jan 21 @ 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 January 21 event here. The Parkway Trust and Fresno Audubon Society have joined forces to offer a birding class that combines instruction,... | |||||
| Field Trip to River West Open Space 8:00 am Field Trip to River West Open Space @ River West Open Space Jan 28 @ 8:00 am – 12:30 pm Field Trip to River West Open Space, Saturday, January 28, 2023 Event Details Subject to Change Register here! 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... | ||||||
| FAS Board Meeting 11:00 am FAS Board Meeting @ Zoom meeting Jan 29 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm 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
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Registration Required.
Link to Registration.
On Wednesday, February 15, Fresno Audubon will travel to Lions Park in Kerman for its Wednesday Walk. This is a small park in what used to be a rural area outside Kerman but is now surrounded by residential homes. Nevertheless, it is still a major bird attractor, with many different sparrows, woodpeckers, Robins, nuthatches, and other species. A pond on the premises has ducks, wading birds, and grebes. It’s a little-known and overlooked but wonderful birding place.
We will meet the Walmart at Blackstone and Ashlan at 7:45 and go from there. If time permits, we will go to nearby Kerman Rotary Park, which is also a good birding site. People are responsible for arranging their carpooling beforehand. Bring a lunch.
For more information, contact Larry Parmeter at lanpar362@gmail.com or at 559-288-3456.
Checklist: binoculars, scope, field guide, snacks, lunch, water, sunscreen, hat, radios
Registration Required.
Link to Registration.
Introduction to Birding at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies
11605 Old Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93730
Please register for the February 18 event here.
Parkfield/Cholame Valley Bird Walk
February 25, 2023
Join Kevin Enns-Rempel on February 25 for a birding trip to Cholame Valley and Parkfield. We will meet in the Wal-Mart parking lot at Ashlan & Blackstone at 6:45am, and depart there by 7am. 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.
Contact admin@fresnoaudubon.org for login credentials
The Raptor Trail on The Kings River at Pine Flat Dam
Registration is required for this event.
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, 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 either trip leader.
Contact:
Maureen Walsh
(559) 706-4980
email: mewnew10@yahoo.com
Clayton Dahlen
(559) 593-2367
email: mc_dahlen@yahoo.com
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Lost Lake Audubon Field Trip Saturday March 18th
Due to flooding Lost Lake is closed.
This trip is cancelled.
Registration is required for this event.
Location: Lost Lake , Fresno County Park
Lost Lake Rd, Friant, CA 93626
Date and Meeting time: 8:30 am , March 18th
Meeting location in park: Audubon Trailhead at the west end (down stream end) of the park. There is a small parking area at the trailhead, and a larger one a few hundred yards further into the park.
Duration of walk: 8:30 am – 12 pm
Special instructions: on weekends the park entrance fee is usually enforced. Fee is $5. Please follow instructions at the entry kiosk if there is no attendant at the kiosk.
What to bring: Binoculars, check weather report for comfortable clothing, (this is the month of March, almost any weather is possible), walking shoes, sunscreen / hat, water, snacks ( or lunch if staying beyond noon), 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.
Walk Description: walking on mostly flat park grass, or on paved park road, from west ( at the trailhead) to east ( toward Friant Dam and the park campground). We will bird river, river lined grass/ shrub and oak tree habitat, and on the upper road the grassland leading into the park, using binoculars but also using the Merlin Sound ID app as an enhanced identification tool. In the park, there are picnic benches for rest stops, and the restrooms are usually open.
Possible birds: Egrets (several species), Cedar Waxwing, Hawks (several species) Varied Thrush, Bald Eagle, Common Merganser , Acorn Woodpecker, Canada Goose, Ring- necked Duck, Anna’s Hummingbird, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Phainopepla, Black Phoebe, and many others.
Other possible sightings…Coyotes, Bobcats…on the other side of the river.
Registration is required for this walk.
Hard Rain cancels this walk.
Trip Leader: Lynda Schafhauser
Contact information: cell for voicemail or text: 559-474-0651
Email: rufusradar@att.net
Introduction to Birding at the Coke Hallowell Center for River Studies
11605 Old Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93730
Please register for the March 18 event here.