Birding at the Ruth Mckenzie Preserve

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MCKENZIE PRESERVE BIRDING

HIKE DATE: April 24, 2024

HIKE START: Please arrive by 7:15AM  for a 7:30AM start.

HIKE END: 12:30

NOTE: The Preserve is closed to the public and the entrance gate will be locked during the outing. Therefore, late arrivals will not be able to join the hike and early departure will not be possible except in case of emergency.

Join John McDaniel and Gary Woods of Fresno Audubon Society (FAS) for birding on the McKenzie Preserve to observe resident and migrant foothill birds. Please arrive no later than 7:15 so the walk can proceed from the parking lot by the corrals at 7:30am. This is a relatively easy walk of about 2 miles from the corrals to the waterfall/spring and back.  FAS will provide binoculars if you need them, and a spotting scope will also be available.  

McKenzie Preserve is the best chance for you to see a Gray Flycatcher out of all the SFC preserves in Fresno County and they mostly come through the foothills in migration between April 20-30. Bring a hat, sunscreen, water, binoculars (if you have them), bird guide and snacks/lunch.

Directions to the Ruth McKenzie Table Mountain Preserve
From Fresno, take Freeway 41 north. Exit at Friant Road and turn right at the bottom of the off-ramp. Take Friant Road to the town of Friant. You will see Friant Dam ahead of you. Follow Friant Road uphill, past the dam. At this point, Friant Road bends to the right and changes its name to Millerton Road. Stay on Millerton Road for 5 or 6 miles until you come to a stop sign at Auberry Road.

At Auberry Road you will see a gas station on your left. Using the gas station as your benchmark, note your mileage and turn left. Go slightly over 3 miles on Auberry Road. You will see some table mountain formations ahead. When you reach the 3 mile mark, slow down and turn left onto the preserve property.

The entrance to the preserve is on the left, where you will see a large corral and a gate. Drive in at the gate and park in the parking area.

Birding at Roeding Park

Registration is required for this event.

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Join trip leader Maureen Walsh for birding at Roeding Park.  We will start at Lake Washington where we will see Wood ducks among other waterfowl in the lake and see the Cattle egret, Black-crowned night herons, and Double-crested cormorants in the rookery on the island. There are hundreds of birds nesting in the rookery.  Then we will walk other areas of the park to see a variety of woodpeckers, raptors, warblers, etc.  

We will meet at the parking lot in front of the zoo, across from Lake Washington.  There is a $5.00 entry fee to the park and a new automated parking system.  

If you wish to bring lunch, there are plenty of picnic tables available for eating and calculating our bird count.  

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 trip leader Maureen Walsh at mewnew10@yahoo.com or (559) 706-4980.

 Registration link

Registration is required.

Registration link

On Wednesday, May 1, Fresno Audubon will travel to Laton to visit Laton-Kingston Park along the Kings River. This trip was first scheduled for Spring 2020, then had to be cancelled twice due to the Covid Pandemic. Now, it’s finally a go. This 102-acre park is located along the Kings River in the town of Laton. In and around this riverine habitat, our target species will include Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Bullock’s Oriole, Lazuli Bunting, Bewick’s Wren, and many other Central Valley species. We will also look for migrating warblers.

We will meet in the Walmart parking lot on Blackstone and Ashlan and leave no later than 7:30AM. As there is a $5/vehicle to enter Laton-Kingston Park, we will carpool as much as possible. Participants are responsible for making their own carpool arrangements beforehand. This trip is expected to last until approximately 1:00 PM.

Please be sure to bring binoculars, a hat, sunscreen, lunch, snacks, and water.

Please reach out to trip leader Larry Parmeter at lanpar362@gmail.com, or at 559-288-3456 with any questions.

Map to meeting location:

Registration is required.

Registration link

Lost Lake Audubon Field Trip Wednesday May 18th

Registration is required for this event.

Registration closes 24 hours before the event or when full.

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Location: Lost Lake , Fresno County Park

                  Lost Lake Rd, Friant, CA 93626

Date and Meeting time: 8:00 am, May 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: 8:00 am – 11 am

Special instructions: 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 or flooding cancels this walk.

Trip Leader: Rick Grijalva

Contact information: 

Email: rickgrijalva2@gmail.com

Registration link

Wednesday Walk – Balsam Meadows Snow-Park and Forebay

Registration is required.

Registration closes 24 hours before the event or when full.

Registration link

George Folsom will lead this trip to Balsam Meadows Snow-Park and Forebay on Southern California Edison Company property, just off Highway168, nine miles above Shaver Lake.  The elevation is 6,500 feet.  We will be walking a loop trail of about 2 miles with very little elevation change.  Parts of this area were burned in the Creek Fire leaving a mixture of burned and unburned habitats.

There are restrooms at the parking lot and at the Forebay, about halfway through our walk.  Parking is available at the Snow-Park just off Highway168 on the left as you pass the sign.

We can expect woodpeckers, raptors, finches, warblers, swifts, sparrows among may others.

Participants should bring snacks, lunch (if desired), water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars, and should dress in layers.  We will meet at Walmart, Ashlan and Blackstone, at 7:45 for an 8:00 AM departure.  For those driving directly to Balsam Meadows we should be there by 9:30.

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

Trip Leader: George Folsom georgefolsom@icloud.com (559)351-7192

Map to Fresno meeting location, 7:45 AM

Map to Balsam Meadows Sno-Park, 9:30 AM

Registration is required.

Registration link

Camp Edison, Shaver Lake Walk

Registration is required for this event.

Registration closes 24 hours before the event or when full.

Registration Link

On Saturday, June 1, Fresno Audubon will head to Camp Edison at Shaver Lake for a look at mountain birds. Camp Edison is always a good place to see mountain species, including White-headed Woodpecker, Gold-crowned Kinglet, Fox Sparrow, Western Tanager, Yellow and MacGillivray’s Warblers, Black-headed Grosbeak, and many others. With luck, we may also see Pileated Woodpeckers, and hear, if not see, Mountain Quail. Shaver Lake, as well, has its resident Ospreys and Bald Eagles, among several other raptors.

We will meet in the parking lot in front of the Target at Riverpark at 7:30AM and go from there. Camp Edison does require a fee to enter, so carpooling is recommended. Participants are responsible for making carpool arrangements beforehand.

Bring warm clothing(even in June, the mountains can still be cold), optics,  lunch, and snacks.

For more information or questions, contact trip leader Larry Parmeter at lanpar362@gmail.com or at 559-288-3456.

For more information, contact Larry Parmeter at lanpar362@gmail.com or at 559-288-3456.

Map to meeting place.

Registration is required for this event.

Registration Link

Fresno Audubon will have a booth at the Fresno Rainbow Pride celebration on the Fresno City College campus from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Be sure to stop by and say “Hello”!

Long-billed Curlew by Rachel Clark

Registration is required for this event for each participant.

Registration closes 24 hours before the event or when full.

Event is full if you want to be added to the wait list email admin@fresnoaudubon.org.

Please join Fresno Audubon on Saturday, June 15 as we escape the Valley heat and journey to Morro Bay.

We will meet at 5:30 AM at the Walmart parking lot on the southeast corner of Blackstone and Ashlan to arrange carpooling. The plan is to depart by 5:45 AM.

The first destination will be Montaña de Oro State Park. Goal birds at this location will be Brown Pelican, Western Gull, Brandt’s Cormorant, Pelagic  Cormorant, Black Oystercatcher, Pigeon Guillemot, Wrentit, California Thrasher, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, Bewick’s Wren, California Quail, and many more!

Next, we will visit Morro Bay State Park, where we will visit the Marina/Boardwalk Trail and the heron rookery. Our goal birds at these locations will be Heermann’s Gull, Caspian Tern, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Black-crowned Night Heron, and many more.

Sometime while in Morro Bay State Park, we will sit down for lunch. Our next birding destination will be Sweet Springs Nature Preserve, where our goal birds will be Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Common Yellowthroat, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Black-bellied Plover, Snowy Egret, and many more. If there is time, we will stop by Morro Rock to look for Peregrine Falcons and various shorebirds.

The plan is to leave Morro Bay around 3:30 or 4:00 PM and be back in Fresno by 6:30 PM. Participants should bring snacks, lunch, water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars, and should dress in layers. Please be aware that there is poison oak along the trails at Montaña de Oro State Park and other locations along the coast; long pants and poison oak/ivy wipes are recommended.

Registration is required and there is a limit of 25 participants.

Registration is required for this event for each participant.

Event is full if you want to be added to the wait list email admin@fresnoaudubon.org.

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

Trip leader: Rick Grijalva at 559-578-6168 or rickgrijalva2@gmail.com.

Owl walk by Nancy Gilmore

FAS Field Trip Leader Planning Meeting

If you would like to be a part of this planning meeting please register at this link.