Spring Raptorthon 2023

Spring Raptorthon 2023

Register here

Link to donate

Fresno Audubon will be taking part in Spring Raptorthon 2023. What is that, you ask? Spring Raptorthon is an annual fundraising event put on by the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA). For this event, teams from all over the nation will choose a day between March 1 and May 31 to go out and count raptors, and other birds if they would like, to raise money for HMANA and other conservation organizations. FAS president Rachel Clark has assembled a core team, named the CenCal TanagerHawks, who will perform their count on Saturday, April 8, 2023. Some of the spots the team is planning to visit include the River Center, Lost Lake, Friant Cove, Millerton Lake (Madera County side), and Road 208 between Highway 41 and Road 211. We will be inviting members of the public to join us as we count at the various locations. Even if you are not an expert birder and even if you cannot join for a full day, that is perfectly okay. As the team will be moving to different locations throughout the day, please reach out to Rachel Clark by phone at 515-357-0122 before coming out to meet up with the group. The team will be counting from 6:00 AM until approximately 5:30 PM. The day will begin at 6:00 AM in the Friant Cove parking lot in Friant (36.9911183,-119.711653). 

Of the funds raised by the CenCal TanagerHawks, 75% will go to HMANA to support their HawkCount database, Raptor Population Index project, raptor conservation efforts, and HawkWatch fund to support hawk watching in North and Central America. The other 25% will go to Fresno Audubon to support our bird education classes and programming. Link to donate on behalf of the CenCal TanagerHawks for those wishing to do so. The donation site will be on the HMANA website.  People can either donate a flat amount, or can pledge a certain amount per species detected by the team. Anyone wishing to donate by check should reach out to Rachel Clark at tanagergirl@gmail.com.

 Those wishing to join the CenCal TanagerHawks at any point during the count are required to register here:  Registration is limited to 30 participants. 

Those joining the group should bring hats, sunscreen, binoculars, snacks/lunch, plenty of water, and should dress in layers. If you have any questions, please reach out to Rachel Clark by email at tanagergirl@gmail.com. 

Here is a link to more information about Raptorthon from the HMANA website: https://www.hmana.org/raptorthon/