Meet trip leader Steve Hofstetter at San Felasco’s Millhopper Road parking lot ($4 per vehicle entry fee). Sandhill, meandering streams, and forested slopes set the stage for the diversity of warblers, thrushes, tanagers, and other migrant birds that we’ll hope to see.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Meet Bob Carroll in the Target parking lot to car pool down to Circle Bar B Ranch in Polk County. Located on the north shore of Lake Hancock, this birding hot spot supports a tremendous bird population including wading birds, waterfowl, raptors, warblers, sparrows, and others. The diverse habitat includes oak hammock, freshwater marsh, hardwood swamp, and lakeshore.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
The wetlands at the back of this commercial/medical complex contain a surprising number of birds, often including the rare-in-Florida Rusty Blackbird. Meet trip leader Sam Ewing, one of Alachua County’s top youth birders, in the parking area adjoining the wetland.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
The Conservation Lands Educational Program (CLEP) is designed to bring attention to local land conservation efforts. These trips are conducted on properties purchased to protect natural resources and will be led by a representative who will discuss ecological features and history. CLEP trips will be educational experiences, so the emphasis will be on much more than birding.
The 500-acre Prairie Creek Preserve encompasses a variety of uplands and lowlands. Ivor Kincaide will lead us as we sample several of them on this trip. Wear rubber boots or old shoes you don’t mind getting wet, as the trail can be soggy or even flooded. The woods should be greening up, and the resident birds should be singing.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Meet trip leader Rex Rowan at the Tag Agency (on NW 34th St. just south of US-441) and carpool to northern Gilchrist County to explore some of the most beautiful sandhills in North Florida. The resident breeding birds should be singing and there should be plenty of wildflowers to look at. This is the first AAS field trip to this location.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Come join us on Wednesday, April 13th at 6:30 pm for Alachua Audubon’s annual pot luck dinner celebration and help us welcome our newest AAS Board Members. This event will be held at Bubba and Ingrid Scales’ house at 3002 SW 1st Way, Gainesville, located in the Colclough Hills neighborhood between south Main Street and Williston Road. (Look for the AAS signs!) Bring some food to share and a drink of choice, and enjoy visiting with Alachua Audubon members and the Board of Directors. This will be a fun gathering and an opportunity to share our more recent spring migration observations! The Alachua Audubon Society is a volunteer organization. The Board of Directors is comprised of four officers and 15 members. Officers of Alachua Audubon are: President: Anne Casella, Vice President:: Scott Flamand, Secretary: Felicia Lee, and (new) Treasurer: Trina Anderson. Returning board members are Mike Manetz, Emily Schwartz, Dotty Robbins, Debbie Segal, Barbara Shea, Sharon Kuchinski, Bob Simons, Will Sexton, Katie Sieving, Charlene Leonard, Ted Goodman, Adam Zions, and John Sivinski. We would like to welcome our newest board members Steven Goodman, Kim Chaney, and Karen Brown. Please join us on April 13th as we celebrate Alachua Audubon and welcome our newest board members.
Start at Thomas Center parking lot and bird to downtown.
You do not need to preregister for this event but it would be nice to let us know you are coming. Children must be accompanied by an adult. To reserve loaner binoculars or for more information, contact us at audubonyouthbirding@gmail.com
You do not need to preregister for this event but it would be nice to let us know you are coming. Children must be accompanied by an adult. To reserve loaner binoculars or for more information, contact us at audubonyouthbirding@gmail.com
Join us for a walk through one of the better fall-warbler spots in the county. Poe Springs is a 201-acre county park located on the banks of the Santa Fe River. It’s a 45-minute drive to get there, but it’s worth it, especially since the county has dropped the entry fee. It can be a bit muddy in places, so waterproof footwear or old shoes are recommended, and remember your bug repellent.
Meet Mike Manetz at the Tag Agency (NW 34th St. just south of US-441) to carpool.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Contact Mike Manetz (mmanetz@yahoo.com) if you’re interested in participating in this all-day event.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or greater than two miles).
The Conservation Lands Educational Program (CLEP) is designed to bring attention to local land conservation efforts. These trips are conducted on properties purchased to protect natural resources and will be led by a representative who will discuss ecological features and history. CLEP trips will be educational experiences, so the emphasis will be on much more than birding.
Meet trip leader Michael Drummond at the Sunoco gas station at the flashing light in Micanopy on US-441 and carpool to Barr Hammock. Barr Hammock forms a land bridge between Ledwith and Levy Prairies, and is a county jewel that provides habitat for a wide diversity of upland and wetland species. We should see some migrant birds on this walk, but we’ll be looking at everything – trees, wildflowers, insects, reptiles, whatever we find.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Meet trip leader Adam Kent at the Tag Agency (NW 34th Street just south of US-441) to carpool. Entry fee $4 per vehicle. We’ll cover a variety of habitats in this walk, including marsh, field, deciduous forest, and Cellon Creek bottomlands. This is very near the peak of migration for warblers, thrushes, cuckoos, tanagers, and buntings.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Meet trip leader John Hintermister at the Tag Agency (NW 34th St. just south of US-441) and carpool to the Big Bend Wildlife Management Area for a full day of birding. The first destination will be the Road to Nowhere, a 12-mile road that traverses salt marsh and coastal hammocks. A large diversity of birds can often be seen along this remote road. The next stop will be Hagens Cove where shorebirds, wading birds (including Reddish Egrets), and migrant landbirds can all be observed. Bring water, bug repellent, and lunch
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Speaker: Caroline Poli, University of Florida
The moment-to-moment steps that an animal makes accumulate over time to form large scale movement patterns that can profoundly influence the overall health of an animal, whether it breeds successfully, and its lifespan. Rapid and recent advances in miniaturization of tracking technology have enabled scientists to learn about the movements of species ranging from elephants to dragonflies and discover the pathways of global migrations, expansive flights, and unexpected behaviors. Tracking information undoubtedly enriches human understanding of the natural world. But how can we use it for conservation?
In this talk we’ll follow Atlantic Puffins in Maine, Brown Pelicans along the Atlantic coast, Masked and Red-footed Boobies in Mexico, and critically endangered Snail Kites in Florida, to find out how tracking animals can fill critical information gaps and guide conservation action.
Meet at the Millhopper Library Branch, 3145 NW 43rd St. Social begins 6:30 pm. Talk begins at 7 pm.
Note: to be followed by a Gull-Fly-In Training Session at Frank Rendon Park, 2705 S Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach Shores FL (carpooling will be offered to depart from Target on Archer Road in Gainesville around noon on Saturday, February 11, 2017)
Speaker, Michael Brothers, Marine Science Center (Volusia County, Ponce Inlet FL)
Your best opportunity ever to fine tune those Gull and Jaeger identification skills! A very special adventure!
Meet at the Millhopper Library Branch, 3145 NW 43rd St. Social begins 6:30 pm. Talk begins at 7 pm.
Join trip leader Dotty Robbins in the Target parking lot on Archer Rd. at 12:30 p.m. and then drive to Frank Rendon Park in Daytona Beach Shores. We’ll meet Michael Brothers of the Marine Science Center at 3:30 to stroll the beach and enjoy the spectacle of the many thousands of gulls that amass there. Michael will share his gull expertise at our program on February 7th, and this will be an opportunity to practice those identification tips.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles)
This activity at the new and beautiful Depot Park in downtown Gainesville is for young people 6 to 18 who are accompanied by a parent or guardian. We will walk the park looking for birds using binoculars. You must be registered to attend. Register at audubonyouthbirding@gmail.com.
Saturday, February 18, 2017 from 9 to 11 a.m.
Who are these people walking around with binoculars having so much fun?
And how do you get into the world of “Birding” anyway?
Scott Flamand, Alachua Audubon Vice-President, will share his delight and his expertise on this fascinating hobby.
Come. You won’t “egret” it!
Family Birding opportunity! Meet guide Adam Kent at the Thomas Center in downtown Gainesville (302 NE 6 th Avenue) on Saturday, April 8 at 9:00 a.m. We will walk the Thomas Center grounds, city streets, and the Duckpond area looking for city birds and animals. Binoculars will be available for use. Please register for this event at audubonyouthbirding@gmail.com . Be sure to bring water and a hat.