Meet trip leader Rex Rowan in the parking corral for the West Trail on State Road 26 one mile north of the junction with County Road 329B. The 182-acre field on this property produced 13 species of sparrows last winter, including Henslow’s, Lincoln’s, and Clay-colored, and we’ll see how many of them we can find.
Difficulty: 2 (Walking over uneven ground or distances of 1-2 miles.)
Meet trip leader Bubba Scales in the Publix parking lot at SW 34th St. and Williston Rd. to carpool. The 6,577-acre Emeralda Marsh in northern Lake County, at the headwaters of the Ocklawaha River, is a National Natural Landmark. It is also a prime winter-birding location, with extensive tracts of marsh and woodland accessible by a 3.5-mile Interpretive Drive. We should see a profusion of ducks, waders, raptors, Sandhill Cranes, Limpkins, sparrows, and warblers.
Difficulty: 1 (trip within easy access of vehicle and/or level terrain one mile or less).
Register for this kid oriented event through the Friends of Paynes Prairie website by following this link.
We welcome you the first Saturday of each month October through April, to join us for a hike on La Chua Trail and learn about birds. Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. Meet us in the La Chua Trail parking lot; the north entrance to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, by 9:00 a.m.
Hikes are limited to 20 people. Reserve your spot by clicking the registration button on this page.
Hikes are free, but regular park admission fees apply. Park admission at La Chua Trail is $4.00 per vehicle, cash only, or free with a Florida State Parks Annual Pass.
Binoculars are available for loan during the hike, but supplies are limited and preference given first to those with reservations.
No pets permitted.
This program is supported by Paynes Prairie and Alachua Audubon volunteers.
Meet trip leader Felicia Lee at the parking area beside the ranger/pay station at the park entrance off US-441 just north of Micanopy. The woods should be green with new leaves, spring wildflowers should be blooming, and birds should be singing.
Main Entrance fees:
- $6 per vehicle, limit 2-8 people per vehicle
- $4 Single Occupant Vehicle
- $2 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Meet trip leader Geoff Parks in the MNC parking lot for a visit to one of Gainesville’s premier nature parks featuring over six miles of trails through sandhills, flatwoods, cypress domes, and beautifully-restored native longleaf pine and wiregrass habitat. Morningside also features a working 19th-century farm, a bird blind, and a diverse array of wildlife that thrives in this unique environment.
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 of the agency in charge, 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 Rex Rowan in the Publix parking lot at SW 34th St. and Williston Rd. Come and admire the longleaf sandhills and scrub in this marvelous 383,000-acre remnant of the original Florida, while we search for Florida Scrub-Jay, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bachman’s Sparrow, and other specialty birds.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Film screening and fundraiser for Alachua Audubon Society
Catch a glimpse of the whooping crane in this one-hour nature documentary.
The documentary, directed by Greg Pope and Rhett Turner, follows efforts to save the rare, endangered bird through remarkable footage and interviews filmed over the span of two years.
The directors will be holding a Q&A right after the screening to answer any and all questions regarding the journeys of the whooping crane and their film.
Make sure to get your tickets through: https://woolywhoopingcrane.brownpapertickets.com or at the door for $15!
Meet trip leader Matt Bruce at Kate’s Fish Camp on Hawthorne Rd. at Prairie Creek. Going east on Hawthorne Rd., drive past Powers Park and 0.7 mile later, just before the bridge, turn left into Kate’s. If you’ve got a canoe or kayak, bring it ($5 launching fee); if you don’t, Kate’s has a limited number you can rent (one-person kayak $15, canoe $20).
Email Matt at mattbrucefl@gmail.com if you plan to rent. Depending on the water levels, we’ll paddle along the lakeshore and/or down Prairie Creek, keeping an eye out for Prothonotary Warblers, Limpkins, and other swamp-loving birds.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Come join us on Wednesday, April 10th 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 Anne Casella’s house at 2245 NW 24th Ave, Gainesville, Florida 32605-2941
Look for the AAS signs!
Bring some food to share and a beverage 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. Officers of Alachua Audubon Board of Directors are: President: Debbie Segal, Vice President: Scott Flamand, Secretary: Felicia Lee, and Treasurer: Trina Anderson. Returning board members are Emily Schwartz, Bob Simons, Anne Casella, Barbara Shea, Karen Brown, Katie Sieving, Charlene Leonard, Adam Zions, Steve Goodman, Michael Brock and Alan Shapiro.
We would like to welcome our newest board members Chris Burney. We would also like to thank the outgoing Board member Mike Manetz for his time and effort to make this a successful organization.
Please join us on April 11th as we celebrate Alachua Audubon and welcome our newest board members.
Bell Ridge is a 720-acre property with a 3.1-mile trail winding through what has been described as “one of the highest quality longleaf pine sandhill forest tracts in Florida.”
Join trip leader Deena Mickelson in the parking lot of the Publix at NW 53rd Ave. and NW 43rd St. to carpool. We’ll be looking for Summer Tanagers, Bachman’s Sparrows, Red-headed Woodpeckers, American Kestrels, and other longleaf-savannah species.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Sorry, but the field trip to Green Acres Nature Park has been canceled.
Meet trip leader Becky Minnick in the SWP parking lot on Williston Road about ¾ of a mile east of US-441. By early May, our marsh birds should be involved in courtship and nesting. We’ll be looking for Purple Gallinules, Least Bitterns, Limpkins, and a variety of wading birds, as well as some late migrants like sandpipers, swallows, and Bobolinks.
Entry fee $5 per vehicle. Bring sunscreen and water.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve distances greater than two miles).
Meet trip leader Steven Goodman in the Publix parking lot at NW 39th Ave. and NW 13th St. to carpool/convoy to these agricultural fields about 20 miles southeast of Palatka in search of rarely-seen fall migrants like Upland Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and American Golden-Plover (AKA “grasspipers”).
Bring water, lunch, and insect repellent.
Difficulty: 1 (trip within easy access to vehicle and/or level terrain one mile or less).
Meet trip leaders Ben and Sam Ewing in the parking lot on NW 34th St. directly opposite 5th Ave. (3315 NW 5th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32607).
The diversity of trees growing in the bottomland surrounding Hogtown and Possum Creeks creates a great hunting ground – for birds seeking fuel for the next leg of their migratory flight, and for birders in search of those migrants.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain and/or walking distances one to two miles).
Join trip leader Scott Flamand and the Tidewater Tours crew on a canopied pontoon-boat ride into some of the lesser-known shorebird haunts of the Cedar Key area.
Tidewater Tours offers a special Alachua Audubon price of $25 per person for this trip.
Call Wild Birds Unlimited (352-381-1997) to reserve a spot (limit 20 people) and for details on where and when to meet.
Difficulty: 1 (trip within easy access to vehicle and/or level terrain one mile or less).
Meet trip leader Michael Drummond at the trailhead on SE 175th Avenue 1.5 miles west of I-75 (go west on County Road 234 and keep right at the fork). Barr Hammock is a forested land bridge between Ledwith and Levy Prairies, an environmental 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: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances 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 of the agency in charge, 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 Steve Hofstetter in the trailhead parking lot on Millhopper Rd. 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.
Entry fee $4 per vehicle.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
We’ll meet trip leader Barbara Shea at Powers Park to look for migrant warblers, tanagers, and thrushes in the trees along the boat channel and to scan the lake from the fishing pier. Then we’ll travel to nearby Palm Point to search for more migrants in the live oaks and cypresses.
Difficulty: 1 (trip within easy access of vehicle and/or level terrain one mile or less).
Meet at the parking corral on State Road 121 4.5 miles north of LaCrosse. Trip leader Rex Rowan will lead a walk along the 1.5-mile trail through hardwood forest and bottomland surrounding Santa Fe Creek in search of migrants. Wear rubber boots or old shoes you don’t mind getting wet, as the trail can be soggy in places.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain and/or walking distances one to two miles).
Please register for this family oriented event through the Friends of Paynes Prairie website by following this link.
We welcome you the first Saturday of each month October through April, to join us for a hike on La Chua Trail and learn about birds. Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. This birding hike is an out-and-back trip of approximately 1 mile in total length, in an open marsh habitat with a large diversity of plants and wildlife. Meet us in the La Chua Trail parking lot; the north entrance to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, by 9:00 a.m.
Hikes are limited to 20 people. Reserve your spot by clicking the registration button on this page. Registration for each hike will open approximately 30 days prior to the hike date.
Hikes are free, but regular park admission fees apply. Park admission at La Chua Trail is $4.00 per vehicle, cash only, or free with a Florida State Parks Annual Pass.
Binoculars are available for loan during the hike, but supplies are limited and preference given first to those with reservations.
No pets permitted.
This program is supported by Paynes Prairie and Alachua Audubon volunteers.