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.
Meet trip leader Steven Goodman in the Publix parking lot at Newberry Road and NW 143rd Street (Jonesville) to carpool/convoy to this coastal Dixie County site within the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.
The Dixie Mainline is a nine-mile driving trail that passes through hardwoods, pinewoods, swamps, and marshes. There are plenty of spots to park the cars and look for fall migrants. We’ll end the trip at beautiful Shired Island on the Gulf of Mexico.
Bring water, lunch, and insect repellent.
Difficulty: 1 (trip within easy access to vehicle and/or level terrain one mile or less).
Meet trip leader Jonathan Mays at the Bolen Bluff parking lot on US-441. Bolen Bluff is one of Gainesville’s perennial favorite birding locations, especially during fall songbird migration, which is peaking now. This is often the best walk of the season for warblers and thrushes.
Entry fee $2 per vehicle.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Join trip leader Jerry Krummrich for a 2.5-mile ramble through his favorite fall-migration hotspot: “I enjoy birding here because of habitat diversity, with sandhill, scrub, and floodplain. Lots of tree species, lots of edge.”
We’ll meet at the High Springs Winn-Dixie, on US-441 a mile past the stop light at County Road 326 (where Hardee’s is). There should still be some fall migrants passing through, and we’ll keep a particular eye out for Bay-breasted and Black-throated Green Warblers.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Meet trip leader Trina Anderson at the grassy parking lot next to Chapmans Pond. We will start by scanning the pond of this water treatment facility for water birds, swallows and flycatchers. Then we will hike the surrounding 1.5 miles of trail past other water features through dry oak woods and open mowed lawns seeking American Kestrel and late migrants.
Directions: Take SW 75th St. (Tower Rd.) 3 mi. south of Newberry Rd. (or 1.2 mi. north of Archer Rd.) to SW 41st Place at the corner of Veterans Memorial Park. Go east just over 1/2 mile where the road curves and the parking lot will be on the left.
Difficulty: 2. (may involve uneven terrain one to two miles).
Please register for this 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.
Adam and Gina Kent share photos and stories from their three-week trip through southern Africa. This presentation will highlight birds and other wildlife from five countries, three World Heritage sites, and countless beautiful landscapes.
Please note that due to Millhopper Library having changed their evening hours, our programs will now start at 6:30pm, and socializing will begin at 6:00pm.
Meet trip leader Howard Adams at the Tag Agency on NW 34th St. just south of US-441 to carpool to one of the county’s best spots for sparrows, blackbirds, and raptors, not to mention western strays like Yellow-headed Blackbird and Bronzed Cowbird. It doesn’t smell pretty, though. Just sayin’.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain and/or walking distances one to two miles).
Meet trip leader Rex Rowan at Powers Park to carpool to the Camps Canal gate, where parking is limited. Paynes Prairie has agreed to give Alachua Audubon access from Camps Canal through to Cones Dike, which extends out into the rarely-visited marshes on the east side of Paynes Prairie. We’ll be looking primarily for sparrows and other winter birds.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Meet trip leader Rex Rowan in the Publix parking lot at the corner of Tower Rd. (SW 75th St.) and Archer Rd. The Kanapaha Prairie, a 700-acre grassland dotted with marshy ponds, is co-owned by The Conservation Fund and several surrounding landowners. Access is restricted, so field trips like this one are possible only every year or two. Expect grassland, marsh, and open-country birds like Marsh and Sedge Wrens, Savannah and Swamp Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlark, Loggerhead Shrike, and American Kestrel. Sandhill Cranes may have arrived by now, and they like the Kanapaha Prairie.
Difficulty: 2 (may involve uneven terrain and/or walking distances one to two miles).
Meet field trip leader Matt Bruce for a walk along the Levy Lake dike trail at Barr Hammock Preserve. You’ll have the option to walk the whole 6.5-mile loop, but Matt will announce a good turn-around point for those who don’t want to go the whole way. We’ll be birding marsh, wet prairie, and woodland edges in search of wintering warblers, wrens, and sparrows.
To reach the trailhead, drive south from Gainesville on US-441. Across from Lake Wauberg, turn right onto Wacahoota Rd. (County Road 18). Go roughly half a mile and, just after the I-75 overpass, turn left on SE 11th Dr. and continue all the way down to the parking area.
Difficulty: 1, 2, or 3, depending on how far you walk.
Meet trip leader Matt Bruce at Heagy Burry Park in the town of Orange Lake. From Gainesville, head south on US-441 to the Alachua/Marion county line. From the county line continue on 441 another 4.5 miles and turn left just past the Sunoco station onto NW 191st Place, which dead-ends at the park.
You’ll need to bring your own canoe or kayak for this trip. Depending on the weather, we’ll paddle along the shores of McIntosh Bay to the point where it opens up to the main lake. Gulls, terns, ducks, and other open-water birds are possible, as well as marsh-dwelling species.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
Alaska is a destination of unparalleled scenery and exciting birds and wildlife. Anne Casella will give a presentation based on her 12-day birding trip to Nome, Denali and Seward in June 2018.
Please note that due to Millhopper Library having changed their evening hours, our programs will now start at 6:30pm, and socializing will begin at 6:00pm.
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. 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.
Meet trip leader Debbie Segal in the parking lot of Hitchcock’s grocery store on US-441 in Alachua to carpool to the water treatment wetlands near Lake City (you can also meet us at 8:30 at the SS Food Store a block west of I-75 at Exit #423).
The Lake City Treatment Wetland, opened in 2016, is a series of nine wetland cells constructed to treat Lake City’s wastewater. We hope to see a plethora of waterfowl, wading birds, and perhaps some rarities as we walk the dikes separating the cells.
This site is not open to the public and the gate will be closed after we enter the site, so don’t be late!
Difficulty: 1 (trip within easy access of vehicle and/or level terrain one mile or less).
John Hintermister Memorial Field Trip
The late John Hintermister led the St. Marks trip every January for years, so we’ve named the trip after him in yet another inadequate attempt to honor the memory of a man who served Alachua Audubon for nearly 60 years – literally since its inception.
Meet Phil Laipis and Don Morrow (close friends of John’s) at the St. Marks visitor center on Saturday at 8 a.m. to begin an all-day visit to one of Florida’s premier winter birding spots. Expect birds in great numbers and variety.
Bring a lunch and plenty of water, and make motel reservations if you’re staying all weekend. Sunday’s meeting time and location will be decided on Saturday.
There is a limit of 20 people, so call Wild Birds Unlimited (352-381-1997) to register.
Entry fee $5 per vehicle. National Parks Pass and Duck Stamp are also accepted.
Difficulty: 3 (may involve elevation change, uneven terrain, and/or walking distances greater than two miles).
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.