Jayhawk Audubon Field Trips
Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information.
All trips are subject to change due to weather or scheduling conflicts.
May Field Trips:
May 3rd, 2023 (Wed.) Fitch Natural History Reservation. 8:00 am.
Park at Roth Trailhead and cross road to east to meet at Fitch. (See KU Field Station for directions or GPS is 39.038524, -95.206304). We will walk on the established trails. Easy walking along the woods. Early portion is gravel turning to well worn dirt paths. Expect thrushes, vireos, warblers, tanagers, flycatchers, all the migrants and residents from the tropics. It could be wild, depending on movement of fronts and current weather. If we hit a good day of migration we could have close to 20 species of warblers. Chiggers shouldn’t be an issue but plan to use spray on clothing for ticks. We will plan to frequently rotate positions on the trail so that everyone has a chance to be at the front. We will probably be on the trails for several hours and walk up to 2 miles. All levels of interest and experience are invited. A few extra binoculars will be available for loan. Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information. This is one of the premier woods that are available to the public for birding. That is why we are doing back to back field trips during migration.
May 7th, 2023 (SUNDAY.) Fitch Natural History Reservation. 8:00 am.
Park at Roth Trailhead and cross road to east to meet at Fitch. (See KU Field Station for directions or GPS is 39.038524, -95.206304). We will walk on the established trails. Easy walking along the woods. Early portion is gravel turning to well worn dirt paths. Expect thrushes, vireos, warblers, tanagers, flycatchers, all the migrants and residents from the tropics. It could be wild, depending on movement of fronts and current weather. If we hit a good day of migration we could have close to 20 species of warblers. Chiggers shouldn’t be an issue but plan to use spray on clothing for ticks. We will plan to frequently rotate positions on the trail so that everyone has a chance to be at the front. We will probably be on the trails for several hours and walk up to 2 miles. All levels of interest and experience are invited. A few extra binoculars will be available for loan. Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information. This is one of the premier woods that are available to the public for birding. That is why we are doing back to back field trips during migration.
May 17th, 2023 (Wed. EVENING) Rice Woods (2 mi. N.of Baldwin)
Meet at 8:30 PM for evening birds. Park at intersection of N 500 and E 1750 Rd. (2 miles N of Baldwin and ½ mi E). We will walk on E 1750 Rd about ¼ mile south. Easy walking on county road along the woods. Expect a variety of woodpeckers (Red-bellied, Downy, Hairy, Pileated and Flicker), Carolina Wren, possibly Red-tailed, Cooper’s, and Red-shouldered Hawks. Some migrant flycatchers, warblers, and thrushes likely. Our main targets, however, will be Chuck-wills-widow and Whip-poor-will. We will arrive before sundown so other birds will be active. At or about dusk is when we can expect the nightjars to sing. These birds could be close and with luck, could come out on the road! All levels of interest and experience are invited. A few extra binoculars will be available for loan. Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information.
June Field Trips:
June 10th, 2023 (Sat.) Clinton Lake, Overlook Park Mutt - Run Dog Park AREA. Address is 1330 E 902 Rd.
Let us meet on turn off north to Sesquicentennial Park just west of the Dog Park @ 7:30 am (early start). Look for people without dogs and with binoculars! Our main target will be Painted Bunting. Many other birds are in the area as well. Dickcissel, Field Sparrow, several orioles, and Indigo Buntings. We will walk the roads and then head north to Sesquicentennial Park up the hill. Our main target there will be Blue Grosbeak. Plan to wrap up the field trip by 9:30 or 10:00 am. All levels of interest and experience are invited. A few extra binoculars will be available for loan. Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information.
July Field Trips:
July 8th, 2023 (Sat.) Baker Wetlands
Meet at the Southwest Parking lot which is down by the river, south of the Discovery Center, just east of E 1400 Rd. We will start at 7:30 am to get ahead of the heat. We will walk the River Trail to the center road. If it is good birding we will walk north to center road and back west. Indigo Buntings and Common Yellowthroats should be common as well as Dickcissels. We will also be looking for Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Pileated Woodpeckers, Willow Flycatcher and Eastern Wood Pewee. Both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles should be around as well as Blue Grosbeak and Bell’s Vireo. If we go north to Grebe Pond we will look for Common Gallinule, King Rail, Pied-billed Grebe, and Least Bittern. Plan to wrap up the field trip by 9:30 to 10:00 am. All levels of interest and experience are invited. A few extra binoculars will be available for loan. Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information.
August Field Trips:
August 5th , 2023 (Sat.) Clinton Lake – East Bloomington
Meet at the parking lot east of the Wakarusa Museum, not the swim beach. We will start at 7:30 am to beat the heat. We will take an easy walk around the parking lot and edge of lake primarily for swallows. Also a good chance for Scissortail Flycatchers and a host of other flycatchers and kingbirds in the area. Along the beach we should find several species of gulls, and early shorebirds returning from breeding in Canada. Forster’s, Black and Caspian terns are often here. Buntings, grosbeaks, orioles, even warblers and tanagers are possible as fall migration is underway. Plan to wrap up the field trip by 9:00 or 9:30 am. All levels of interest and experience are invited. A few extra binoculars will be available for loan. Contact Roger Boyd at rboydbird69@gmail.com or 785-424-0595 for more information.