Field Trips

Lower L.A. River


Saturday, August 5, 2017

8:00 am - noon

August is about the peak of shorebird migration as wintering birds return and transients pass through. Be prepared for anything, but if your shorebird ID skills are rusty we will spend as much time as necessary on the more common species to get everyone comfortable with them.

Take the 710 (Long Beach) Fwy south to the Willow Street offramp, head east across the L.A. River, and take the first left on Golden Ave, the first left again on 26th, and follow 26th past the pump station onto DeForest Ave. Park near the river access by the bridge and meet the group along the river at 8:00. We will bird until noon and may visit the Dominguez Gap Wetlands if time permits.

Larry Allen

San Gabriel Mountains Springs Hike


Saturday, August 12, 2017

7:30 am - 1:00 pm

We will be visiting several springs in the high elevation San Gabriel Mountains, accessed at roadside and by hike from the Angeles Crest, seeking many of the resident montane bird species, perhaps a few southbound migrants, some wildflowers, and a refreshing break from the summer heat.

Total hiking distance will be approx. 5 miles at an elevation of 7000 feet, with only small elevation gain. Meet at Islip Saddle at mile marker 64.1 on the Angeles Crest Highway, about 40 twisty miles from I­210 in La Canada, by 7:30 am. This is not the starting location for the main hike, so please be prompt. Bring plenty of water, lunch, sunscreen, bug repellent, sturdy shoes, and a hat. Please carpool and plan for 80 minutes to drive from Pasadena.

Darren Dowell

County Arboretum

Saturday, August 12, 2017

8:00 am - 10:00 am

This easy walk is for birders of all ages and experience levels. Meet on the steps leading to the entrance of the Arboretum. Admission is $5 – free for members of the Aboretum or Audubon, and free for children under 12.

Julia Ray

Chilao Visitor Center


Sunday August 13, 2017

8:00 am - 10:00 am

The Chilao Visitor Center walks will continue each month, weather and
road conditions permitting. (No walks in February or March this stormy winter.)

Chilao, 26.5 miles north of I-210 on Angeles Crest (State Hwy 2) is a good place to see woodpeckers and we often see four or more species on a walk. Mountain Quail are somewhat elusive but still seen or heard about half the time. You can also expect Purple Finches, Steller's Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos and several species of nuthatches and others totaling about 30 species during the 2-hour walk

Hill Penfold

Odes and Hummers


Saturday, August 19, 2017

8:00 am - midday

The heat of summer is a great time to look for both migrant and possibly even vagrant hummingbirds, so we will start out our morning checking out a private site where large numbers of these incredible little gems can be found. As the day warms up we will poke around a couple of spots looking for dragonflies, damselflies and whatever other critters we can uncover.

Please email Luke Tiller at streatham2003@aol.com to reserve a spot and to receive directions on where and when to meet.

Luke Tiller

Hahamonga Monthly Walk

Saturday, September 2, 2017

7:30 am - 11:30 am

This monthly bird walk is for birders of all ages and experience. A good variety of birds should be in residence. Bring binoculars, birding guide, water and wear walking shoes. No dogs.

Exit the north 210 at Berkshire and make a right, then a left at Oak Grove.
The Hahamongna Watershed Park entrance is on the right at the next stop light.
Take the first left after entering Hahagmongna, and park by the ballfield.

Leader: Darren Dowell

Piute Ponds and vicinity

Saturday, September 9, 2017

6:30 am - early afternoon

By September, southbound migration will be in full swing. Join us at the Piute Ponds, a wetland oasis in the desert, where every year thousands of sandpipers and plovers stage on their way south. We should find over a dozen shorebird species, and we may see Baird's or Pectoral Sandpipers. We will also look for desert birds such as Bell's Sparrow and we have a chance for LeConte's Thrasher. After Piute Ponds, we will visit nearby Apollo Park, where we will look for migrating songbirds such as warblers and flycatchers. Bring a spotting scope if you have one.

Note: Piute Ponds are located on Edwards Air Force Base, which has restricted entry, so space is limited. Please email Mark Scheel (scheel@tapir.caltech.edu) if you would like to attend. We will be meeting in the northern Antelope Valley at dawn (6:30 am); the meeting place will be arranged.

Mark and Janet Scheel

County Arboretum

Saturday, September 9, 2017

8:00 am - 10:00 am

This easy walk is for birders of all ages and experience levels. Meet on the steps leading to the entrance of the Arboretum. Admission is $5 – free for members of the Aboretum or Audubon, and free for children under 12.

Julia Ray

Chilao Visitor Center


Sunday September 10, 2017

8:00 am - 10:00 am

The Chilao Visitor Center walks will continue each month, weather and
road conditions permitting. (No walks in February or March this stormy winter.)

Chilao, 26.5 miles north of I-210 on Angeles Crest (State Hwy 2) is a good place to see woodpeckers and we often see four or more species on a walk. Mountain Quail are somewhat elusive but still seen or heard about half the time. You can also expect Purple Finches, Steller's Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos and several species of nuthatches and others totaling about 30 species during the 2-hour walk

Hill Penfold

Dana Point Pelagic Trip


Saturday, September 16, 2017

7:00am-3:00pm

Note trip is sold out and there is now a waitlist

Price $65.00

(Online price is $67.00 to cover transaction costs).

We are excited to announce our first eight­-hour dedicated pelagic trip! We will depart from Dana Point on the speedy Ocean Explorer and spend most our time at sea in Los Angeles County waters. This longer trip will help us connect with species that are harder to see from just your average whale watch, and chartering the boat will allow us focus specifically on the birds. PAS will be providing expert pelagic tour leaders (Kimball Garrett and Jon Feenstra) for this trip to help pick out interesting species. Birds that might be encountered include a variety of shearwaters, jaegers, phalaropes, alcids, gulls and terns. One of our main targets will be the rafts of storm­-petrels that gather offshore in September, which may include both Black and Least. Uncommon and rare species discovered on similarly timed trips have included: Manx and Flesh­-footed Shearwater, Arctic Tern, Red­-footed and Blue­-footed Booby and Craveri’s Murrelet, among others.

*Please note: All tickets for this trip are now completely sold out. If you would like to be put onto a standby list for this event, please send an email to Kym Buzdygon at Kym.buzdygon@pasadenaaudubon.org Thanks to everyone for such an enthusiastic response, we hope to have more events like this in the future.*

Leader: Luke Tiller

Eaton Canyon Monthly Walk

Sunday, September 17, 2017

8:00 am - 11:00 am

Pasadena Audubon and Eaton Canyon Nature Center are cosponsoring monthly walks at Eaton Canyon. The walks are led by Hill Penfold who has been leading them at ECNC for many years. Hill is wonderful with birders of all levels and Eaton Canyon is one of the best locations to learn the birds of the Pasadena area.

The walks are held on the third Sunday of each month. Meet at the flagpole:bring water, binoculars, hats, but no dogs .

Hill Penfold

Magpie Bird Study Group

Legg Lakes

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

9:00 am - 11:30 am

Santa Anita Ave Parking Lot

The group meets the third Tuesday of each month. We bird 9:00 am to
about 11:30 am, have a sack lunch, and have a short business meeting.
All PAS members welcome!

Julia Ray and Sid Heyman

Huntington Library Birdwalks

(PAS Members only)

Sunday, September 24, 2017

8:00 am - 11:00 am

A special benefit for Pasadena Audubon Society members is the chance to bird the Huntington Library grounds. Attendance is by reservation only and limited to 15 participants. Members may bring one non-member guest, space permitting. We thank our member and Huntington curator, Dan Lewis, for making these trips possible.

Contact Mark Hunter by email.

Trip leaders vary.

Fall Warblerama

Saturday, September 30 2017

7:00 am - 11:30 am

Join us as we look for interesting warblers, flycatchers, and other passerines near the end of fall migration. We will start at DeForest Park in Long Beach, which tends to attract migrants: it is a green area with tall trees in an area that is mostly residential, and it is located adjacent to the LA River. We will search the park for migrants, and explore other nearby areas depending on where migrants are showing up.

Directions: From the southbound 710 freeway, exit south on Atlantic (same exit as the eastbound 91 freeway). Go south on Atlantic, then right (west) on 63rd street to the end, which is DeForest Ave. Go south on DeForest Ave and park in the parking lot on the west side of the street, opposite Harding St.

Mark and Janet Scheel