Upcoming Field Trips

The quickest way to find out about upcoming trips and registration details is via our member's eblast (these will likely come out in the last week of month prior to the trip). If you have not already signed up for our eblasts sign up here.
Sign up and confirmation notes:

If the Google sign-up form for the trip you want to go on doesn't work the first time, try reloading the web page or restarting your browser, then try again.

If it's less than 3 days before a trip that you signed up for, and you think you should have gotten a message but haven't, try looking for it (carefully) in your spam/junk folder.

If these suggestions didn't help solve the issue, please contact us at fieldtrips@pasadenaaudubon.org .

February 8th: Caltech Birdwalk

Sunday, February 8th, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Trip leader: Jieyu Zheng

Join Pasadena Audubon Society for a bird walk on the beautiful campus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Led by current PhD student Jieyu Zheng, this walk will explore the surprisingly rich wildlife community found in the heart of Pasadena. We’ll look for resident species such as Acorn Woodpeckers, Black Phoebes, and Dark-eyed Juncos, as well as overwintering birds that take up residence in the campus’s diverse trees, exotic shrubs, and open lawns.

TRIP LIMIT: 30 people. Participants will be chosen by lottery.

PHOTO: Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)

Sorry, this trip is completely filled.

February 14th: San Gabriel River Spreading Grounds

San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds
Saturday, February 14th, 8 am - noon(ish)

Saturday, February 14, 2025, 8:00 AM to noonish
Trip leaders: Darren Dowell, Oliver Huang
Languages available: English, Mandarin 中文

Join us for a morning of birding at the San Gabriel Coastal Basin Spreading Grounds in Pico Rivera. We’ll be making the rounds to look through the usually enormous winter gathering of ducks and geese at this site, the variety of songbirds along the edges, and often a few shorebirds. Views can be distant at this site, so scopes are helpful. We’ll be doing a stroll along the level, paved or compacted bike trail around the basins, up to 3 miles if we do the full loop. If gulls have congregated in the area over the morning, as they often do, then we'll offer to stick around and study them in hopes of finding the more uncommon species.

Participant number: No Limit

This trip assembles at Mines Ave. near Rimbank Ave., at the gate to the spreading grounds (33.9866, -118.0782). Note that there are no restrooms at this site.

PHOTO: Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens). Photo by Layton Pace.

Sign up here

FEBRUARY 15: Los Angeles Arboretum Monthly Bird Walk

Sunday, February 15, 2026

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Trip Leader: Catherine Hamilton

We are excited to partner with the Los Angeles County Arboretum to offer free monthly bird walks to PAS members. Please note that due to new rules implemented by LA Arboretum these trips will only be open to current PAS members (and not friends of members as in past years). In other words all persons attending must be current Pasadena Audubon members -- either on their own, or as part of a PAS family membership.

Not a PAS member? Join here!

This field trip is offered by reservation only. To reserve a spot go to https://www.arboretum.org/events/bird-walk-with-pasadena-audubon-8/. Registration is scheduled to open at 9 AM on Tuesday, February 10, 2026.

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT REGISTERING FOR THE ARBORETUM WALK: Evidently when the monthly Arboretum walk has reached capacity, the sign-up form stops functioning correctly. This issue is beyond our control. If in doubt, sign up early!


PHOTO: Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus) by Luke Tiller.

February 21: Bonelli Park

Saturday, February 21, 2026
8 AM to noon
Leaders: Alex Coffey

Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas is a massive complex of nautral areas surrounding the Puddingstone Reservoir and Raging Waters theme park - all of which is home to an amazing variety of birdlife. It can be a bit of a daunting location to tackle as a birder, but fear not! Join Field Trip Chair Alex Coffey as we explore the various aspects of the park to break down the best way to bird this behemoth. Please be mindful that there may be parking fees to consider, bring cash and card to be safe. More details such as meeting location to follow.

Participant number: No Limit

PHOTO: Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). Photo by Chris Spurgeon.

Sign up here

February 25th: Midweek Birding Group - LA River at Willow Street

POSTPONED due to weather
Wednesday, February 25th, 2026, 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Trip leader: Ed Stonick

Our next Midweek Birding Trip will be to the LA River at Willow Street in Long Beach. The trip was originally planned for February 18th but has been postponed because of heavy rain in the forecast.

Trips to the LA River always offer good opportunities to see shorebirds, sometimes uncommon ones and vagrants! We'll spend two to three hours at the site, but anyone can leave sooner if they wish. A scope is helpful if you have one. The weather should be mostly sunny and fairly pleasant, but you may want to have a hat and a light jacket for the first hour or two. Hard rain cancels.

The meeting point will be 26th Way and DeForest Avenue.

Participant number: No Limit

PHOTO: Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) by Van Pierszalowski

Sign up here.

February 28: Huntington Library Monthly Bird Walk

Saturday, February 28, 2026
8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Trip Leader: Mark Hunter

This is a great walk for beginning birders and families, with easy walking and a nice variety of species present year round.

Please note that due to rules implemented by The Huntington these trips will only be open to current PAS members. You must be a Pasadena Audubon member to attend this trip! After you sign up for the field trip, you will receive an email acknowledging your signup. The acknowledgment email is not a guarantee of a spot! PAS will process signups in the order that they are received, verifying your membership status. The trip leader will contact you after signups are closed, informing you whether you have confirmed spots or are on the wait list. Not yet a member? You can sign up for PAS membership here.

If you have a Huntington membership that allows you to enter the gardens at 8:00 on weekends, please consider making a reservation using your Huntington membership, thereby freeing up spots for PAS members who are not Huntington members.

Photo: California Towhee (Melozone crissalis) by Chris Spurgeon

Field Trip General Notes

This field trip is offered by reservation only. If you miss out on the initial places you will be added to a waitlist and will be emailed by the trip leaders if a place opens up. If you are unable to attend a booked trip please email the trip leader and allow them to make your space available to someone on the wait list.

Sorry, this trip is completely filled.