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 .

September 14: Arroyo Seco Canyon to Gould Mesa

Sunday, September 14, 2025
8:00 AM to 11:00 1M
Trip leaders: Alex Coffey and Alicia di Rado

Pasadena birders likely know the birdy expanse of Hahamongna, but just to the north lies a winding trail of riparian habitat with a minor uphill grade into the foothills. Graced with shady oaks as we creep upwards, our trek to Gould Mesa is where some migrants and mountain specialities of the Angeles National Forest can be found. This is a moderate, 4-mile out-and-back hike for birders interested in stretching their legs a bit and in search of a consistent monthly hike in lieu of our beloved Eaton Canyon walks.

Participant number: no limit

Trip details such as meeting location will be emailed to signed-up participants before the trip. At the Swifts site, anticipate a slow, uphill/downhill hike on a wide dirt trail (fire road), approximately 2 miles round trip. At the Nighthawks site, the route is mostly paved and level with some short interruptions; distance is approximately 1 mile round trip.

PHOTO: Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia). Photo by Chris Spurgeon.

Sign up here

September 17: Midweek Nice and Easy Birding Group: Huntington Beach Central Park East

Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 8:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
Trip leader: Ed Stonick

Explore this beautiful green space with wooded areas, a lake, and even a secret garden! Plenty of songbirds and waterfowl can be seen here.

We will start in the parking lot at the north end of the park on Slater Ave., just east (left turn) from Goldenwest Avenue. (MAP)

Participant number: No Limit

PHOTO: Scaly-breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata). Photo by Chris Spurgeon.

Sign up here.

September 21: White Point Nature Preserve

Sunday, September 21, 2025
8:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Trip leader: Robb Hamilton

Join Robb Hamilton for an easy field trip to White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro. The 102-acre preserve includes roughly 60 acres of coastal sage scrub, with grassland accounting for nearly all the rest. We should see the resident California Gnatcatchers, as well as other birds typical of scrub and grassland near the coast. Various raptors that occur here, including Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, American Kestrels, Cooper’s Hawks and Red-tailed Hawks, are often seen flying at low elevations along the top of the bluffs.

Bring the normal stuff for an easy walk — water, for example. Morning temperatures are typically in the high 50s to and 70s in September but check the forecast in the days before the trip. A scope will be useful for the beginning of the trip.

Participant number: no limit

PHOTO: Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). Photo by Chris Spurgeon.

Sign up here

September 27: Huntington Library

Saturday, September 27, 2025
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.

Sign up!

September 28: Dana Point Pelagic

SOLD OUT!!!! Email us to be added to the waiting list.
Sunday, September 28, 2025
7:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Departure location: Dana Point (24200 Dana Point Harbor Dr, Dana Point, CA 92629)
Price: $135.00 per person

We’re excited to announce our dates for 2025’s dedicated pelagic! Departing from Dana Point in Orange County aboard the Ocean Institute Explorer, we'll spend time exploring the waters of both Orange and Los Angeles Counties. This nine-hour 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 to focus specifically on the birds. (Trip report from last year here.)

We will be providing expert pelagic tour leaders 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, Ashy, 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 that all ticket sales are final, except in the event of trip cancellation. We will, however, allow transfers and do our best to assist those who need help with that.

By traveling on their boat, this trip also helps support the non-profit Ocean Institute, whose work focuses on marine science, environmental education, and maritime history.

Photo: Pink-footed Shearwater (Ardenna creatopus) by Luke Tiller

October 12: Los Angeles Arboretum Monthly Bird Walk

Sunday, October 12, 2025

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Trip Leader: Katy Mann

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, October 7, 2025.

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.