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 .

August 10: Ballona Creek Walk

Sunday, August 10, 2025
8:00 AM to 12:00 NOON
Trip leaders: Kevin Lapp/Alex Coffey

Take a walk on the wild west side with Kevin Lapp and Alex Coffey! Ballona Creek, the adjacent beach, wetlands and lagoon are all part of Kevin’s local patch, and Alex’s former stomping grounds. Kevin has been a perennial discoverer of exciting birds along this last remnant of LA’s former coastl estuary. We’ll target some early shorebird migrants recently returned, like Marbled Godwit, Surfbird, turnstones, and plovers, along with other coastal specialties. Parking can be challenging, so early arrival is recommended, and carpooling is encouraged! We will determine a carpool spot for folks interested in ride-sharing, departing Pasadena at 7 am for an 8 am trip start

Participant number: no limit.

PHOTO: Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa). Photo by Chris Spurgeon.

Sign up here

August 23: Huntington Library

Saturday, August 23, 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.

Sorry, this trip is completely filled.

August 23: Lower Arroyo Seco

Saturday, August 23, 2025
8:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Trip leader: Omar Alui

It’s no surprise that in the quintessentially Californian chapparal and oak woodland habitat of the Lower Arroyo Seco, one can reliably find so many of our near-endemic birds, like Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, California Towhees, California Thrashers, and Wrentits. But this area can also produce some surprises! A Mountain Bluebird was seen here earlier in the year, and more recently, a Red-necked Phalarope. Meet in the parking lot west of the casting pond.

Participant number: no limit.

PHOTO: California Towhee (Melozone crissalis). Photo by Chris Spurgeon.

Sign up here

August 24: Nature Journaling at Rosemont Preserve

Sunday, August 24, 2025
8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Trip leader: Helin Jung

You can’t help but slow down and be in the moment when you’re drawing what you see! Grab your pencils and journal, along with your binoculars, and join Helin Jung in documenting birds, beasts, and botanicals at this special preserve in La Crescenta.

Participant number: no limit.

PHOTO CREDIT: flickr.com Public Domain.

Sign up here

August 31: Lower L.A. Shorebird Extravaganza (part 2)

Sunday, August 31, 2025
8:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
Trip leaders: Luke Tiller, Jon Fisher, Alex Coffey

Whereas Part I of our Shorebird Extravaganza in July featured adult birds still in breeding plumage, Part II of the shorebird extravaganza will allow us to see more juvenile birds and adults in basic plumage. Late summer is about the peak of shorebird migration in Southern California as our wintering birds return and transients pass through. Join PAS shorebird experts for a morning honing your ID skills with the common species and working out the ID challenges posed by potential uncommon species and vagrants. Although intuition might tell you the beach is the place to go for shorebirds, the Los Angeles River can boast north of 30 species of shorebird in August.

Participant number: no limit.

Trip details such as meeting location will be emailed to signed-up participants 3-5 days before the trip.

Photo: Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus). Photo by Luke Tiller.

Sign up here

September 28: Dana Point Pelagic

NOW OPEN TO NON-MEMBERS!
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

Sign up now!

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.