2010 Ohio Valley Birding Festival Field Trip Schedule

For more in

For more information on the following field trips and to register for those requiring preregistration, contact Steve Heeger at (812) 867-3873 or sheeger@sbcglobal.net .  For the activities at J. J. Audubon State Park, contact  Julie McDonald at (270) 826-2247 or juliea.mcdonald@ky.gov  

For the hikes requiring preregistration, registration and payment must be received by April 28. Please send payment, payable to “Evansville Audubon Society,” to Steve Heeger, 15340 Cemetery Road, Evansville, IN, 47725.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Birding Hike at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (7:00 AM).  Free. Depart from the Nature Center at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.  Join Evansville Audubon Society member Evan Speck for a birding hike through this 200 acre old growth lowland forest.

Birding Hike at Eagle Slough Natural Area  (7:00 AM) Free.  Eagle Slough is one of the most recent local areas to be returned to conservation. Join Evansville Audubon Society member Steve Heeger for a birding walk through this 127 acre urban wetland area.  Meet at the entrance to Eagle Slough located on Waterworks Road, just north of Ellis Park. Expect to see warblers and other migratory songbirds.

Birding Hike at Bluegrass Fish & Wildlife Area  (4:00 PM) Free.  Meet at main parking area at the west entrance on Boonville-New Harmony Rd, just off I-164.  Join Evansville Audubon Society member Don Batema for a hike through this reclaimed mine habitat. Bluegrass is an excellent place for observing grassland and water birds. This hike may take participants through muddy areas.  Waterproof boots or similar footwear is recommended.

Owl Prowl at  Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (8:00 PM)  Free.  Meet at the Wesselman Woods Nature Center and join WWNP naturalist Neal Bogan to see if the Barred Owls living in the woods, and possibly a visiting Great Horned Owl, will respond to calls from humans and recordings. 

 
Friday, April 30, 2010 

Birding day trip to Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area  (5:00 AM to 2:00 PM)  Trip departs from Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve. $25 per person.  Transportation and box lunch provided. Goose Pond is an 8,000-acre parcel of land that is being restored under the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of the US Department of Agriculture, and is currently one of the largest WRP restorations in the U. S. today.  Join Dr. Lee Sterrenburg, the foremost birding authority for the area, to see the wide diversity of birds in this area. Preregistration is required and will close on April 28th.

Birding Hike at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (7:00 AM)  Free.  Depart from the Nature Center at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.  Join Evansville Audubon Society member Steve Heeger for a birding hike through this 200 acre old growth lowland forest.   

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Birding Day Trip to Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge & Management Area (6:00 AM to 1:00 PM).  Trip departs from Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.  $20 per person.  Transportation and box lunch provided.  Join long-time Evansville Audubon members, Richard and Sue Vernier, for a look at one of Indiana's best remaining bottomland hardwood forested wetlands--the most imperiled wetland type in Indiana and the Midwest.  Expect to see wetland birds as well as warblers and other migratory songbirds.  There will be short walks at Snakey Point and Maxey Marsh.  Preregistration is required and will close on April 28th.

Howell Wetlands (7:00 AM)  Free. Meet at the Howell Wetland entrance on Tekoppel Ave.  Join Wild Birds Unlimited co-owner and Evansville Audubon Society member Tim Griffith for a birding walk through this 35 acre urban wetland and prairie environment. 

Family Birding Hike at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve (8:00 AM)  Free. Depart from the Nature Center at Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.  Join Evansville Audubon Society member Jim Lodato for a birding hike through this 200 acre old growth lowland forest.  This hike is suitable for families with children.

Audubon’s Bird Migration Walks  (7:30 - 9:00 AM and 8:30 - 10:00 AM) Free. Programs depart from Audubon Museum, Henderson, KY.  Come join us in a celebration of the spring season migration!  Bring your binoculars, field guide and notebook to identify new birds for your life list.

"A Walk with Bluebirds"  (10:30-11:30 AM) Free.  Presented by Bob and Judy Peak.  Discover the lives and nesting habits of Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity nesters.  The Peaks will introduce visitors to their ongoing nesting research conducted at numerous parks including Audubon State Park.  Attendees may have an opportunity to see eggs and nestlings inside nesting boxes.  This walking tour is moderate in difficulty and mostly on concrete.  Wheelchairs can likely be accommodated by use of a vehicle.  Meet at Sycamore Shelter,  Audubon State Park.

Birding  trip to Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area  (2:00 PM to 9:30 PM)  Trip departs from Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve. $25 per person.  Transportation provided. (Will stop for quick supper on return to WWNP.)  Goose Pond is an 8,000-acre parcel of land that is being restored under the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of the US Department of Agriculture, and is currently one of the largest WRP restorations in the U. S. today.  Join Dr. Lee Sterrenburg, the foremost birding authority for the area, to see the wide diversity of birds in this area.  Preregistration is required and will close on April 28th.

Howell Wetlands (6:00 PM)  Free. Meet at the Howell Wetland entrance on Tekoppel Ave.  Join Wild Birds Unlimited co-owner Tim Griffith for a birding walk through this 35 acre urban wetland and prairie environment.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Twin Swamps Nature Preserve (6:30 -1:30 PM)   Cost is $18 per person, transportation provided.  Join birder Larry Caldwell for a hike through one of the few existing remnants of cottonwood-bald cypress swamp, which once occurred over large portions of the Ohio and Wabash River Valleys. Twin Swamps is home to many bird species normally associated with this type of habitat, such as the blue-gray gnatcatcher and the brilliantly colored prothonotary warbler.  Trip departs from Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.   Preregistration is required and will close on April 28th.

Patoka River Canoe Trip (7:00 AM)  $30 per person. Transportation and box lunch provided. Join  naturalist Neal Bogan of the Wesselman Nature Society's “Canoe Evansville” program for birding by canoe along the river in the Patoka River NWR to see the migratory spring birds, especially the warblers and, with luck, the Cerulean Warbler.  Trip departs from Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve.  Preregistration is required and will close on April 28th.  Note:  River conditions subject to water levels and Corps of Engineers control of discharge for river level.  Registrants will be notified in the (hopefully) unlikely event of cancellation.

Birding Hike at Bluegrass Fish & Wildlife Area  (7:00 AM) Free.  Meet at main parking area at the west entrance on Boonville-New Harmony Rd, just off I-164.  Join Evansville Audubon Society member Brian Taylor for a hike through this reclaimed mine habitat. Bluegrass is an excellent place for observing grassland and water birds. This hike may take participants through muddy areas.  Waterproof boots or similar footwear is recommended.

Birding Hike at Eagle Slough Natural Area  (3:00 PM) Free.  Eagle Slough is one of the most recent local areas to be returned to conservation. Join Evansville Audubon Society member Chris Pace for a birding walk through this 127 acre urban wetland area.  Meet at the entrance to Eagle Slough located on Waterworks Road, just north of Ellis Park. Expect to see warblers and other migratory songbirds.