Friday, June 10, 2022
8:30 -10:30 pm
With Ken George
No registration required!

Join Ken George, longtime member of San Francisco Amateur Astronomers, to share his homemade astronomical telescope to view the Moon at its optimal viewing angle and phase for the month. Ken has been giving free public night sky viewings for over 12 years at various locations in the North Bay Area, including Chabot Space and Science Center and many Marin Public Libraries. He also meets with fellow “Sidewalk Astronomers” on Mt. Tam once a month for free public star parties.

Directions: Exit 101N at Atherton/San Marin Dr (exit 463). At end of exit ramp, turn east (right) onto Atherton. In 0.8 miles, turn left onto Bugeia Ln. In approx. 1/2 mile, slight right onto Bahia Dr, continue approx.1 mile to stop sign. Turn right onto Topaz until near the end of the road. Meet at gate entrance across from Bahia Clubhouse.

Saturday, June 11, 2022
8:30 AM to noon
Birding with young birders John King, Joseph Zeno, and Mark Schulist
Register for this field trip HERE

Limit of 20 fully vaccinated participants on this trip. Registration opens on June 1.

Join John, Joseph, and Mark for a field trip to the coastal riparian habitats of Muir Beach and Redwood Creek where we’ll observe some of Marin’s nesting songbirds and catch the tail end of Spring Migration. We will meet at the Muir Beach parking lot, and then bird the Green Gulch Trail. We will likely encounter breeding warblers, flycatchers, and other small passerines. Next, we will travel to another portion of Redwood Creek’s Riparian corridor just down the road to find more songbird species in the vegetation around the creek. Finally, we will end our trip at the Muir Beach overlook where encounters with Peregrine Falcons are common and we can eat lunch with a nice view of the ocean.

DIRECTIONS: Meet at Muir Beach parking lot. From Hwy 101, take exit 445B and merge onto CA-1S, in approx. ½ mile, turn left onto CA-1N, in 5.1 miles, left onto Pacific Way, continue straight 0.2 miles to parking lot.

Saturday, July 2, 2022
8:30 AM to 3 PM
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register for this field trip HERE

Limit of 15 fully vaccinated participants for this trip. Registration opens on June 22.

Trails at Big Rock, rather steep, allow us to view some of the expansive grasslands and forested ravines in Marin. Some of the grassland nesting birds we will be looking for include Lazuli Bunting, Grasshopper Sparrow, Horned Lark, and Ash-throated Flycatcher. We will also have a vast amount of sky visible so swallows, swifts, and raptors may appear with a chance for a Golden Eagle.

At midday we expect to drive Lucas Valley Road to Las Gallinas where we will be looking for American and Least Bitterns, Green Heron, Cinnamon Teal, Common Gallinule, and Great-tailed Grackle.

Fully vaccinated participants can register for the Big Rock/Las Gallinas trip starting on June 22 at 8:00 AM on the MAS website Field Trips page.

DIRECTIONS: From Highway 101 in San Rafael, exit on Lucas Valley Rd and go west approximately 5.5 miles (look for the big rock). We will be walking approximately 3 miles. Because this area can get quite hot this time of year, be sure to wear a hat, use sunscreen and carry plenty of water.

Sat, 8/6/22 - 8:30 AM to mid afternoon
With Jim White and Bob Battagin
Meet; at Sky Trailhead at 8:30 AM, near the crest of Limantour Rd. Directions below.
Register for this field trip HERE

Limit of 15 fully vaccinated participants for this trip. Registration opens on July 27.

The Sky Trail, called “the misty spine of Bear Valley”, takes us through a maturing Douglas Fir/ Bishop Pine forest. Forest birds are more active early and moving birds often follow ridges so I would like to look and listen on our walk through this habitat. We may see or hear a Pileated Woodpecker, Band Tailed Pigeons, Stellar’s Jays, Swainson’s Thrush, Osprey, nuthatches and surely Acorn Woodpeckers and Chestnut-backed Chickadees. Northern Spotted Owls, Western Screech and Saw-whet Owls live here but we would need to be here at dusk or dawn to hear them.

After we leave, we drive down to the great beach of Limantour with its miles of sand, its tidal estuary the open expanse of Drakes Bay and the Pacific ocean beyond. We will gather at 9:30 in the ample parking lot with restrooms nearby. We’ll pack our lunches, shoulder our scopes and head out and up the beach. We can hike far enough to find Snowy Plovers to get our exercise and to cross over to the estuary side for our walk back. Gulls, terns, cormorants, loons, grebes, pelicans, murres, and guillemots will garner our attention and I’m always interested what the Pacific will bring close to shore. Shorebirds too, some already back from their breeding excursion to the Arctic, may decorate the shore or be gathering along the estuary shores and shallows. Some ducks, hawks, and herons will show up too.

Directions to Sky Trail: From CA 1 South, right (left from CA 1 North) onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd for 0.7 miles, left onto Bear Valley Road for 0.5, then right onto Limantour Road for 3.4 miles to the Sky Trailhead. Roadside parking is available near the trailhead.

From Sky Trailhead, the drive to the Limantour beach parking lot is 4.3 miles.

Sunday, August 21, 2022 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Rusty Scalf
Registration for the August 21 Abbott’s Lagoon trip will be open starting on August 11 at 8:00 AM
Register HERE for this field trip

There will be a limit of 25 fully vaccinated participants for this trip.

We will bird the coastal scrub, lagoons, and ocean. We hope to find migrant shorebirds and resident Snowy Plovers. Abbott’s Lagoon has historically been good for Baird’s Sandpiper and we may get lucky. Meet at 9AM at the Abbott’s Lagoon parking lot (bathrooms but no water). Bring scope, liquids, lunch.  Plan on walking 4 miles round-trip; relatively flat but trail consists partially of sand. Prepare for wind.

This trip is free but advance registration is required. There will not be a waiting list. No drop-ins allowed. 

DIRECTIONS: From Point Reyes Station on Hwy 1 go just south of town, right turn onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd, follow that thru Inverness up over Inverness ridge into the Point Reyes National Seashore then go north on Pierce Point Road. The Abbott’s Lagoon parking lot is on the left in about 3 miles. Carpool if you can. 

Thursday, September 1, 2022
9 AM to noon
Birding with Sande and Bob Chilvers
No registration required for this trip.

Fully vaccinated guests only please. 

Join old friends and meet new ones as we resume our regularly scheduled walks on the first Thursday of the month at Las Gallinas. We especially welcome beginning birders on this leisurely walk around the ponds. Special thanks to Bob and Sande Chilvers for volunteering once again to lead our monthly walks in search of waterfowl, waders, songbirds, raptors, and shorebirds. Among other birds, we will see various species of rails, swallows and teals. With fall migration underway, we are likely to spot some interesting species, so come assist in our search.

We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels. We all help each other to find and identify the birds, and there are usually several experienced birders to assist. You don’t even have to arrive on time because we spend the first 30-60 minutes studying the birds around the first pond, and our group is easy to find.

DIRECTIONS: From Hwy 101, exit at Smith Ranch Rd. Drive east on Smith Ranch Rd. toward McInnis Park. Turn left immediately after crossing the railroad tracks and drive about 0.5 mile through the LGVSD gates and into the parking lot at the end of the road. Meet the group by the bridge just past the parking lot. There is an outhouse in the parking area for public use or you can use the bathrooms at nearby McInnis Park.

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Become a chapter supporting member of the Marin Audubon Society starting at $35 a year, or RENEW your membership today! Your membership helps to fund important efforts such as our ongoing habitat restoration projects, the Monarch Rescue Project, and our Northern Spotted Owl Outreach program. We cannot do these important projects, along with our many other efforts, without the support of our dedicated members!

Saturday, September 3, 2022
8:30 AM to mid afternoon
Birding with Jim White and Bob Battagin
Register for this field trip HERE

Limit of 15 fully vaccinated participants for this trip. Registration opens on August 24 at 8AM. 

Abbott’s Lagoon on the Pacific Coast in the Point Reyes National Seashore is one of Marin’s premier birding locations sporting an eBird sum of 283 species. Fall migration south along the coast brings many birds to this area. Some that we hope to see include Ferruginous Hawk, Baird’s and Pectoral Sandpipers, Red-necked Phalaropes, Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark and Pipits. Hundreds of ducks of a dozen species, geese, herons, Peregrines and Ospreys are also likely visitors. Plus you get some exercise; out and back is about 3 miles (some in sand) and Jim likes to do a full 5-mile loop. So pack a lunch for a picnic on the beach and bring a couple of layers for the fresh ocean air and help us spot a rarity.

To help bolster our participant’s species lists to our yearly goal of 200, we plan to stop along Tomales Bay near the Inverness Tennis club to look for Pine and Alder woodland birds. A surprising number of species have been seen here and there is a nice little beach where we usually find several kinds of gulls.

DIRECTIONS: From Point Reyes Station on Highway 1 go just south of town, right turn onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd, follow that thru Inverness up over Inverness ridge into the Point Reyes National Seashore then go north on Pierce Point Road. The ABBOTT’s Lagoon parking lot is on the left in about 3 miles. Car Pool if you can, allow 1.5 hours from San Rafael and please be vaccinated. 

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Become a chapter supporting member of the Marin Audubon Society starting at $35 a year, or RENEW your membership today! Your membership helps to fund important efforts such as our ongoing habitat restoration projects, the Monarch Rescue Project, and our Northern Spotted Owl Outreach program. We cannot do these important projects, along with our many other efforts, without the support of our dedicated members!

Wednesday, September 7, 2022
7:30/8:30 AM to noon
Birding with With William Legge and David Wiechers
Register for this field trip HERE

Limit of 15 fully vaccinated participants for this trip. Registration opens on August 28 at 8AM 

Join William and David for this fall migration field trip at Rodeo Lagoon. This is their longtime “patch,” which never seems to disappoint birders with daily variations in species seen and unusual sightings. On this particular trip, our group will be targeting Parasitic Jaeger, migrating shorebirds, warblers, and other passerines. We will begin the morning with a Sea Watch at 7:30 AM. Those arriving later may join us at 8:30 AM for a circuit of the lagoon.

DIRECTIONS: Head south on Hwy 101 and take the last Sausalito exit just before the Golden Gate Bridge. At the exit stop sign, turn right and go under the freeway, then follow the road down to the left. Within 300 feet turn left at the sign to the Marin Headlands (This is the only available left turn before you begin the descent into Sausalito). You should see the tunnel with the five-minute light. Proceed through the tunnel on Bunker Rd to the Rodeo Lagoon Parking Lot at the end. Meet by the bridge over the channel to the beach or join MAS birders with scopes along the nearby beach area. 

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Become a chapter supporting member of the Marin Audubon Society starting at $35 a year, or RENEW your membership today! Your membership helps to fund important efforts such as our ongoing habitat restoration projects, the Monarch Rescue Project, and our Northern Spotted Owl Outreach program. We cannot do these important projects, along with our many other efforts, without the support of our dedicated members!