This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

Leader: Karen Markey

Please join us for a tour in search of fall migrants at Hudson Mills Metropark on Saturday, Sept. 11. We will meet at 8 a.m. sharp at the flagpole in the front of the Activity Center, and the outing will go until approximately 10:30, although you can leave at any time. If the entry booth is unmanned, you can purchase a $5 daily parking permit at the office inside the Activity Center.

Karen writes, "I am always surprised about fall migrants at Hudson Mills. We could have Scarlet Tanagers, Tennessee, Magnolia, and Blue-winged warblers, Redstarts, Blackpolls, and Cuckoos. A few years ago a Hooded Warbler made a brief appearance at the woodpile. The resident woodpeckers are now [late August] in a tizzy."

Karen also cautions that the dew on the lawn can be heavy early in the morning at this time of year, so please wear appropriate footwear. It is also a good idea to bring insect repellant as well. Please be prepared for lots of hiking, stalking, standing, and circling back over the same trails. No pets are allowed on the nature trails.

For directions to Hudson Mills Metropark, click here. Once you enter the park, take the second right into a large parking lot that ends at the Activity Center. Click here for more general park information.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

Join Harold Eyster for a program on the 24 hour race to find as many species as possible on the upper Texas coast!  Harold and his team of four other birders, including Washtenaw Audubon's Andy Johnson, battled to raise money for the American Birding Association's education programs, at the same time vying against other young birding teams for the longest checklist in the Great Texas Birding Classic.  Harold Eyster is a Washtenaw Audubon member, and is the winner of the American Birding Association's Young Birder of the Year award for 2009.

Leader: Cathy Carroll

LeFurge Woods Nature Preserve is a 325 acre parcel of land in Superior Township, east of Prospect Road between Vreeland and Geddes roads. (The official address is 2252 N. Prospect Rd., Superior Twp., MI 48198.) The preserve, which belongs to the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy, includes woodlands, wetlands, and meadows, as well as farmland under conservation easements.

Meet in the parking lot, which is closer to Vreeland than Geddes, at 8:00 a.m. If the lot is full, park along Vreeland, and you can catch a trail back to the parking lot. (Please do not park along Prospect, which is forbidden by township ordinance for safety reasons.) We will go forth to look for any of the fall migrants we can find, which are likely to include at least vireos, warblers, and sparrows.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

Leader: Don Chalfant 

This is a low-key international competition that Don has participated in for a more than a dozen years running. The task is to try to see or hear as many bird species as possible while remaining in a circle of 17 feet in diameter (around 220 square feet). For others who take part in this event, it will be an opportunity to observe the birds and to learn from Don about identifying by both eye and ear a wide variety of species. 

One of the advantages of attending The Big Sit is that the timing can suit your schedule. You can arrive before dawn to join Don for his owling, or sleep in and come later. It is also a great outing for those with restricted mobility. For those staying for any significant amount of time, we recommend that you bring food and a folding chair, in addition to your binoculars. 

The park is in Webster Township off of Jennings Road, north of North Territorial Road and west of US 23. For more information about The Big Sit, click here.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

Join Bryn Martin for a journey to Ecuador, which has more than 1800 species of birds, the fourth largest number of any country in the world.  Bryn has made three trips to Ecuador, and he’ll talk about the diversity of habitats from the high Andes to the Amazonian rain forest, and the birds that can be seen in each habitat, as well as some of the lodges that cater to birders.  Bryn Martin teaches high school in Livonia and is an avid international birder.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

This will be the fifth year of these popular, leaderless walks to monitor and observe fall migration at The Arb. Every Thursday morning in September and October, participants will gather at 8:00 at the end of the Riverview Drive cul-de-sac (off Geddes Road) near the eastern edge of the arboretum. The assembled birders will choose a route or routes and take on the challenge of finding migrants, many of which will be in their first-year plumage. Along the way, participants can enjoy marvelous fall scenery and crisp weather. The walks go until roughly 11:00, but everyone can join or leave the group as his or her schedule requires.

The Arb is terrific for spring and fall migration, and pleasant surprises occur frequently in the form of rare and unusual sightings. People interested in botany and insects will also enjoy these walks. All are welcome; no membership fee is required.

Leader: Rob French

This annual trip is a favorite for many WAS members. Because access to the landfill is highly restricted, we rent a van for the trip and have to limit the number of participants. WAS members are given priority, but we will keep a list of non-members who tell us they would like to go, and if there is still space available a few days before the trip, we then open it up to as many of them as we can accommodate.

Meet at 8:45 a.m.--slightly earlier this year--in the parking lot of Huron High School across Fuller Road from Furstenburg Park. (Here is a
View Larger Map">map of the high school, although note that the meeting point will be across Fuller from the entrance to Furstenberg.) This trip will take about 4 hours. Please note that the weather for this outing in recent years has tended to be very cold, and that there is usually wind on the heights of the landfill, where participants will be spending most of the time. Dress warmly! Please also note that if the activity at the landfill is not up to par, the group may move on to one or two other sites.

If you want to attend this trip, send your name and a contact phone number to fieldtrips@washtenawaudubon.org.

Christmas Bird Count (Eight zones in and around Ann Arbor)--all day event 

Organizer: Jacco Gelderloos

Volunteers are always needed to help with this annual bird count. Each of the eight zones has a designated leader, who will be assisted by several other birders. Go to the lefthand column of this page and click on Christmas Bird Count, where you will find links to maps showing the zones, as well as lists of the zone leaders and their contact information. (PLEASE NOTE: As of 8/25, this information has not yet been updated for 2010. Most but not all zone leaders are likely to serve again this year.) For general information or to find out which areas may be most in need of your help, send a message to Jacco at jjgelderloos@yahoo.com, or call him at 734-973-9422.

The event will begin before dawn for those who are up for owling, but you can also start around breakfast time. Zones vary in the amount of time needed to survey them adequately, but most groups will finish sometime in the mid-to-late afternoon. It generally is not necessary to participate the whole time, but please indicate any time constraints when you sign up.

Organizer: Jacco Gelderloos 

Volunteers are always needed to help with this annual bird count. Each of the eight zones has a designated leader, who will be assisted by several other birders. Go to the lefthand column of this page and click on Christmas Bird Count, where you will find links to maps showing the zones, as well as lists of the zone leaders and their contact information. (PLEASE NOTE: As of 8/25, this information has not yet been updated for 2010. Most but not all zone leaders are likely to serve again this year.) For general information or to find out which areas may be most in need of your help, send a message to Jacco at jjgelderloos@yahoo.com, or call him at 734-973-9422. 

The event will begin before dawn for those who are up for owling, but you can also start around breakfast time. Zones vary in the amount of time needed to survey them adequately, but most groups will finish sometime in the mid-to-late afternoon. It generally is not necessary to participate the whole time, but please indicate any time constraints when you sign up.