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.

NOTE: The Eaton Canyon field trips have been suspended. Learn more.

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 .

NOTE: The Eaton Canyon field trips have been suspended. Learn more.

May 11: Los Angeles Arboretum Monthly Bird Walk

Sunday, May 11, 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, May 6, 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.

May 11: Apollo Park/Antelope Valley Extension

DATE CHANGE! Sunday, May 11th, 8 AM – 10 AM (with extension to 12 noon)
Trip leader: Alex Coffey

The Antelope Valley's Apollo Park is as confusing as it is revelatory: an out-of-place manicured lawn surrounding a curvaceous and meandering fish-stocked pond - in the middle of LA's desert. And yet, its greenery and water in the modern era of drought and development serve as an oasis for farflung migrants and lazy resident waterfowl alike. This hotspot boasts over 250 species seen within its wire fencing. Early May is the perfect time to investigate what birds may be passing through. Join Field Trip Chair Alex Coffey on an easy-going park walk - if you're up for the 90 minute drive to get there. After Apollo Park, Alex will caravan with any tripgoers willing to brave the midday May desert heat to make additional roadside stops in the Antelope Valley.

PHOTO: Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus). Photo by Doug Greenberg/Flickr.com. License: CC BY-NC 2.0

Sign up here

May 18: Santa Cruz Island

Sunday, May 18th, 8:15 AM – 6:30 PM
Trip leaders: Alex Coffey and Grigory Heaton

For the first time we’re offering an exciting ALL DAY trip to Santa Cruz Island with Island Packers out of Ventura! Fifteen lucky PAS members will be selected via lottery from the sign-up list. This is a hybrid of island endemic exploration, buttressed by seawatching and pelagic excitement on the boat there and back. On the island, we plan for some light hiking to target endemics like Island Scrub-Jay, Island Fox, and much of the exclusive Channel Islands plant life. And you never know what pelagic birds of interest may be gracing the county waters of Ventura and Santa Barbara. Ticket price is $85/person (inclusive of roundtrip boat, leaders, and tips). PAS membership required.

PHOTO: Island Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma insularis). Photo by Anita Gold/flickr.com. License: CC BY-NC 2.0


SORRY, THIS TRIP IS FULL!

May 21: Midweek Nice and Easy Birding Group: San Gabriel River Park

Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Trip leader: Ed Stonick

Exploring a new locale in conjunction with LA County Parks & Rec, the San Gabriel River Park area should be a great are for migrants and some water birds.
Participant number: No Limit

PHOTO: Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus). Photo by Chris Spurgeon

Sign up here.

May 24: Huntington Library

Saturday, May 24, 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!

May 31 - June 1: Kern County Weekend Field Trip

Saturday, May 31 & Sunday, June 1, 2025
Trip leaders: Dan Cooper and Sam Bressler

Please join leaders Dan Cooper and Sam Bressler for a 2-day exploration of northeast Kern County. We will start in the west Mojave Desert at Butterbredt Spring, and then make our way north through Kelso Valley to the South Fork Kern River, where we'll hear a presentation about local ornithological research by staff of the Southern Sierra Research Station. As conditions allow, we may bird portions of the South Fork Kern. Targets at Butterbredt include Willow Flycatcher and various late-moving migrants. We'll make stops for Tricolored Blackbird in Kelso Valley, and may also see Golden Eagle (we'll pass several known breeding territories) and Scott's Oriole. Summer Tanager and Brown-crested Flycatcher are possible along the Kern River, as are various riparian/grassland species such as Blue Grosbeak.

We'll then continue to Kernville where we'll stay overnight at a lodge about 15 minutes north of town, returning for dinner. American Dipper is possible here. The next morning, we'll get an early start and bird the Greenhorn Mountains west of Lake Isabella, considered the southernmost extension of the Sierra Nevada. Targets here include Blue Grouse and Pileated Woodpecker (both normally heard-only), plus Pacific Wren, Hammond's Flycatcher, Purple and Cassin's Finches, and various Sierran breeding species. We'll depart for home after a picnic lunch.

A high-clearance vehicle is mandatory, owing to the rough/sandy road conditions leading into Butterbredt and through Kelso Valley. Participants are also asked to pack food for two picnic lunches.

TRIP LIMIT: 15, chosen by lottery.

COST: $275/person for a single room
$200/person for a shared room (two person max)

PHOTO: American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus). Photo by Kevin Krebs/FLICKR. LICENSE: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Sign up here

September 28: Dana Point Pelagic

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

The tickets will initially be available to current PAS members only starting, Saturday, May 24th, at 9am and will be open to the public from Monday, June 2nd at 9am (subject to availability).
Not a member yet? You can join us now!