Field Trip: Huguenot Memorial Park ($5 entrance fee per vehicle)

PLEASE NOTE: Attendance will be limited to no more than 25 people, and pre-registration is required. If you register and find you cannot attend, PLEASE cancel your registration to allow others to participate.

Huguenot Park is one of the best places to see shorebirds, and we hope to see a lot of them. This oceanfront city park is visited most often by beachgoers, but is an incredibly attractive birding spot in its own right. Part of the park has been long designated as a critical wildlife area for nesting terns and shorebirds, and is roped off to protect these nesters in season. The beach is an important loafing site for terns, gulls, and skimmers by the hundreds, and a variety of shorebirds feed on exposed mudflats at low tide. In October, Huguenot Memorial Park is a good spot to find Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Long-billed Curlews may be found in winter. Gannets, loons, and sea ducks can be seen in the distance from late fall through early spring. This site is known for rare bird sightings such as Snowy Owl, Greater Sand-Plover (2nd North American record), Bar-tailed Godwit, Snow Bunting, Lark Sparrow, Bridled Tern, Short-eared Owl and Lapland Longspur. Search the sheltered shallows on the north side of the peninsula for waders, shorebirds and ducks.

We will meet in the parking lot before the pay station at 8:00 am. Drive straight in instead of turning right into the pay lane. We will spend a few minutes there to fill out the sign in sheets, check the marsh for Northern Harrier and then go into the park. Cost is $5 per vehicle.

Bring binoculars, drinks, snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, sturdy walking shoes, and a hat if desired.

COVID-19 NOTE: Masks are not mandatory per the new CDC guidelines, but for the safety of all participants and volunteers, masks and social distancing are strongly recommended. Please, no sharing of binoculars or scopes.

Please do not attend if you have tested positive for COVID-19 or experienced any of the following symptoms within the last 14 days:

• A new fever
• A new cough that is not because of another illness
• A new shortness of breath that is not because of another illness
• A new sore throat that is not because of another illness
• Sore muscles not because of existing illness, or not from exercise or injury
• Diagnosis of an infection
• Exposure to someone known to be infected
• Someone you are closely associated with experiencing any of the above symptoms.
• You are currently experiencing unmanaged seasonal allergy symptoms (e.g., persistent cough, sneezing).

Questions? Email duvalaudubon@gmail.com or call Martha Fethe at 904-699-8453.