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

Co-leaders: Maggie Paxson & Tim Hardin (Alachua Audubon) with William Hoeck & Jessica Dyszel (Duval Audubon)

Meet at the parking lot at 30°24'44.2"N 81°25'10.7"W to consolidate cars and head to the beach. 4WD will be preferable for beach driving to get to the north side of the park. Please ONLY drive on the beach if your vehicle is appropriately equipped and at your discretion.

Winter birding can be especially productive with an excellent diversity of birds and much lower traffic on the beach. Targets include overwintering gulls, terns, waterfowl, and shorebirds, including the rare-in-Florida Purple Sandpipers and the rare-but-local Saltmarsh Sparrows. Other potential targets include Scoters, Northern Gannets, Piping and Snowy Plovers, Nelson's Sparrow, and the Ash-throated Flycatcher.

Entry to Huguenot Park is $5 per vehicle. Participants should bring water, sunscreen, binoculars, and comfortable footwear for walking in soft, sometimes wet, uneven sands. Waterproof footwear is recommended.

If you choose to stay after Huguenot, we will break for lunch at noon. Bring your own food or eat at a nearby restaurant, such as Billy Jacks (BBQ), and carry on to other locations.

There are multiple options nearby Huguenot for afternoon trips within a 15-minute drive radius, including Big Talbot/Spoonbill Pond, Little Talbot, Fort George Island/Kingsley Plantation, Heritage River Road. Spoonbill Pond may have a chance for Marbled Godwits and Marsh Sparrows during high tide. Fort George Island is a nice drive-through for Painted Buntings. A ferry ride ($6 per person) can also take you across the river, or you can drive around for access to Hanna Park, Jax Arboretum, Theodore Roosevelt Park, Spanish Pond, and Fort Caroline. Jax Beach Pier is a further drive but a good location for sea ducks.