*LOCATION CHANGE* MAS Orange Creek Restoration Area - PAID MEMBERS Event

*PLEASE NOTE THE LOCATION OF THIS EVENT HAS CHANGED*

Join Marion and Alachua Audubon’s Scott Robinson on a guided walk at Orange Creek Restoration Area! Scott is an incredible birder and ornithologist, and we are extremely excited and grateful to have him lead our group on this trip!

We've changed the location to Orange Creek Restoration Area due to a better chance of seeing migratory songbirds that have been mostly absent from Orange Lake Overlook. Recent rare sightings here include Cerulean, Kentucky, and Canada Warblers, along with a Black-billed Cuckoo! While we can't guarantee sightings on any of our walks, this location seems to have great potential during migration.

We’ll meet in a wooded area just south of the Orange Creek Restoration Area parking lot (29.442560, -82.067180) at 8:00 AM and begin our walk from there. Once you pull into Orange Creek, just drive down the dirt road until you reach a little woodlot right before the second cattle crossing grate. You should see some of our vehicles parked there when you arrive.

Depending on timing and what we are seeing, we may move to another location a few miles east on E Hwy 318, called Crones' Cradle Conserve. This has also had some very promising migrant activity, and we'll keep this in mind during our morning at Orange Creek.

Bring binoculars and a camera if you have them. We may have extra binoculars to lend for the walk. We will be walking mostly on even surfaces, but please wear comfortable, closed-toe shoes. Bring bug spray and a hat, as we'll be in a marshy area that mosquitoes love, but that's also why the birds love it too.

This is a PAID MEMBERS-ONLY event with limited capacity, so please ensure you’re up to date on your dues. If you sign up for this event and discover you will be unable to attend, please remove yourself from the registration so others on the waiting list can take your place.

You can join or renew your membership with the Marion Audubon Society on our website to access this or other future events.
https://marionaudubon.org/

This is an intermediate-to-advanced birding level event. During this trip, we will focus on more unique species that can be more difficult to spot or identify than on some of our other walks. While our primary focus may be on these more distinctive birds, our leaders will still point out and identify as many species as we can throughout the trip. As a mid-level event, expect to walk 1 to 2 miles at most on predominantly even trails but with the potential of sand, dirt, or grass sections. As always, please refer to the details in this MeetUp description above for the exact date, time, and location for this event.

Photo credit: Maxfield Weakley - Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca) - https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/664482103