Led By: Steve Minard

This trip is an evening walk to the Hodenpyl Woods area at the west end of Reeds Lake.  Varied woodland, marsh, and lake habitat provides a variety of birds right in town.  On this trip, we will concentrate on waterbirds, and early warblers.  The boardwalk provides good views of the lake and marsh areas so we will visit it.  Birders of all skills are welcome.

Essentials: Meet at the East Grand Rapids Utility Building parking lot on Reeds Lake Blvd north of Gaslight Village at 6:00 PM.  Waterproof footwear and insect repellent may be useful.  Poison Ivy is thick in places.

Safety Hazards: Drive safely to meet the group. Watch for traffic when crossing the road and bicycles on the pathway.

NOTE: While we love dogs, we ask you to please NOT bring your pup(s) on club field trips, as it can stress/frighten away the birds. Thank you!

Led By: Steve Minard

Join us to look for marsh birds at Lane’s Landing in the Muskegon State Game Area.  Rails should be in the marsh by this date and Swamp Sparrows should be on territory.  After checking out the marsh, we’ll see how the winds blow and either head over to the Muskegon Wastewater to check out the waterfowl or head to Grand Haven to check out Harbor Island and hawk watch locations to look for migrating hawks.  At the Wastewater, Northern Shoveled and Ruddy Duck are likely; in Grand Haven, we could see Caspian Tern on Lake Michigan or rails in the Harbor Island marshes.  Birders of all skills are welcome.

Essentials: Meet at the Boy Scout Headquarters west off Walker Road just north of I-96 at 7:00 AM.  We plan to bird until noon, you may want to bring a snack to hold you over until lunch.

Safety Hazards: Driving in a caravan can be hazardous.  Get directions from the leader for travel to the next stop.  Please exercise caution on the roads at all times, and watch the car ahead of you when driving in a caravan.  Please have a passenger handle all radio or phone communications while in a car.

Join Chris Baer for a morning of land stewardship at Maher Audubon Sanctuary! Please come dressed for the weather and bring work gloves and tools for trail maintenance (garden rake, loppers, clippers, etc.). The spring flowers should be blooming and our feathered friends will be arriving with the good weather. Bring your binoculars and a camera.

In the case of rain, this workday will be rescheduled to take place the following Saturday, April 18.

Join us for our March Monthly Membership Meeting!

Monthly membership meetings are FREE and open to the public.

We continue our theme of conservation spaces and wildlife by examining another Michigan wildlife recovery success story. The Great Lakes Piping Plover, a federally endangered shorebird, has made a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction thanks to decades of dedicated conservation efforts. Join us on March 30th as Sarah Saunders tells us about the amazing comeback of this favorite Michigan species. Once reduced to just 12 breeding pairs in the 1980s, this population now exceeds 80 pairs, with record-breaking breeding seasons in recent years. This success is a testament to the power of science-driven conservation and the collaboration of researchers, land managers, and community volunteers on the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team. In this talk, Sarah will highlight the key strategies that have fueled this recovery, including nest monitoring and protection, predator management, annual banding, captive-rearing, and education and outreach. Sarah will also showcase how long-term banding data have further strengthened these strategies, contributing to population growth. Despite these gains, challenges remain, including increasing threats from climate change and human disturbance. Yet the resilience of the population and the dedication of the Conservation Team offer hope for continued success. The recovery of the Great Lakes Piping Plover serves as an inspiring example of how rigorous science, partnerships, and community engagement can drive meaningful conservation outcomes.

Led By: Steve Minard and Ruth Fridsma

One way we can help our local nesting birds is by providing places for them to nest.  Jim Ponshair aided the birds for many years with a number of bluebird box trails at the Muskegon Wastewater.  This does add up to a large number of boxes to clean every year and we need a good size group to do the job.  The annual bluebird box cleaning is a great way to learn your way around the Muskegon Wastewater.  It’s also a good way to learn about bluebird boxes, how to clean them, and see how the type of box and habitat affects who uses the box.  Since we’re at the Wastewater, we usually see some good birds while we work.  You may even get to meet mice or Flying Squirrels up close and personal.  And you get to help the bluebirds, swallows, chickadees, wrens and other birds that use the boxes.  This year you can meet the group, or head directly to clean your group of boxes.  Send Steve an email at sdminard@gmail.com to get a group of boxes to clean.  If you want, we will meet at the Maple Island Road entrance to the Muskegon Wastewater System at 9:00 am.  Lunch is one your own this year.  Following lunch, some participants may bird the nearby Muskegon State Game Area to look for early migrants.  This can be an all day trip, or you can head out before or after lunch.  For all the carpenters and builders out there, we always need more bluebird boxes.  Boxes suffer damage over the years and new boxes are always needed.  Send Steve an email at sdminard@gmail.com if you have new boxes to donate.

Essentials: Meet at the Maple Island Road entrance to the Muskegon Wastewater System at 9:00 am.  This is a bit north of White Road.  If you have an area, you can head there directly.  Come dressed for the weather.  Bring some tools (screwdrivers, pliers, scrapper, hammer and nails) and gloves for cleaning out the bluebird houses.

Safety Hazards: Driving in a caravan can be hazardous.  Get directions from the leader for travel to the next stop.  Please exercise caution on the roads at all times, and watch the car ahead of you when driving in a caravan.  Please have a passenger handle all radio or phone communications while in a car.

Join us for for an inspiring presentation by Marty MacCleery on how to transform your yard into a thriving habitat for birds using native plants. Marty will begin by sharing simple, practical steps for creating a native plant garden, centered on the four essentials birds need to survive—food, water, shelter, and places to raise their young. She’ll also explain why native plants are critical to the entire food web, benefiting not only birds and insects, but people as well.

The program will then dive deeper into specific Michigan native trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants that best support bird life, including eight native plants recommended by Michigan Audubon. Attendees can browse Marty’s garden signage from her October 2025 walkabout and explore the Wild Ones 2025 Michigan Native Plant Vendors list for local planting resources. You’ll also receive a beautiful, full-color brochure from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology outlining simple actions anyone can take to help birds. Marty brings a lifelong passion for education and conservation to her work—after rediscovering gardening later in life, she became a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist through MSU Extension, served five years as Education Chair for Wild Ones River City Chapter, and has spent over a decade inspiring young learners through 4-H natural science programs.

Our monthly membership meetings are FREE and open to the public.

Led By: Steve Minard

Explore the Allegan State Game Area, including the Swan Creek Highbanks and the Todd Farm Unit, for winter birds with Steve Minard! Bald Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk are likely to be near the flocks of Canada Goose at the Todd Farm Unit. Wild Turkey, Northern Shrike, and Ross’ Goose have been found here in past winters. With luck, winter finches will make an appearance. Birders of all skills are welcome.

Essentials: Meet at the McDonald’s in Hudsonville, and car pool from there. A spotting scope will come in handy on this trip. A bit of food and a warm beverage will take care of any hunger pains. We plan to bird until noon, lunch afterwards is an option.

Safety Hazards: Cold weather and slippery winter driving are the main hazards. As with winter trips in particular, bad weather may cancel the trip. Driving in a caravan can be hazardous. Get directions from the leader for travel to the next stop. Please exercise caution on the roads at all times, and watch the car ahead of you when driving in a caravan. Please have a passenger handle all radio or phone communications while in a car.

You’re invited to the kickoff meeting of the Bird City Grand Rapids Committee!

At this first meeting, we’ll review our scope and capacity, discuss what Bird City certification entails, and begin strategically mapping out a timeline and concrete steps to achieve certification for Grand Rapids. This will be a working session focused on collaboration, realistic goal-setting, and aligning our efforts with what we can accomplish together.

All are welcome.

Please note that due to extreme cold and treacherous weather, the January Membership Meeting scheduled tonight is CANCELLED. Chad Machinski, Conservation Manager for Michigan Audubon, will give his presentation to Grand Rapids in the Spring. Thank you for understanding.

Chad Machinski, Conservation Manager for Michigan Audubon, will talk with us about his efforts at properties managed by his organization.

Across many of Michigan Audubon’s Sanctuaries, active habitat restoration and creation is an ongoing project. Chad will discuss where this work is going on, why the work is going on, and how the work is happening. Chad’s presentation will focus on three Michigan Audubon Sanctuaries as examples of specific work: The Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary, the Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary, and the Martha Mott Bird Sanctuary. Attendees will also learn about ways they can get involved with Michigan Audubon work.

While Chad’s first love is botany, he doesn’t deny the intertwining nature of birds, plants, insects, and all other organisms we share the world with. As Michigan Audubon’s Conservation Manager, Chad is responsible for the management and care for all 20 of Michigan Audubon’s Sanctuaries around the state and bird specific programs such as Chimney Swift and Purple Martin conservation. In his spare time, Chad tends to think about many of the same things he does at work: plants, birds, and insects.

This program is open to the public, who may attend as guests of the Grand Rapids Audubon Club. Doors of the Donnelly Center open at 7:00pm; come early to meet fellow members, browse the large selection of library items, and connect with others about birding. The program begins at 7:30 pm.

Led By: Steve Minard

PLEASE ADVISE: This field trip has been canceled due to the inclement weather expected for Saturday. With frigid temperatures and unsafe driving conditions, we suggest you spend the day snuggled indoors watching the birds that visit your backyard instead.

This is planned a winter trip to search for winter birds such as Snowy Owl, Northern Shrike, and Snow Bunting.  These can be quite nomadic and hard to find, so we’ll try to cover lots of territory to look for them.  We’ll search fields in northern Ottawa County and Muskegon County northwest of Grand Rapids.  We’ll probably check some of the Crockery Creek bottom lands looking for Red-shouldered Hawk.  If conditions permit, we'll try to include the Muskegon Wastewater in our search.  Expect to spend most of the time in the car searching the fields for anything different.  Birders of all skills are welcome.

Essentials: Meet at the Boy Scout Headquarters west off Walker Road just north of I-96 at 8:00 AM.  We plan to bird until noon, you may want to bring a snack to hold you over until lunch.

Safety Hazards: Cold weather and slippery winter driving are the main hazards.  As with winter trips in particular, bad weather may cancel the trip.  Driving in a caravan can be hazardous.  Get directions from the leader for travel to the next stop.  Please exercise caution on the roads at all times, and watch the car ahead of you when driving in a caravan.  Please have a passenger handle all radio or phone communications while in a car.

Led By: Steve Minard

Get your bird list for 2026 started in Kent County.  We'll try to track down some of the birds seen on the Christmas Count, and just look for whatever sounds good.  We will start at 6:00 am to look for owls in the Cannonsburg State Game Area and vicinity.  At dawn, we will shift to looking for winter passerines, waterfowl and hawks.  Birders of all skills are welcome to join us and start their bird list for 2026.  

Essentials: Meet at the Ada McDonald’s on M21 at the Citgo Gas Station by 6:00 AM.  This is across M21 from Amway and near the Post Office.  We plan to be back at McDonald's at 8:00 am for a break and in case anyone wants to join us.  We plan to finish around 11:30 AM.  Dress for cold weather and bring a snack or warm beverage to keep you fueled up.

Safety Hazards: Cold weather and slippery winter driving are the main hazards.  As with winter trips in particular, bad weather may cancel the trip.  Driving in a caravan can be hazardous.  Get directions from the leader for travel to the next stop.  Please exercise caution on the roads at all times, and watch the car ahead of you when driving in a caravan.  Please have a passenger handle all radio or phone communications while in a car.

Help the Grand Rapids Audubon Club Survey Early-Winter Birds in West Michigan!

This is our club’s 65th year of the Annual Christmas Bird Count, and we look forward to having you help us survey our local birds.

To learn more about the Christmas Bird Count, where our survey region is, and what to expect from your participation in community science, visit the Christmas Bird Count page on our website.

To register to participate in our count, email our Count Compiler, Tom Leggett today!