Welcome! The Washtenaw Audubon Society is an active chapter of Michigan Audubon formed in the early 1950's. Monthly programs feature guest speakers on a wide variety of natural history and birding topics. We conduct field trips to places in Ann Arbor, in Washtenaw County, and as far away as Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Other special events throughout the year bring members and friends together, such as the annual Christmas Bird Count and North American Migration Count. Most of our events are free and open to the public, but membership dues and volunteers support our ability to provide these activities. Please explore our website and consider joining some of our activities. We look forward to meeting you!
OUR NEXT FREE PROGRAM
Feb 15, Wednesday
7:30 PM
A Year at Whitefish Point
Spend a year at Whitefish Point with Michael Kielb, who has devoted much time to this far north bit of Michigan, on the shores of Lake Superior, watching migration as the seasons change. Michael teaches biology at Eastern Michigan University, and is a board member of Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.
This is a perennially popular trip, jointly sponsored by the Jackson and Washtenaw Audubon societies. Snowy and Great Gray owls, Sharp-tailed and Ruffed grouse, Boreal Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, grosbeaks, and crossbills are some birds that make driving to the Upper Peninsula worth the effort. The weather can be rough, but no matter what the weather is like, the birding is reliably excellent.
The event begins on Friday evening and ends during the day on Sunday. The number of participants is limited, and reserving a space is mandatory. There is a $20 charge for the trip, and individual participants are also responsible for their own food and lodging costs. For more information or to register, please call Lathe (517-522-3949) or Gary (517-522-5990). UPDATE: Registration for the trip is full, but you can get on the standby list by contacting Gary or Lathe.
Mar 11, Sunday
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Washtenaw Waterfowl
Leader: Dea Armstrong
This tour of local waterfowl hotspots will be a wonderful introduction to birding and great first field trip for a new birder! Meet at the far end of the Park-n-Ride lot at Plymouth Road and US 23 at 9:00 AM. PLEASE NOTE: THIS WILL BE THE FIRST SUNDAY OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, SO DO NOT FORGET TO SET YOUR CLOCKS THE NIGHT BEFORE!!
Link to Plymouth Road and US 23 Park-n-Ride map, click HERE.
Please dress for the weather, assuming that it will feel much colder by the rivers and lakes that we will be visiting. Bring a drink and snack if you think you might need one. PLEASE ALSO NOTE: Sometimes local lakes are still frozen on March 11. If that is the case this year, we’ll put out a notice on birders@umich.edu and on the Washtenaw Audubon field trip webpage, and we’ll move the trip to the following Sunday. Finally, bring binoculars and a spotting scope if you have them, but these are not required.
Website Issues We are aware of some issues with our web pages not displaying properly, especially using Internet Explorer on Windows computers. We are working to resolve the situation. We recommend using the latest version of Firefox if you are using a Windows computer, at least until we fully test and fix issues with Internet Explorer. Contact with comments or questions.
Welcome to our refreshed website! by Rob French Like most remodels, this one took longer than expected and ran into more difficulties than expected, but we are very pleased to be able to bring you an updated Washtenaw Audubon website. There will no doubt be some hiccups as we implement the new design, so please bear with us and let us know if something looks funny or doesn’t seem to be working properly.
A significant benefit of this new site is that it offers the ability for multiple contributors to easily add and edit content, an ability that we have had in the past, but provided in a less-than-ideal fashion.
The content you have been used to finding is still here, but hopefully presented with a fresher, more appealing, and consistent look and feel. Of course the website is designed for you, the user, so please let us know what you like, what you don’t like, and your suggestions for additional improvements. Email us at .
Washtenaw Bird of 2011!
Photo of the Dolph Park Kirtland's by John Lowry.
Bird Magnet supreme and noted raconteur Don "The Man" Chalfant amazed the Washtenaw birding world by finding this Kirtland's Warbler in Dolph Park on May 10, 2011. Kirtland's Warbler is rarely seen in migration, and this bird was the first one found in the county since 1984, and only the 15th record since 1875. This is but one reason they call Don "The Man."
