Saturday April 25, 2020—7-8 a.m.
Lansing Ave. Farm Pond Shorebird & Waterfowl Watch ¼ Mile South of Gateway Trail/Lansing Ave. Crossing When the pond holds water (as it did most of last year and likely will this spring), it's a reliable place to see shorebirds, gulls, cranes and waterfowl. Bring binoculars (and a scope if you have one) to view whatever birds are present at the pond. If the pond is dry, we’ll walk a portion of the nearby Gateway Trail. Please park along Lansing Ave. north of the pond.
Drizzle or light rain is OK, but the walks and sit will be cancelled if it’s very windy or significant precipitation is likely.
Led by George Varnia.
Registration is optional . If you register then we can send email updates in case of cancellation.
Join us for the Annual Gateway Browns Creek Trail Association meeting and Spring Expo at the Oakdale Discovery Center at 4444 Hadley Ave N in Oakdale on Thursday, April 30th. ON HOLD due to Covid 19 (location?? and meeting??) (3-19-2020)
We will have snacks, water, coffee, and informational "topic" booths so you can gather information, ask questions, and get updates on all the various activities (volunteering, trail extension, bird watching hikes. projects, etc.) as part of the GBCTA. This will be followed by a presentation about GBCTA, summer events, the trail extension, and a chance to ask your questions.
We hope you can join us!
Saturday May 2, 2020—7-8 a.m. Brown’s Creek Trail Bird Walk Browns Creek Nature Reserve We will leave the Nature Reserve parking area (Neal Avenue crossing) at 7 a.m. and return to the starting point at 8 a.m. We will identify as many species as we can by sight and sound during the hour. Bring binoculars if you have them.
Drizzle or light rain is Ok, but the walks and sit will be cancelled if it's very windy or significant precipitation is likely.
A group lead by Dennis Lindeke (current GBCTA President) maintains a network of 16 bluebird houses by bike along the Gateway Trail . They have had particular success over the years and have hatched 280 birds over the last 6 years. In most seasons 2 hatchings are common for each house . All are welcome to join the bluebird house group .
The Holy Rollers group meets on Saturdays at 9:00 am, and Thursdays at 6:30 pm, at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, in the Great Hall parking lot. The first ride is on Saturday, May 2nd. We typically check the bluebird houses every Saturday morning. A ride is about 15 miles total, to Pine Point Park and back.
For further information contact Dennis at 651-426-9415.
We will meet at the Buell’s (9533 Keswick Ave N, Grant MN 55082) to hear the “dawn chorus” and sharpen our bird sound identification skills. The site, which encompasses wetlands, woodlands, fields, yard and gardens, hosts diverse species that will please and challenge our ears. The meeting time coincides with the morning bird sound peak—½ hour before until ½ hour after sunrise. Please drive down the long driveway. There is plenty of parking near the house and on a circle drive in front of the barn Backup: May 17—5:10-6:10 a.m. if May 3 listening conditions are unfavorable. Drizzle or light rain is OK, but the walks and sit will be cancelled if it’s very windy or significant precipitation is likely. Registration is optional . If you register then we can send email updates in case of cancellation.
Impetus for this event surfaced at the 2019 Birding by Ear discussions that George Vania and Bob Bystrom, but anyone is welcome to attend. ____________ An annual International Dawn Chorus Day is held on the first Sunday in May where the public is encouraged to rise early to listen to bird song at times and places scheduled for that purpose. The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country sponsored the first such event in 1984 at Moseley Bog in Birmingham, England. Dawn Chorus Day is now a minor holiday in Britain and some European countries, but it isn’t celebrated much in the USA. In addition to their recreational value, such group and individual listening activities are of scientific and ecological interest. Go here to learn about soundscape ecology: https://news.wisc.edu/aldo-leopolds-field-notes-score-a-lost-soundscape/ https://www.ecology.com/2012/08/24/soundscape-ecology/
Saturday May 9, 2020—7-8 a.m. Gateway Trail Bird Walk Gateway Trail/Hwy 96 Crossing We will leave the parking lot at 7a.m. and return to the starting point at 8 a.m. We will identify as many species as we can by sight and sound during the hour. Bring binoculars if you have them. This walk usually offers the best opportunity to see migrant warblers.
The highly anticipated re-opening of the historic Stillwater Lift Bridge and the completion of the Loop Trail will kick off with a two-day Grand Opening celebration on May 15 and 16, 2020, on the St. Croix Riverfront, Lowell Park. Spaghetti dinners, live music , beer garden, pancake breakfast, ribbon cutting, world record human chain attempt and more are planned..POSTPONED due to Covid 19 concerns ... AUG/SEPT 2020 ??
Saturday May 16, 2020—7-8 a.m. Gateway Trail Little Sit Bird Watch at Gateway Trail at Myeron Rd. N. (61) Adjacent wetlands make this one of the best places to view migrant and resident birds along the trail. We will sit or stand here from 7 to 8 a.m. (no walking) and identify as many species as we can by sight and sound during the hour. Bring binoculars if you have them and a chair (optional). Watchers with limited mobility are welcome! Parking is permitted at the nearby Washington County Public Works complex.
The Little Sit is an abbreviated version of the 24-hour Big Sit bird watching events held at many places around the country.
Led by Bob Bystrom
Saturday May 23, 2020—7-8 a.m. Brown’s Creek Trail Bird Walk, Browns Creek Nature Reserve PLUS STILLWATER MIGRATORY BIRD DAY FESTIVAL, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM at Washington Square Park, Corner of Greely and Churchill St., Stillwater, MN 55082,
A DOUBLE FEATURE! We will leave the Brown's Creek Nature Reserve parking area (Neal Avenue crossing) at 7 a.m. and return to the starting point at 8 a.m. We will identify as many species as we can by sight and sound during the hour. Bring binoculars if you have them. Drizzle or light rain is OK, but the walks and sit will be cancelled if it’s very windy or significant precipitation is likely. Registration is optional . If you register then we can send email updates in case of cancellation.
Then at 10:00 am (after coffee shop visit?) move on to the Stillwater Migratory Brid Day Festival at Washington Square park in Stillwater . More details at: https://www.sustainablestillwatermn.org/event-info/migratory-bird-day-festival-1
© 2020 Gateway Brown's Creek Trail Association
