Welcome to Duval Audubon Society

Serving Clay, Duval and Nassau Counties

Our mission:

Connecting people with nature, conserving and restoring natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife.

We are a chapter of the National Audubon Society. We have a membership of about 1,100 and hold monthly meetings in Jacksonville from September to May. We offer field trips, programs, workshops and other activities throughout the year. Under the drop down menu, you will find our calendar of events. We hope you'll join us!

Please Donate to Duval Audubon!

As a volunteer-run non-profit, we are grateful for your donations. Every contribution helps to continue our work in Northeast Florida!

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION (#CH4724) AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR DUVAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, A FLORIDA-BASED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR VISITING WWW.FLORIDACONSUMERHELP.COM. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.

 

  • Crosby Sanctuary Update

    Crosby SanctuaryOur volunteers work hard every fourth Saturday of the month at our Crosby Sanctuary conservation property in Orange Park to maintain trails and plantings, remove invasive species, and keep it trash-free. We have big plans for improvements at Crosby over the next several years to make it more accessible to everyone.

    • The board recently approved the purchase of a powerful brush mower so we can more easily maintain the trails that have been established over the last couple of years.
    • We plan to install a permeable-surface parking area inside the gate that will provide additional parking for visitors and reduce the need for street parking in the neighborhood surrounding the preserve.
    • Our most exciting project is the construction of an elevated boardwalk through the swamp section of the property. The earthen dike road that runs through the swamp is slowly deteriorating with each high-water event (Hurricane Irma had a significant impact on the entire neighborhood) and visitors currently need to wear rubber boots to avoid getting their feet wet after rainy weather. 

    These developments will allow more people to experience this magical place, but we need your help! In early 2019 we will launch a campaign to raise the funds we will need to make these plans a reality, but you can donate at any time using the PayPal link on our website at www.duvalaudubon.org. Thank you!

     

  • Ridgeview High School Environmental Club at Crosby Sanctuary

    IMG 20180922 110929 webStudents from the newly-formed Environmental Club at Ridgeview High School in Orange Park have been volunteering their time to help out at Crosby Sanctuary! More than 25 students came to our Crosby Saturday Bird Walk and Work Day in September (always held the fourth Saturday each month from September thru May unless otherwise noted) and helped with trail maintenance, weeding, and trash pickup. Many of the students returned for the October and November Crosby Saturdays and helped with similar tasks, and several joined us for our bird walk before the work day and enjoyed beautiful weather, a lovely nature walk and some great birds! We spotted a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Worm-eating Warbler, two Northern Waterthrushes, and many Eastern Phoebes.

    We truly appreciate the help from these hardworking and enthusiastic young leaders!

    Our next Crosby Saturday will be held on January 26, 2019. The bird walk starts at 8 am and we'll start our work projects around 9:30 am. Even if you cannot stay for the work day, please join us for birding - you won't regret it!

     

  • Looking Ahead

    Theodore Roosevelt Beginning BirdersWe have some great field trips, programs and volunteer opportunities lined up for the rest of the 2018/2019 season. Here are some highlights:

    • We’re continuing our quarterly cleanups at one of our favorite field trip locations on Sunday, January 13th at the St. Augustine Road Fish Management Area! Contact acting volunteer chair Carol Bailey-White at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
    • On January 21st, join us for our monthly program at the Charles M. Neviaser Education Institute of Community Hospice: a fascinating look at White Oak’s Whooping Crane Conservation Program. Light refreshments at 6:30 pm; program starts at 7 pm.
    • Our Beginning Bird Walks at Fort Caroline and the Theodore Roosevelt Area are continuing on the first Sunday of every month in partnership with the National Park Service and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
    • We’re hosting a special Birding on the Water outing on Saturday, March 16th with Kayak Amelia. Contact chapter president Jody Willis to reserve your spot: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
    • Field trip destinations include Orlando Wetlands, Harris Neck NWR, Alligator Lake, Vaill Point Park, Lake Woodruff NWR, and many more! Check our Calendar of Events for more information on all of our activities.
     

  • 2017-2018 Season Wrap-Up

    Sheffield Regional Park Field Trip 20180325

    Enjoy highlights of our 2017-2018 birding season - we had a busy year!

    Duval Audubon Society has been very busy this year working to accomplish our mission, Connecting People with Nature. Volunteers led 36 field trips this season at locations as far north as southern Georgia (Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge), as far south as Gainesville (Sweetwater Wetlands Park), and many wonderful birding spots in between. It's been a great birding season, including sightings of over 100 Black Skimmers at the January 2018 Fort Clinch State Park field trip, more than 100 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at Sweetwater Wetlands in April, and a sighting of the rare White-rumped Sandpiper during our visit to Spoonbill Pond on Big Talbot Island in May.

    We also participated in Audubon's annual Duval County Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in late December, and our dedicated volunteers recorded 152 different species during the count. Audubon and other organizations use data collected in this long-running wildlife census to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action.

    In conjunction with the "real" CBC, we hosted a CBC4Kids event for the younger set in early January at Camp Chowenwaw Park in Clay County. Thirty kids were treated to bird walks with experienced leaders, and afterwards enjoyed snacks along with a great animal outreach program presented by the W.I.L.D. Program ambassadors from the Jacksonville Zoo. Many thanks to Wild Birds Unlimited of Julington Creek for sponsoring the snacks and drinks for the children (and the adults) to enjoy!
     
    CBW TheoRoos Beginning 20171203This year we started a new program of Beginning Bird Walks at the Fort Caroline National Monument in partnership with the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. The walks are on the first Sunday of the month from September through May and introduce participants to using binoculars and recognizing the birds in our area. This program has been a great success for us. We have  had 10 to 20 participants at each walk (quite a few are repeat attendees), and several have joined our chapter as a result. We are continuing this program for the 2018-2019 season and hope to build on our current success.
     
    In January we began a partnership with St. Johns Riverkeeper and the City of Jacksonville to do monthly Cleanups at parks in the Jacksonville area to help prevent trash from entering our waterways and endangering our beloved birds and other wildlife.Volunteers picked up trash at five local parks, including one of our favorite hidden gems for birders, St. Augustine Road Fish Management Area. UAS2 Drone Photography and Video shot some beautiful footage during our May cleanup at Sheffield Regional Park, which you can find on our YouTube channel.
     
    We continued our Monthly Program Series this year with some fascinating programs, including presentations about giant creatures of Ice Age Florida, birds and seed dispersal, pelagic birds of Florida's northeast coast, and the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow conservation program at White Oak, to name just a few. Next year's programs promise to be equally riveting!
     
    Our schedule this past year has been ambitious, but we are committed to doing everything we can to accomplish our mission of connecting people with nature, and that will be our goal for the coming year as well! We need your help to make it all happen. If you would like to get more involved, please consider Volunteering to help with field trips (even having someone to manage the sign-in sheet would be a big help!), cleanups, or representing our chapter at outreach events and festivals - it's fun! Contact board member This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to sign up as a volunteer.
     

    Programs and field trips will resume in September after the summer break. If you are a member of Audubon, look for your flyer in the mail at the end of the summer, and you can also find our events on Meetup and Facebook. All of Duval Audubon Society's activities are free for anyone to participate. We hope to see you in the fall!

     

  • Join our Board of Directors!

    Love nature? Want to help share that love of nature with others? Consider applying to join Duval Audubon Society’s Board of Directors.

    Founded in 1939, Duval Audubon Society is a chapter of Audubon Florida and the National Audubon Society. We currently have approximately 1,000 members in Clay, Duval and Nassau counties and are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

    Our chapter is dedicated to the enjoyment of birds and other wildlife. We have a primary focus on the preservation of a diversity of species and habitats through education, conservation, environmental leadership and community involvement. We offer a variety of field trips, programs, and volunteer opportunities that are open for anyone to attend.

    We are an all-volunteer chapter governed by a Board of Directors who work together to determine the activities offered by the organization to further our mission, “Connecting people with nature, conserving and restoring natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife.”

    Currently there are three Board vacancies and we encourage anyone interested in serving as a Board member to apply. Board members are expected to attend monthly meetings and participate in chapter activities on a regular basis. Board Officers are appointed for a one-year term, and Directors serve for two years.

    Here is a brief description of the current open Board positions:

    The Volunteer Chair (a Director position) helps with recruiting volunteers from the chapter membership and the community for chapter projects and activities such as leading field trips, representing the chapter at outreach events, helping with monthly cleanups, and other projects as determined by the Board. The Volunteer Chair serves a two-year term but may continue if willing and approved by the Board.

    The Corresponding Secretary (a Director position) works with the President,Treasurer, and other officers to create and send correspondence to supporters and partners as needed. Most correspondence consists of letters and emails to express our chapter's appreciation for donations and other support from organizations, business partners and individuals. The Corresponding Secretary serves a two-year term but may continue if willing and approved by the Board.

    The Clay County Conservation Chair (a Director position) works on conservation issues in the Clay County area. This position serves a two-year term but may continue if willing and approved by the Board.

    If you are committed to helping to connect people with nature, please consider applying to join us in managing our chapter. You don’t have to be a great birder but having a love for nature and a passion for protecting and conserving birds and other wildlife would make you a wonderful addition to our team!

    Send your completed application to Duval Audubon Society President Jody Willis: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or PO Box 16304, Jacksonville, FL 32245.

    Questions? Please feel free to contact Jody or any current Board member (http://duvalaudubon.org/index.php/get-to-know-us/board-of-directors).

    Thank you!