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.

 

  • 5th Annual CBC4Kids!

    Saturday, January 5, 2019, 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM @ Camp Chowenwaw Park, 1517 Ball Road, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043.

    CBC4Kids field trip

    Experience the wonder and beauty of birds in their winter habitats! Even in January, our feathered friends can capture our imagination and desire to venture out and pursue their discovery. The sport of birding is legendary and the CBC4Kids event offers a wholesome family-centered citizen science adventure designed for kids aged 8-16. Parents and their youngsters join birding team leaders in the fun of celebrating nature and the outdoors. Upon arrival, participants are divided into teams and learn some basics through “Binocular Boot Camp” orientation. These small working teams then head out with a short local winter bird list and bird guide in hand.

    Afterwards, participants will enjoy the Wild Wonders Animal Show, where kids get a chance to learn and see other animals up close.

    This is a free event, rain or shine.

    Registration is currently full, but cancelations may occur; please register for the waiting list at: https://cbc4kids2019.eventbrite.com. Please register children only.

    Contact Debra Hill at 904-612-3780, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., if you have questions.

    Co-sponsored by Camp Chowenwaw Park, Clay County Parks and Recreaction, and Wild Birds Unlimited of Julington Creek.

     

  • 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 to a Great Birding Season!

    We have a very busy birding year scheduled for you and we hope that you will participate in all of our activities and programs.IMG 20180923 093701 web

    We have 42 field trips planned for this year with some new destinations: Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, Orlando Wetlands, and Jekyll Island. We are continuing our Bird Walks for Beginners at Fort Caroline/Theodore Roosevelt Area on the first Sunday of every month, our Birding on the Water Kayaking Trip with Kayak Amelia in March, our CBC4Kids Program at Camp Chowenwaw in January, the Duval County Audubon Christmas Bird Count, and Crosby Sanctuary Bird Walks and Work Days on the fourth Saturday of every month.

    IMG 20180113 091817 webWe are also continuing our partnership with St. Johns Riverkeeper and the City of Jacksonville for quarterly park cleanups and encourage you to participate and help us keep our parks beautiful for people and wildlife! Our next cleanup will be at Reddie Point Preserve on Sunday, October 14th – please join us!

    Our Program Series this year will include speakers on Protecting Our Water Resources, the Wilderness of North Florida’s Parks, Identifying Florida’s White Birds, Whooping Crane Conservation, Florida’s Coral Reefs, Microplastics, and Shorebird Conservation.

    If you are a member of Audubon, you should have received our calendar of events flyer in your mailbox, but you can also find our events on our website, Meetup and Facebook pages. We encourage membership, but all of Duval Audubon Society's activities are free for anyone to participate whether you are a member or not. We hope to see you soon!

     

  • 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!

     

  • Have you heard? 2018 is the Year of the Bird!

    National Geographic in collaboration with Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Life International is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that has saved so many birds but is currently under attack at the national level. Additionally, more than 100 other organizations that work to protect birds and their habitat have joined the campaign. Each month these organizations will feature stories about birds, conservation efforts and how you can help. Read about why birds matter. Take the pledge and then #BirdYourWorld!

    What can you do to participate in Year of the Bird? Plant bird friendly plants! Birds often rely on plants in our yards, balconies, and other spaces for habitat and food and the best plants to provide this are those native to your area. To know the best plants for your area, search Audubon’s native plants database by your zip code. You can even search based on the birds you want to attract and the type of plants you want in your garden. By growing the best bird-friendly plants for your area, you will attract and protect the birds you love while making your space beautiful, easy to care for, and better for the environment—and this month is the perfect time to get started. Learn more and find your plants here.