Activities
Eastern Meadowlark by Sheri Douse
Walks and Hikes
with Genesee Valley Audubon Society are family friendly opportunities to explore nature first-hand with other environmental enthusiasts.
GVAS is celebrating its 50th anniversary! 50 years of advocating for birds and the environment! Come celebrate with us.
Email update: Use Contact@GVAudubon.org for email change requests or other communication with us. Please add this email to your contacts list.
As part of our mission Genesee Valley Audubon Society wants to encourage all to get out and appreciate nature. To support that mission, we offer several local bird walks throughout the year. Our hope is that you will see something that peaks your interest enough that you will want to come out and experience one or more of our offerings, and bring along your family and friends. Everyone is welcome.
Registration is required for all activities. Please check here or our Facebook page for updates on upcoming GVAS activities and programs.
Nature Outing at Tinker Nature Park
1525 Calkins Road
Pittsford, NY 14534
Saturday, March 14, 2026
9 am – 11 am
Registration is required by Thursday, March 12 at https://mobilize.us/s/fJXWDn
We will meet up in the parking lot South of the Nature Center and behind the barn. We invite everyone to join GVAS Saturday, March 14th at 9:00am for a winter morning stroll along the trail at Tinker Nature Park. We will discover what wildlife waits for us around a pond, wetland, open field and woodland. The trail surface is a combination of crushed stone, grass, and boardwalk that circles the perimeter of the park and is 1.2 miles long. There are both designated parking spaces and a restroom available. For more details about this trail, please visit the Birdability website at http://tinyurl.com/4uuse77n We will contact you in the very rare occasion we have to cancel. Note that GVAS rarely cancels an event due to weather unless there is a road closure, threat of imminent lightening, or dangerous windchills. We understand that things come up and sometimes you need to cancel. If you know beforehand that you won’t be able to make it, please email Cathie Rainwater at c_m_rainwater@hotmail.com.
Nature Outing along the Genesee Riverway
River Street Marina to Genesee Riverway Boardwalk
110 Petten Street
Rochester NY 14612
Saturday, April 25
9am – 11 am
Registration is required by Thursday, April 23rd at https://mobilize.us/s/VOhoLy
On the morning of our outing, spring will be right around the corner. We invite everyone to join us as we listen and look for some possible early spring migrants, and enjoy the views of the Genesee River gorge from River Street Marina to the bottom of Turning Point Park (2.8 miles) We will pass through a wooded area to the boardwalk with views of marshland and the river. Trail surface is a combination of tarmac (with some heaving caused by temperature changes) and boardwalk. Trail details are available at Birdability at http://tinyurl.com/y7rpcc7w. We will meet at the River Street Marina located at 110 Petten Street. Dress for weather conditions; sunscreen, bug spray, and binoculars may enhance your enjoyment. For questions or concerns, please email Loretta Morrell at Loretta.morrell.gvas@gmail.com
Birding by car: Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Montezuma Visitors’ Center
3395 US-20
East Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Saturday, May 2, 2026
9:30am – 11:30am
Registration is required by Thursday, April 30 at https://mobilize.us/s/AoS8Ue
Everyone is welcome. Come join us as we see what birds are visiting the MNWR as part of their migratory journey. We will meet in the Visitor’s Center parking lot at 3395 US-20, Seneca Falls NY, and spend some time on the deck to look for shorebirds. Purple Martins may also be found here. We will then travel by car along the Wildlife Drive. Along the way we might see some duck species such as Mallards, Shovelers, Blue Wing Teals and others. Great Blue Herons and other birds such as Red-wing Black birds and Song Swallows can also be found. Bald Eagles are known to frequent this area. We may even see a Sandhill Crane. We will conclude our journey at the observation tower found on Tschache Pool off State Route 89. From here we can see the Great Blue Heron rookery in addition to another wetland popular with waterfowl, Ospreys and Bald Eagles. Restrooms are available inside the center between 10am-3pm or to the right of the parking at a short distance from the cars. Sunscreen and water are advised. Binoculars will enhance your vision; we will have some pairs available, if you do not have your own. For questions or concerns, please email Linda Howell at h31884@rochester.rr.com
Braddock Bay Bird Observatory
Meet at DEC parking lot
Manitou Beach Road off Lake Ontario State Parkway
Saturday May 16
9 am – 11 am
Registration (limited to 25) is required by Thursday, May 14, at https://mobilize.us/s/dx5ZcW
Join GVAS for a visit to Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (BBBO) to learn how they catch, band, and record data on birds. We will be able to get a close view of captured birds as they are banded and data taken. You don’t often get a chance to see birds this close up. If you would like to go out and see the nets the birds are caught in you should wear tall rubber rain boots. BBBO strives to make their facility accessible to those with disabilities, but they are not yet fully accessible to everyone with mobility challenges. Their building has doors wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair, and they have sufficient seating for those who cannot stand. However, guests should know that their trails – while well maintained – are surfaced with crushed rock or mulch and are frequently muddy. Furthermore, their only restroom is a porto-john that is not large enough for a wheelchair.
We will meet at the DEC parking lot on Manitou Beach Road. Take Rt. 390N to the Lake Ontario State Parkway, take the Manitou Beach Road exit, turn right then turn right again into the parking lot across from Owl Woods. We will carpool from here to the banding station. Their parking lot is small. We are limiting this trip to 25 attendees. For questions, contact June at summers@frontiernet.net
Bird Walk at Mount Hope Cemetery
1133 Mt. Hope Ave.
Sun. May 17
8:00am-9:45am
Register after April 16th at https://fomh.org/tours-events/tours/, or in person morning of walk.
The mature trees of this 200-acre 1838 Victorian cemetery are very attractive to migrating birds. Join us for a 1-mile stroll that is partly on pavement and partly on an uneven dirt path, with a hill. This is not accessible for strollers or wheelchairs. Meet at the gatehouse by the North Gate, the entrance that is across from Robinson Drive (NOT the entrance opposite the Distillery Restaurant). Parking is available inside the cemetery next to the 1862 chapel that is visible when you drive in the Gate. There is a $15 per person charge for this tour, which goes toward restoration work at the cemetery. Pre-registration will be available one month ahead of the tour at https://fomh.org/tours-events/tours/ or participants can just show up on the day of the tour. For questions, contact June at summers@frontiernet.net
Follow Genesee Valley Audubon Society on Facebook or Twitter for updates.
Programs, Presentations & Events
are a great way to learn about a variety of environmental topics and get involved with nature.
American Oystercatchers: How Audubon Connecticut is Monitoring Their Reproduction and Movements
Tues. February 24, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
Presenter: Elizabeth Amendola, Senior Coordinator, Coasts, Audubon Connecticut
Register by Feb 22 at https://mobilize.us/s/FioQvJ
Audubon Connecticut has been monitoring nesting shore birds for several decades: American Oystercatchers, Piping Plover and Least Terns. With the help of volunteers and young interns they have been able to learn a lot about how to help these birds nest more productively by putting putting fencing around around some of the nests and nests, educating beach beachgoers about not getting too close to the nesting birds, and keeping dogs on leash and away from the nesting birds as well. It isn’t easy being a nesting shore bird and they need all the help they can get. Beth Anendola, Senior Coordinator for Coastal Ecology, will tell us about these wonderful shore birds that she has worked so hard to conserve for the last several years. She will tell us about what she has learned about the nesting birds on these islands off the coast of CT and which animals, both four footed and two footed, they have had to outsmart to help the birds stay safe. Last summer Beth and the people she works with started a new program using MOTUS tags to learn even more about the American Oystercatchers they are studying. Join us for this fascinating adventure to the Atlantic Coast to dream of warm days and beautiful birds. Register by Feb 22. The link to the Zoom presentation will be sent to you upon registration.
40 Years of Banding At Braddock Bay: What Have We Learned?
Tues, March 24, at 7:30 pm
Speaker: Andrea Patterson
Executive Director
Register by Sun March 22 at https://mobilize.us/s/YieuD7
Braddock Bay Bird Observatory (BBBO) has been banding birds on the south shore of Lake Ontario since 1986, and we’ve collected data on more than 300,000 birds. Thanks to a platoon of collaborating researchers including local professors and their undergraduate and graduate students, our data has been used to answer a variety of questions concerning the behavior, ecology, and biology of birds. Join us for a romp through 40 years of research, as we tackle questions like:
• Have we noticed any changes in bird populations or migrations over time?
• Are migrating flocks just associations of birds that happen to be coordinated by time, place, and species, or is there something more meaningful at work?
• Why do birds carry extra fat in the spring?
• Why do some insectivores switch their diet to fruit in the fall?
• Is it possible to distinguish individual Magnolia Warblers just by their night flight calls?
• What is that thing on the chin of that Great Crested Flycatcher?
We promise that you don’t need a knowledge of statistics or the scientific method to understand and enjoy this fun overview of our work. Andrea Patterson began volunteering at Braddock Bay Bird Observatory in 2009, and banded her first bird in the spring of 2010 when she took a bander training class from Elizabeth Brooks. Since then, she has handled more than 20,000 birds as part of the Observatory’s long-term migration study and has been lucky enough to spend time banding Saltmarsh and Nelson’s Sparrows in New Hampshire, rails (including one Black Rail!) in Louisiana, and Tawny-crowned Greenlets in Belize. Now the executive director of the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, Andrea coordinates the migration, summer, and owl monitoring programs; facilitates the use of the Observatory as a field site for a half dozen research affiliates; and teaches four banding classes annually. The link to the Zoom presentation will be sent to you upon registration.
BBRR Bird of Prey Days
April 17-19
Braddock Bay Raptor Research
www.bbrr.org/bird-of-prey-days/
Stop by our table and say Hi when you attend this annual event. Check out the website. Fun for the whole family.
To participate as a volunteer with any of these activities, please visit our Get Involved page.
Genesee Valley Audubon Society
P.O. Box 15512
Rochester, NY 14615
Email: summers@frontiernet.net