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.
Our group activities and programs are ready. Registration is required and we will be following NYS guidelines for gathering.
Our Covid-19 disclaimer is located below our list of Walks and Hikes. Please review this prior to attending any walk or hike listed. Please check here or our Facebook page for updates on upcoming GVAS activities and programs.
Genesee Riverway Trail Boardwalk (2.8 miles)
110 Petten St, Rochester, NY 14612
Wednesday, October 11, 10:00am
Hoping to catch the beauty of the river gorge in autumn, we will be enjoying the Charlotte end of the trail between River Street Marina and Turning Point Park. Meet at the River Street Marina at 110 Petten Street. The highlight of this portion of the Genesee Riverway Trail is the boardwalk that divides the river channel from marshes along the shoreline. This multipurpose trail is stroller and wheelchair friendly. The grade changes are few and the slopes are gradual. The trail surface is a combination of tarmac (some heaving caused by temperature changes) and boardwalk. Anyone interested in a longer walk or perhaps lunch can continue north at the end of our walk. The trail eventually terminates at the Charlotte pier with a slight detour to get around the Port of Rochester Marina entrance. Binoculars, sunscreen, and bug spray may enhance your enjoyment. For trail details, check out the trail assessment on Birdability. For questions, to discuss any accessibility accommodations that you might need, or to register, email Loretta at loretta.morrell.gvas@gmail.com. Register no later than Monday, October 9.
Full assessment: Genesee Riverway Trail
Birding and Eclipse Gazing Fall Event at Mendon Ponds Park
27 Pond Rd, Honeoye Falls, NY 14472
Saturday, October 14 @ 11 am
Genesee Valley Audubon Society and Rochester Accessible Adventures would like to invite everyone to join us at Mendon Ponds Park Saturday October 14th from 11:00am-1:30pm. The event will offer you and your family a day to enjoy birds either while sitting overlooking a beautiful garden with bird feeders or taking a 1/2 to 1 mile hike on a natural path and possibly coaxing a bird or two to drop in your hand for a food offering of black oiled sunflowers and peanuts. For a full description of the trail check out the detailed assessment on Birdability We will not complete the entire trail but go out and return on the same path avoiding the hill.
Participants will be able to sit by a lovely garden and enjoy the birds coming to the feeder and/or participate in the walk while a member of GVAS will be is on hand to answers questions you might have regarding the birds you may be seeing and offer pointers for Identifying them on your own in the future. We will then meet up and experience the partial eclipse together and observe how the birds and wildlife are affected. Binoculars and eclipse glasses will be available to borrow. Please bring your own if you have them.
Space is limited Register here.
Chickadee Walk Mendon Ponds Park
27 Pond Rd, Honeoye Falls, NY 14472
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 10:00 am
Get your nature therapy by taking a walk in the woods; no more than 2 hours in Mendon Ponds Park. Walk a natural but generally hard surfaced trail and feed the chickadees, tufted titmice & nuthatches while enjoying nature. Fun for the whole family!! All are welcome to participate in this outdoor adventure. If sitting and enjoying nature is more your thing we can share the best spot. We will meet Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 10:00 am in the Nature Center Parking lot on Pond Rd off of Clover St (the southernmost of the 3 park entrances off Clover) Dress for the weather (wear boots, warm clothes, etc.) Seed will be provided – donation optional. Registration is required by Wed Nov 1. For trail details, check out the trail assessment on Birdability. For questions, to discuss any accessibility accommodations that you might need, or to register, email Joni Dubner at bajacool416@gmail.com Register by Wednesday November 1.
Chickadee Walk Mendon Ponds Park
27 Pond Rd, Honeoye Falls, NY 14472
Wednesday, December 13, 2023, 10:00 am-11:00am
Come on out and meet some of our year resident birds up close and personal. Walk a natural but generally hard surfaced trail and feed the chickadees, tufted titmice & nuthatches while enjoying nature. Fun for the whole family!! All are welcome to participate in this outdoor adventure. If sitting and enjoying nature is more your thing we can share the best spot for you to do just that. We will meet in the Nature Center Parking lot on 27 Pond Rd off of Clover St, NY-65 (the southernmost of the 3 park entrances off Clover). Dress for the weather (wear boots, warm clothes, etc.). Seed will be provided – donation optional. For trail details, check out the trail assessment on Birdability. For questions, to discuss any accessibility accommodations that you might need, or to register, email Loretta at loretta.morrell.gvas@gmail.com Register by Monday, December 11.
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.
An Inside Look: A Falconer’s Journey with Rodney Stotts
Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, 7:30 pm By Zoom
Rodney Stotts, a young black man, grew up in southeast Washington, DC. He gained a love of animals when he visited his grandmother’s farm and often skipped school to visit the zoo. Later in life he was send to prison for selling drugs. When he was released, Rodney worked in the Earth Conservation Corp program. There he was exposed to how people treat the Earth, throwing trash out of their cars, dumping household goods in marshes. While there Rodney also became familiar with falconry. Rodney decided he wanted to become a falconer. This took long years of work. He shares the spirituality this gives him by going into classrooms. There have been a number of articles about Rodney and last year he came out with his own memoir, Bird Brother: A Falconer’s Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife. This will be a personal recorded interview with Rodney made by New York Audubon. Join us. I think you will learn a lot. Let June know by Sept. 24 if you wish to join us, summers@frontiernet.net.
Migration Trends
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, 7:30 pm, By Zoom
Have you thought about when each species of hawk migrates? Do Cooper’s Hawks migrate before Red-Tail Hawks? Do some owls migrate early in the spring? Daena Ford, co-chair of Braddock Bay Raptor Research (BBRR), will be our speaker. BBRR has decades of data on when hawks, owls and other birds of prey move through the Rochester area. Let June know by Oct. 22 if you wish to join us, summers@frontiernet.net.
“The Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening,” Why Native Plants Matter to Pollinators and Songbirds
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, 7:30 pm, By Zoom
GVAS is borrowing this video from the North Field Bird Club of Massachusetts. Desire’e L. Narango, PhD, 2020 David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will be our speaker. She was a student of Doug Tallamy. Desire’e looked at chickadees to learn about the ecology of residential landscapes and how humans have changed them to offer less biodiversity to support and attract native insects and birds. Let June know by Nov. 12 if you wish to join us, summers@frontiernet.net
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