Field Trip Schedule

September Field Trip

September 26, 2026 – Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge

• Leader: Jack Chiles
• Time: 8:00 am:
• Meeting Location: Visitor Center, 6465 Refuge Road,Sherman,TX75092-5817
• Target Birds: Shorebirds, gulls, terns but other birds will be flying through in the early migratory season
• RSVP: Jacob Drapkin (jlkdad@yahoo.com); please include your cell phone number since we will be creating a texting thread for this trip
• Directions: We will meet at the Visitor's Center at 8am and coordinate driving through the Refuge.  Please put in the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in your maps program - should take approximately 60 - 75 minutes to drive.
• About the Site: Located on the shores of Lake Texoma near Sherman, Texas, is one of North Texas's premier birding destinations. Spanning over 11,000 acres of wetlands, grasslands, and bottomland forest, the refuge sits along the Central Flyway, making it a magnet for migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds throughout the year.

October Field Trip

October 17th - Tyler State Park

• Leader: Park Ranger Junior Rodriguez (first hour) plus additional leader TBD
• Time: 8:00 am
• Meeting Location: Park HQ
• Target Birds: Early fall migrants such as waterfowl, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, kinglets, and maybe some winter sparrows
• RSVP: Karen Carbiener - J.Carbiener@att.net
• Directions: Plug in Tyler State Park on your map program. When you turn left onto Park Rd 16 to get into the park, follow this down until you see a building and a big parking lot — that is HQ. Junior will meet us here. We plan to bird the south side of the park, which includes the EZ Loop and Blackjack interpretive trails.
• About the Site: Tyler State Park is 985.5 acres, about 16 minutes from Tyler, TX. There is a lake in the center of the park. This park is a great representation of birds out in the Piney Woods of East Texas. Over 200 species of birds have been identified in the park. Some of our regulars (such as the pine warbler and the brown-headed nuthatch) can be seen year-round. Park entry fee is $6 per person, and free with a State Park Pass.
• Be sure to get your entry pass ahead of time, as the HQ doesn't open until 8:30a. You can purchase tickets up to two weeks prior to entry date. 

November Field Trip

November 21st - Chalk Hill Farm

• Leader: Rodney Thomas and Bill Woodfin
• Time: 8:00 am
• Meeting Location: Over by the houses at Bill Woodfin’s farm 
• Target Birds: Sparrows, winter residents, year round birds.
• RSVP:Rodney Thomas - rook.thomas@yahoo.com
• Directions: 33°15'27.7"N 96°31'29.1"W. Plug these coordinates into your maps 
  program. When you enter the property, there will be a fork in the road. Go right, that 
  will take you over to the buildings. 
• About the Site: Bill Woodfin has had this farm for many years, and is a great haven for 
  birding. 

January Field Trip

January 23rd John Bunker Sands

• Leader: Grayson Almond
• Time: 8:00 am
• Meeting Location: Visitor Center, outside parking lot
• Target Birds: Waterfowl, Bald Eagles, Winter residents, Raptors, rails
• RSVP: Grayson Almond - graysonalmond@gmail.com
• Directions: Plug in John Bunker Sands into your maps program. Should
  take about 50 min or so to get there.
• About the Site: John Bunker Sands Wetland Center is a vast wetland
  area, that has recorded over 300 species of birds, including Bald Eagles
  that nest there. It is a host for numerous mammal species as well,
  including otters, raccoons, coyotes.
• There is a $5 entry fee per person

February Field Trip

February 20th Bonnie Wenk Park

• Leader: Grayson Almond
• Time: 8:00 am
• Meeting Location: Meet at Parking Lot adjacent to small lake.
• Target Birds: Sparrows, winter residents, Hooded Mergansers, year-round birds.
• RSVP: Grayson Almond – graysonalmond@gmail.com
• Directions: Plug in Bonnie Wenk Park into map program. 
• About the Site: A large popular park in Mckinney, TX that hosts some great birds, 
  especially in the wintertime. 

March Field Trip

March 20th - Bois D’Arc Lake (Fannin Co.)

• Leader: Mike Cameron
• Time: TBD
• Meeting Location: TBD
• Target Birds: Waterfowl, wading birds, bald eagles.
• RSVP: graysonalmond@gmail.com
• Directions: TBD
• About the Site: The lake and the surrounding wetlands, grasslands, and 
  forests support an assortment of different bird and other wildlife. It is a 
  fairly new lake that allows the public access, as of 2024. 

April Field Trip

April 24th - UT Southwestern Rookery 

• Leader: no leader
• Time: 8:00 am
• Meeting Location: 32.81436° N, 96.84164° W. This will take you to a 
  parking lot underneath a bridge. This will be close by to the main garage 
  where we can ascend to the roof and observe the nesting birds. 
• Target Birds: Nesting birds including great egrets, Black-crowned night 
  herons, and Anhingas. Also migrating birds, and late winter residents. 
• RSVP: Grayson Almond – graysonalmond@gmail.com
• Directions: 32.81436° N, 96.84164° W. Plug in the coordinates into your maps program. 
• About the Site: Located at UTSW Medical Center, this rookery hosts 
  numerous wading bir

• 

May Field Trip

May 15th - Old Sabine Bottoms WMA/Mineola Nature Preserve

• Leader: Keiko Inagaki 
• Time: 7:00 am
• Meeting Location: TBD
• Target Birds: Warbler, other migrating birds, summer residents
• RSVP: Grayson Almond – graysonalmond@gmail.com
• Directions: TBD
• About the Site: The Old Sabine Bottoms WMA is mostly hardwood 
  forests. A great place for migrating birds, such as warblers, but also for
  other birds, and wildlife as well. You will need a Limited Public Use Pass 
  handy, which you can order online. The Mineola Nature Preserve is 
  another similar habitat location that is host to migrating and breeding 
  warblers, other migrating/breeding birds, as well as host to other forms 
  of wildlife such as buffalo and alligators.