Cool Creek Bird Hikes
2022-02-05 08:30 - 10:30, 2022-02-12 08:30 - 10:30, 2022-02-19 08:30 - 10:30, 2022-02-26 08:30 - 10:30, 2022-03-05 09:00 - 11:00, 2022-03-12 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Cool Creek Nature Center, 2000-1 East 151st St, Carmel, IN, 46033, United States
Join expert birder Keith Starling each Saturday for a hike through Cool Creek.
No registration is required.
Meet in the north parking lot past the Nature Center.
Plan to follow existing federal, state, and local guidelines for masks and other COVID prevention measures.

Eagle Creek Bird Hikes
2022-02-06 09:00 - 11:00, 2022-02-13 09:00 - 11:00, 2022-02-20 09:00 - 11:00, 2022-02-27 09:00 - 11:00, 2022-03-06 09:00 - 11:00, 2022-03-13 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | Eagle Creek Park Ornithology Center, 6515 Delong Road, Indianapolis, IN, 46278, United States
Each Sunday year-round at Eagle Creek Park. Meet us at 9:00 am at the Ornithology Center.
This event is free, though a gate fee to Eagle Creek Park applies.
We will be following federal, state, and local guidelines for masks and other COVID prevention measures during the hike.

Cool Creek Beginning Bird Hikes
2022-02-06 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis), 2022-02-09 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York), 2022-02-16 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York), 2022-02-20 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis), 2022-02-23 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York), 2022-03-06 08:30 - 11:30 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis), 2022-03-09 08:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York), 2022-03-16 08:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Cool Creek Nature Center, 2000-1 East 151st St, Carmel, IN, 46033, United States
Birds are fascinating and watching them can be an awe-inspiring experience. Catching a glimpse of these gorgeous creatures can be frustrating. Learning how to identify all of them can be overwhelming Join a Hamilton Co Parks Naturalist and other guest leaders Sunday and Wednesday mornings and we will learn together. This will be a great opportunity for birdwatchers of all levels. You may begin anytime during the season and come as often as you like. Pre-registration is not required. Don’t forget your binoculars!
These hikes meet in the north parking lot of Cool Creek Park past the Nature Center.
Plan to follow existing federal, state, and local guidelines for masks and other COVID prevention measures.

For the Love of Birds: How Birds Played into the History of Valentine’s Day - CANCELED
2022-02-08 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Holliday Park Nature Center, 6363 Spring Mill Road, Indianapolis, IN, 46260, United States
This event is CANCELED.
Join Jessica Helmbold, ABAS Education Chair, for her presentation on birds and Valentine’s Day. Who created Valentine’s Day and when and why did they choose to incorporate birds? Learn about the history of this popular holiday and the role birds played in making it what it is today.

Holliday Park Bird Hike
2022-02-15 08:30 - 10:00, 2022-03-15 08:30 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Holliday Park Nature Center, 6363 Spring Mill Road, Indianapolis, IN, 46260, United States
Join us at Holliday Park for a bird hike through the woods and along the White River. Meet in front of the nature center. For more information call (317) 327-7180. Beginning birders welcome!
We will be following federal, state, and local guidelines for masks and other COVID prevention measures during the hike. Check the ABAS calendar to be sure the hike isn’t canceled.

Great Backyard Bird Count Caravan - FULL
2022-02-19 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Flowing Well Park, 5100 E 116th St, Carmel, IN, 46033, United States
If you need an incentive to get outside in mid-winter, join Chuck Anderson, ABAS Field Trip chair and President, as he leads you to three local parks in conjunction with the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) worldwide event. At each park, we will record the species and number of all birds seen and submit that list to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology via eBird. To get more information on the GBBC, go to birdcount.org.
We will meet at 9:00 am in the parking lot at Flowing Well Park, 5100 E 116th St, Carmel. From there we will caravan to Hazel Landing Park, Meadowlark Park, and then to our final stop, Central Park, where restrooms will be available. Participants will be notified in advance if there are any changes to the itinerary.
Make sure you dress appropriately for the weather conditions and don’t forget your binoculars.
The field trip is free but limited to 10 participants, and registration is required. Priority registration is available to ABAS members through February 1, 2022. After that date, if any open spots remain, non-members may register. To sign up, email Chuck Anderson at chucka1999@aol.com or text Chuck at (317) 767-5438.
The event is full. You can call Chuck to be on standby.

Thornwood Nature Preserve Bird Hike
2022-02-26 08:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Thornwood Nature Preserve, 1597 South Morristown Pike, Greenfield, IN, 46140, United States
Join the Greenfield Birders for a bird hike. Beginners are welcome.
These walks are opportunities to meet other birders, hopefully see new birds, have new experiences, and learn from each other. All walks are weather pending. You can keep up to date with any changes, rescheduling, or local bird happenings by searching “Greenfield Birders” on Facebook. Feel free to join!

Strawtown Koteewi Park - Beginning Bird Hikes
2022-03-02 08:30 - 10:30 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Strawtown Koteewi Park, 12308 Strawtown Avenue, Noblesville, IN, 46060, United States
Birds are fascinating and watching them can be an awe-inspiring experience. Catching a glimpse of these gorgeous creatures can be frustrating. Learning how to identify all of them can be overwhelming. Join a Hamilton Co Parks Naturalist or other guest leaders the first Wednesday of each month and we will learn together. This will be a great opportunity for birdwatchers of all levels.
Meet in the parking lot of the Taylor Center of Natural History.
Pre-registration is not required. Don’t forget your binoculars!
Plan to follow existing federal, state, and local mask and COVID preventions guidelines.

Woodcock Walk - Carmel West Park
2022-03-05 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | West Park, 2700 W 116th St, Carmel, IN, 46032, United States
Join Chuck Anderson, ABAS President, for a trip to West Park in Carmel. Listen for the “peenting” sounds of a male woodcock as it attempts to court a female during the mating season. Watch the male perform an aerial display and listen to the sound of its twittering wings as it tries to attract a female.
We’ll be stationary with little walking required. Dress appropriately for the weather. We’ll meet at 6:30 pm at the Jill Perelman Pavilion located at 3000 W 116th St, Carmel, IN 46032, 200 yards west of the West Park entrance. The gate to West Park will be closed. We will then walk over to West Park where the American Woodcocks will be displaying.
Registration is not required. Text Chuck at (317) 767-5438 if you have any questions.
Photo courtesy of Chuck Anderson.

Sax-Zim Bog Winter Adventure
2022-03-08 19:30 - 21:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Holliday Park Nature Center, 6363 Spring Mill Road, Indianapolis, IN, 46260, United States
Join Indiana birder and outstanding photographer, Shari McCollough, as she relates her experiences leading birding adventures to Sax-Zim Bog, north of Duluth, MN, in the middle of winter. Sax-Zim Bog is THE place to see northern owl species, specialty woodpeckers, and finches in winter. There were many days that the temperatures never rose above zero degrees and the winds were savage, but the birding was fantastic.
Masks are required inside Holliday Park Nature Center.

Boreal Owl photo courtesy of Shari McCollough.

Woodcock Walk – Daubenspeck Community Nature Park
2022-03-12 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Daubenspeck Nature Park, 8900 Ditch Rd, Indianapolis, IN, 46260, United States
Join ABAS Board member Brian Cunningham for an evening walk at Daubenspeck Community Nature Park (DCNP), a great spot to view displaying American Woodcocks.
Woodcocks have a very acrobatic mating display that they perform at dusk known as the sky dance. While waiting for woodcocks, we will check the prairie and nearby woods for birds that may be going to roost in the park for the evening.
We will meet at 6:30 pm in the DCNP parking lot. The main trail of Daubenspeck is mowed, but the ground can be somewhat uneven.
Registration is not required. This event is free and open to the public.
Photo courtesy of Amy Hodsen.

Newfields Bird Hike
2022-03-19 08:30 - 10:00 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Virginia B Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres at Newfields, 1550 W 38th St, Indianapolis, IN, 46208, United States
Join ABAS at The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park at Newfields for bird hikes on this beautiful property along the White River and Central Canal. The hikes will be led by an experienced birder from ABAS.
Meet at the free parking at the loop just ¼ mile west of the 38th Street entrance to Newfields. The address given for this event is approximate. You’ll need to be heading west on 38th Street to enter the loop parking area. Take the White River Pkwy East exit.
The hike is free and open to the public. Registration is requested by emailing us at info@birdallianceofcentralindiana.org.

About Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres
On one hundred acres along the west side of Newfields, just east of White River, you’ll find Fairbanks Park. Explore woodlands, wetlands, meadows, and the shoreline of a 35-acre lake. It’s one of the largest museum art parks in the country, and unlike most, continues to commission temporary, site-responsive artworks.
As a former farm and later gravel quarry, Fairbanks Park has a history of disturbance that has resulted in a mix of early successional woodlands, some mature woodlands, wetlands, and a lake. This habitat diversity has created a property with the ability to host niche species of several different habitat types. Newfields strives to maintain that habitat diversity by invasive species removal and planting of Indiana native plant species in all areas of the Park.
Recent additions include a nesting platform built to attract birds of prey, a wild grass labyrinth, and a variety of bird feeding and viewing stations.
