Florida Young Birders Club - Holiday Bird Walk at The Celery Fields

The Florida Young Birders Club is hosting a Guided Bird Walk where kids and teens can learn about local bird species and meet peers with similar interests. It's a great opportunity to explore nature and learn about The Celery Fields. Don't miss out on this chance to learn how to identify birds or fine tune your existing skills, and to practice some nature photography!

The walk will be guided by Sophia Haakman, who is a Sarasota Audubon Society volunteer bird naturalist and youth leader of the Manasota chapter of the Florida Young Birders Club. The walk will start at the Celery Fields Nature Center and will move on to the Raymond boardwalk to explore the wetlands. Wear a hat and bring your binoculars and a water bottle.

This event is designed for kids and teens ages 9-17 and is open to members of the Florida Young Birders Club AND/OR youth members of the Sarasota Audubon Society. Annual membership is $10 and offers free entrance to monthly local events plus several more exciting benefits. See FAQs for details on how to become a member or sign up for a membership at the event.

The Celery Fields is a 400+ acre site mainly consisting of open marshlands, deep ponds, shallow pools, and canals. To date, 246 species have been recorded. Wintertime offers particularly good birding, hosting sparrows, Marsh and Sedge Wrens, and several species of rails, including Sora and Virginia. The Fields also host breeding birds, including Black-necked Stilts, King Rail, Least Bittern, Limpkin, Purple Gallinule, Barn Owl and Eastern Meadowlark. Least Terns breed on nearby buildings and use the ponds as a primary food source. Rarities show up from time to time, including Upland and White-rumped Sandpipers, Short-eared Owl and Nelson’s Sparrow (info taken from the Sarasota Audubon Society website.)

Host or Publisher Manasota FYBC