Field Trips

Wednesday Morning Birding

This April and May we revisit the gifts of nature in the Cedar Valley as we explore our prairies, woodlands and wetlands to seek a glance of our avian friends during spring migration. 

We invite you to share in this PRAS birding activity by participating with our planned field trips. 

These weekly outings, with leaders Craig and Kris Rash, last approximately two hours. People of all levels of birding experience are welcome and encouraged to participate. This is a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with birding hotspots in our area. Binoculars, if needed, will be provided.

If changes need to be made due to inclement weather, all persons on the PRAS distribution list will be notified by email within two hours before the event.

24 April 8:30 AM   Cedar Falls, George Wyth State Park. Meet at kiosk located at East entrance to Lake. We will pick sites along our drive through the park. Sorry no GPS point is available for this location.

May Birding

The second Wednesday of April PRAS continued its long-awaited Spring migration bird sighting field trips. I look forward to these Wednesdays all winter after being entertained with telephone robo calls, snowblowers, shortened daylight hours, TV with 100 channels, election interruptions---anticipating by a mile watching and listening to the birds this spring. My desires were reinforced by the participants in our first field trip where conversations concerning family, social and community issues and a yearning for a simpler life were rewarded by just an early morning walk in the woods listening to the call of an Eastern Towhee or watching the repeated dives of the Pied-bill Grebe. Sighting an Eastern Bluebird or the bobbing tail of the Eastern Phoebe always arouse the magic nature has to offer us in the awakening of spring in the Cedar Valley. I am reminded how often we take these moments for granted and change is upon us daily. The experiences of my youth are only memories now and cannot be replicated because of loss of habitat or climate change. Many of the Ash trees are now dying in our forest and life, as I know it, is now changing. I have grown to appreciate the writings of others and wish to have captured more of these experiences in my own journal of life.

May Birding:

WED 01 May 8:30 am Greenbelt Lake (aka Martin Lake). Waterloo. Meet in the parking lot off Martin Road, which is off Highway 63. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/fmJddNHJy7RAgjnC6

WED 08 May 8:30 am Lower Hartman Reserve lower level. Cedar Falls Drive to Lookout Park and access Park Drive. Continue to the lower-level parking area. Here is the GPS point for the parking area: https://goo.gl/maps/ngamVSpBWuSTgvuh9

SAT 11 May 7:30 am Tripoli Bird-A-Thon see write up below re: Bird-A-Thon.

WED 15 May 8:30 am Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Gilbertville. Meet at the depot parking lot west of Gilbertville off Washburn Road. GPS Point: https://goo.gl/maps/q9pSn2UEVw4zVAwP7

WED 22 May 8:30 am Washington Union Access North of Cedar Falls at Cedar-Wapsi Road (C-57). Parking lot is located on the south side of road just before crossing the Cedar River Bridge.  GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/m1bfb7SbtSbvWEZT7

WED 29 May 8:30 am Prairie Lakes. Cedar Falls Visitors Center parking lot

meet at parking lot off Hudson Road. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WqdgnbpMHorKmsh4A

2024 Prairie Rapids Bird A Thon

This May PRAS will celebrate our annual fund-raising event called Bird-A-Thon.  It is our intention for you to participate by spending time during May 5-11 seeking out bird species in your yard or other favorite sites and keeping a list to share with our membership in a group spread sheet found on our web site.  Perhaps you may want to establish a group as a challenge ($ per species) to raise money for our Society. 

We will end the Bird-A-Thon on May 11, World Migratory Bird Day, by conducting our annual field trip at Sweet Marsh.  Drive to Tripoli and enter the south parking lot of Sweet Marsh at 7:30 am where we will begin our birding.  Come join us as we spend the day counting and learning about birds.  We break for lunch around noon for a rest and camaraderie. Arrangements have been made to eat at the Panther Lanes Bowling Alley, 502 7th Ave. SW, Tripoli, next to Casey’s.  You may choose to join us after lunch (about 1:00pm or so) as we resume birding and visit different areas around the Marsh.

As we have done in recent years, we will maintain a master list of bird species sighted during the entire Bird-A-Thon week of May 5-11. However, the results will not be posted until May 12th on our gopras.org website. We want everyone to feel that they are a part of the Bird-a-thon experience. Email  ckrash105@aol.com  or call 319-984-5608 (leave a message) as to species sighted and they will be entered to our master spread sheet.   

  Understand these funds are necessary to supplement our local membership dues in order to carry on the operations of our society budget to continue our mission to support birds and nature in our six-county service area and beyond.  

We would like to receive all donations by June 29, 2024.  

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Name________________________________________________

Address______________________________________________

Email address (used to send you Audubon or related information_________________

  Pledge amount              $.15   $.25   $.35     $.50     $1.00    other____________ per species (please circle)

                   Multiplied by the number of species _______________________= $_____________________

  Or one lump sum of $__________________________________________________________________

(Not intended for membership dues)

Please mail your pledge (0r check made payable to PRAS and indicate 2024 Bird A Thon on the check) to:

Craig Rash, 105 Woodland Springs Road, Denver, Iowa, 50622

PRAS Field Trip Locations

If we don't have a specific field trip scheduled, feel free to go and explore on your own at these locations that we typically visit during our group field trips. If you want to lead a field trip, email Craig and Kris Rash and we will help get the word out. We are always looking for people to share their favorite spots.

Big Woods Lake, Cedar Falls. Meet in the parking lot at the Big Woods Lake South Entrance. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/cAmP4Ex55jABkjKy9
Cedar Hills Sand Prairie, west of Cedar Falls. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nZyoYCtG6s9UGwU26

Cedar Valley Nature Trail, Gilbertville. Meet at the depot west of Gilbertville off Washburn Road. GPS Point: https://goo.gl/maps/q9pSn2UEVw4zVAwP7

Greenbelt Lake (aka Martin Lake), Waterloo. Meet in the parking lot off Martin Rd, which is off Highway 63. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/fmJddNHJy7RAgjnC6

Hartman Reserve lower level, Cedar Falls. Drive to Lookout Park and access Park Drive. Continue to the lower-level parking area. Here is the GPS point for the parking area: https://goo.gl/maps/ngamVSpBWuSTgvuh9

Hickory Hills. South of Waterloo on county Rd. V37 aka Dysart Road. Meet at the archery parking lot on the west side of Hickory Hills. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/qTVUyG8sYhkkYJja6

McFarlane Park. East of LaPorte City. Park near the picnic shelter. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/npTWSe2cM7nq3sny6

Prairie Lakes Cedar Falls Visitors Center, Cedar Falls. parking lot. Meet at parking lot off Hudson Road. GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WqdgnbpMHorKmsh4A

Riverview Recreation Area - Harold Getty Lake, Waterloo. At the stoplight follow Mitchell Street about 0.25 miles east of Highway 218 to the parking lot. GPS Point: https://goo.gl/maps/wcFiqZj8LbpHYbCeA

Robertson Bird Sanctuary, Waterloo. Pull into parking lot on the left (south side of the road).  GPS Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zkvN5oaYzsTUVPg69

Washington Union Access - North of Cedar Falls at Cedar-Wapsi Road (C-57). Parking lot is located on south side of road just before crossing the Cedar River Bridge. GPS point: https://goo.gl/maps/m1bfb7SbtSbvWEZT7