Fall Equinox Hike at Frazier-Rowe Park with Audubon Society Friends

IN A NUTSHELL:   Celebrate the fall Equinox by joining us for this fascinating birdwatching and wildlife walk hosted by our friends in the Atlanta Audubon Society.  It will be at "Frazier-Rowe," a relatively new DeKalb County park in NE Metro Atlanta. (See GPS Address and easy Directions below.)  The weather is expected to be gorgeous - in the 60s & 70s with lots of blue in the sky and virtually no chance of rain.  Bring binoculars if you have a pair - if not, we'll have a few spares available for you to share.
   On this "field trip" guided by master birders Ralph Smith and Stan Chapman we'll stroll the park's wooded trails together.  Along the way we'll enjoy observing & listening to birds and honing our ability to identify them by sight and by sound. 

EVENT PURPOSE, PLAN & PACE:  This birding walk will sharpen our ability to observe birds and identify them from their body & wing markings, flight patterns, perching & feeding habits, and calls.  If you're chiefly an "exercise hiker," be advised that this will be an experiential and learning walk, with frequent stops for naked-eye and binocular birdwatching and for intent listening to birds that may or may not be in full view. The walk is expected to be only about 2 miles in total distance, with no more than about 100 feet of total elevation gain or fall along the way.
  At the end of this and other Audubon field trips we usually regroup briefly near the original meetup spot to discuss and tally the species that have been identified - also any other interesting wildlife, flora, etc. that we observed.  You'll likely enjoy sticking around for this, but feel free to split from the group at any time if you like, provided you let the leaders know when you're departing.

MORE about FRAZIER-ROWE's BIRDS & OTHER WILDLIFE:  The park is the year-round home of numerous songbirds and raptors.  Each spring and fall it also attracts many colorful warblers and other migrant species including the Scarlet Tanager pictured above. We may get to see our GA "State Bird," the Brown Thrasher - also Robins, Cardinals, Red-headed & Pileated Woodpeckers and even perhaps a Great Horned Owl.  There are also other wild critters such as squirrels,turtles & butterflies - also of course hundreds of species of beautiful native trees, plants and wildflowers that we can discuss occasionally and identify along the way.

ATLANTA AUDUBON WEBSITE:  http://www.atlantaaudubon.org/  Click on "Field Trips" on this home page for details about this and other free upcoming birding walks.  Anyone with an interest in birds is welcome to attend these events even if you're not an Audubon Society member.

ONLINE FREE BIRDING GUIDE:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/  is the link to Cornell University's excellent birding website.  Use it to brush up on your birding knowledge and skills in the comfort of your own home or on your Smart Phone, etc.  Among other things, for each native species it provides song recordings, color photos, range maps, etc.

FRAZIER-ROWE PARK, founded in 2013, occupies about 10 acres of beautifully forested DeKalb County property fronting on LaVista Road, near Oak Grove Road. Its nice trails, botanical gardens and structures have mostly been built and maintained by hard-working "Friends of the Park" and Boy Scout volunteers  Hikers can easily connect to other scenic trails in the adjoining forested DeKalb County property that adjoins Coralwood Elementary School.  For more Park info & photos click this link: http://frazier-rowepark.weebly.com/

FROM I-85 CLAIRMONT RD EXIT (Exit #91) in NE Atlanta to our FRAZIER-ROWE PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

1. From I-85 Exit #91 (GA-23, "Clairmont Rd") take Clairmont Road toward Decatur (south & slightly east) about 1.6 miles to the traffic light at LaVista Road.

2. Turn Left onto LaVista and go eastward 0.9 mile (THROUGH the next traffic light at Oak Grove Rd) to the small Vista Grove shopping center on your Left (at 2868 LaVista Rd).  Park near the Subway and Sprig restaurants on the east end of the shopping center by the woods.

3. We'll gather at the "Frazier-Rowe Park" bulletin board and trailhead on the edge of the woods - just a few feet from the Sprig restaurant entrance.  Please try to be on time, allowing for traffic.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Frazier-Rowe Park trailhead where we'll meet: (You GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to augment the above verbal directions by entering these map coordinates as your destination.)   33.82569,-84.28931

Free Event with free park entrance and free parking!