Birding by Bicycle! - guided by ranger Jonah McDonald & GA Audubon friends at Mason Mill Park

I hope a few of you other cycling and birdwatching enthusiasts can join me for this unique free event - I've made confirmed reservations for myself and up to 4 other members.  Nature lovers of all skill levels are welcome to register below for our "AOC participation subgroup" and we prefer that everyone be fully vaccinated, so esp. if you're not, please wear a mask. The outing will be hosted and guided by our ranger friend Jonah McDonald and other GA Audubon birding experts.  Our AOC "subgroup" will gather initially at 7:45 AM just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance (by the stone restroom building and kids' playground - see detailed Directions, GPS info & Parking instructions below).  Please be ready to ride, with your Bike & Helmet.  After introductions and a brief gear & safety discussion we'll ride together to the nearby "PATH Trailhead" (at other end of the parking lot by the Tennis Center) where at about 8:00 AM we'll hook up with Jonah and other "rider-birders."
As on all birding field trips our group will take a relatively easy pace and pause often along the way to observe and discuss the many species of birds that are spotted - also listen to their songs. (It will be fine to walk our bikes up any inclines that we find too steep for normal low-gear riding.  In several places along the way we'll leave our bikes parked & locked while we do the actual birding on foot, via shady forest hiking trails, open fields, etc. that are near the bikes.)   The outing will include portions of Medlock Park and Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve as well as Mason Mill Park.  We expect to be back at the cars by about 12:00 Noon.  If you need to "split" early from the group that's OK, but be sure to let us know if and when you do so.  It should be easy to direct you back to the parking lot.  Nice weather is expected during the outing - warming from the 70s into the mid-80s and partly cloudy with little or no chance of rain.  

EVENT DETAILS excerpted from Jonah's webpage: "Join Ranger Jonah, Ken Boff and other Georgia Audubon birders for Georgia’s first “Birding by Bicycle” adventure.  Jonah and Ken are both avid birders and long-time bicycle commuters and invite you to join them for about 6 miles of biking and 1.5 miles of walking. The route is entirely on PATH trails, raised forest canopy boardwalks and quiet neighborhood streets, and allows us to visit four very different habitats in which to view birds. Please arrive with a well-functioning bicycle, helmet, water bottle, snack, binoculars, bike lock, and backpack for valuables.  Helmets will be REQUIRED on this trip. Participants are responsible for their own safety while on their bicycles. This program is BYOB&B (bring your own bike + lightweight  binoculars if you have a pair)!"

MORE about "RANGER JONAH": Since Jan 2019 Jonah McDonald has served as chief ranger/naturalist for DeKalb County's parks.   An avid birder, conservationist and author, he has done an amazing job interacting with the public and overseeing protection and improvement of DeKalb's forest ecosystems and trails.  His wide variety of free outdoor events include guided hikes, birdwatching outings,  volunteer work projects and even festive campfire gatherings complete with nature stories and s'mores!   His popular book, "Hiking Atlanta's Hidden Forests," has become an "AOC favorite" as an excellent guide to the dozens of wonderful parks, wild habitats and trails in and around the city. 

FOR a COLOR MAP of the SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK "PATH" TRAIL and how it interconnects Mason Mill & Medlock Park with Emory's Lullwater Park, Ira Melton Park and other DeKalb County green space, click this link: https://www.pathfoundation.org/south-peachtree-creek-trail

DIRECTIONS to our GATHERING SPOT in the MASON MILL PARKING LOT, just inside the PARK ENTRANCE beside the STONE RESTROOM BLDG:

GPS and GOOGLE MAPS USERS:  As your Destination address, you can enter the following Lat/Lon in lieu of a specific street address, being sure to include the comma and minus sign:  33.8080, -84.3066  (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity you can click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

FROM the I-85 CLAIRMONT ROAD EXIT in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Gathering Spot:
1. From the I-85 "Clairmont Road" Exit (Exit #91) in NE Atlanta take Clairmont Rd southward (toward Decatur) about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (This is the next light south of the much busier Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection.  If you reach the huge VA Hospital you've taken Clairmont a few blocks too far!)
2. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive, go just 0.1 mile, and turn Right at the stop sign to stay on McConnell. (Note the small "Mason Mill" directional sign here near the entranceway to DeKalb County's Avis Williams Library.)
3. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign and park just inside the entrance in the large free lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building (which has been kept Locked during the Pandemic .  It adjoins the children's playground near the Park entrance.)
  In the unlikely event that you can't find a parking space there, the Library mentioned above also has plenty of free parking - just a 5-minute walk away.

MORE ABOUT MASON MILL and its adjoining PARKS & TRAILS:  DeKalb County's Mason Mill Park conveniently interconnects with nearby Medlock Park (and now also with Ira Melton Park and Emory's Lullwater Park) via a network of shady trails and multi-million-dollar forest canopy boardwalks.  The South Peachtree Creek "PATH" Trail is the main artery through this 100+ -acre multi-park corridor, and like NW Atlanta's Silver Comet Trail conforms to the high standards of Atlanta's nonprofit PATH Foundation.  Branching from it are several miles of ruggedly scenic narrower paths and trails, many which adjoin the banks of "South Fork Peachtree Creek" and its sinuous tributaries - notably Burnt Fork Creek and Glen Creek.  An impressive section of the main PATH trail traverses the railroad track via a 3-story wooden deck & walkway.  Here hikers and bikers are treated to aerial views of the restored ruins of the historic early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks.  The highest portion of the deck has proven to be dark enough for urban "skygazing"  events - i.e, viewing the stars & planets, sunsets, moonrises, eclipses, meteor showers, etc.  From the creek bank beside this high deck it's easy (at normal water levels) to access Ira Melton Park and its white-blazed loop trail, etc. by walking across the creek on huge stepping stones.  In 2017 a beautiful new forest-canopy boardwalk extension of the PATH Trail opened between the DeKalb Tennis Center at Mason Mill and North Druid Hills Road, and became an instant AOC favorite. Then in 2018 a similar "double-wide" PATH spur trail & boardwalk was completed that makes it easy to hike safely from Mason Mill to the Lullwater Park trail system at Emory (via a "hiker-biker underpass" under Clairmont Rd near the VA Hospital).   The 28-acre Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve is a fourth pretty DeKalb County park whose trail network and wooded wetlands are easy to reach on foot from Medlock Park (by walking ~15 minutes eastward via Gaylemont Circle & Wood Trail Lane).

Free Event with Free Parking!