CAS Events Listings
Columbia Audubon Society field trips and events are informal and friendly. Advanced registration is (normally) not required and all participants are welcomed, whether or not they are CAS members. Please help us maintain this relaxed approach by being prepared for the risks inherent in such activities (especially those involving the outdoors and/or driving), acting responsibly, and understanding that complete elimination of risk is not possible. Further guidelines are available for field trip leaders and participants.
Friday, February 6, 2026 | 8:00 AM
First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands
Meet in parking lot of Songbird Station
First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot (map) at 8 a.m. sharp and then drive down the hill to park near the wetlands (less than a 5 min. drive). We’ll enjoy all the Missouri birds in this natural, lush landscape. The walk is about 1.75 miles on a level, gravel trail. Waterproof shoes are recommended, but not required. After our walk, we’ll return to Songbird Station by 11 a.m. and enjoy coffee and donuts.
Contact: Lottie Bushmann, lottie.bushmann@gmail.com
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 2 PM
Saturday Afternoon Birding at Twin Lakes and Forum Nature Area
Start at Twin Lakes parking lot
Come birding with the Columbia Audubon Society on an afternoon trip to Twin Lakes Recreation Area and Forum Nature Area! Birds we could encounter include waterfowl, herons, gulls, raptors, kingfishers, woodpeckers, yellow-rumped warblers, and sparrows. Starting at 2 PM from the main parking lot for Twin Lakes (map here), we will walk the 2-mile loop around the larger lake. We estimate we will spend about an hour at Twin Lakes. After birding Twin Lakes, we will return to the parking lot, and anyone who is interested is welcome to join us and continue birding at the adjacent Forum Nature Area. Trails in both areas are flat with a gravel surface.
Trip subject to change based on weather conditions; check back as the date gets closer to see if there are any changes to the trip details!
Contact: Ben West; benjwest@gmail.com
Saturday, February 14, 2026 | 9 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Great Backyard Bird Count Feeder Crawl
Meet at Songbird Station
As part of the 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), CAS will lead a Feeder Crawl on Saturday, February 14th. Starting at Songbird Station at 9 a.m, we’ll “crawl” to various backyard bird feeders in and around the Columbia area. We will count birds for at least 15 minutes at each backyard, then submit each checklist to eBird. The trip will last about 3 hours and return to Songbird Station for coffee and donuts.
The GBBC is an annual four-day citizen science event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are. The 2026 event runs from Friday, February 13th through Monday, February 16th.
Contact: Lottie Bushman, lottie.bushmann@gmail.com and Emma Buckingham, ebuckin@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
February 26, 2026 | 7:00 PM
February Membership Meeting: Mark Glenshaw, “Forest Park Owls: Mating, Nesting and Owlets”
Mark H.X. Glenshaw is an award-winning naturalist who has closely observed and documented the lives of Great Horned Owls in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri since December 2005. Mark’s talk, “Forest Park Owls: Mating, Nesting and Owlets”, will share what Mark has been able to observe and document of the owls’ breeding cycle including: mating, nest selection, feeding of the owlets, fledging and gradual maturation of owlets, and the dispersal of the owlets. The program uses many of his photos and videos to illustrate these amazing behaviors of these beautiful birds.
Contact: buckinghame@missouri.edu
Friday, March 6, 2026 | 8:00 AM
First Friday Bird Hike: 3M Wetlands
Meet in parking lot of Songbird Station
First Friday Fun! Join the Columbia Audubon Society for a bird walk. This walk is open to anyone who enjoys birds, and beginners are encouraged to attend. We will walk at the 3M Wetland Trail, just off the MKT Trail near Forum Blvd. We’ll meet at the Songbird Station parking lot (map) at 8 a.m. sharp and then drive down the hill to park near the wetlands (less than a 5 min. drive). We’ll enjoy all the Missouri birds in this natural, lush landscape. The walk is about 1.75 miles on a level, gravel trail. Waterproof shoes are recommended, but not required. After our walk, we’ll return to Songbird Station by 11 a.m. and enjoy coffee and donuts.
Contact: To be announced at a later date
Sunday, March 15, 2026 | 8:00 AM
Heron Rookery Count at Gans Creek Recreation Area
We will do our annual trip to the Heron Rookery to count returning birds and the number of nests available. We have kept records of their return for the past 11 years, always on March 15. This field trip has been dubbed the “Ides of March” trip. The beginner mountain bike trail is complete in part of the area we usually bird. There are over 50 new trees that have been planted along it, and it has opened up access to some wooded areas. We will continue to bird a part of the park that the trail covers and occasionally use the trail to access the wooded areas. We will not be birding the area of the proposed intermediate mountain bike trail.
We will also bird the tree line between GCRA and Gans Creek Wilderness Area, the wooded area that leads down to the rookery, the mixed woods and open field areas that border the cross-country course, and wherever the call of birds leads us.
Most of the ~2 mile walk is on wide grassy paths. However, access to the active rookery is via an overgrown path that descends a steep hillside. If you are not able to navigate this terrain, you can continue to bird while others go down and back.
Meet in the Gans Creek Recreation Area parking lot at 8:00 a.m. The park is on the south side of E Gans Creek Road, about 1 mile west of the US 63 Discovery Parkway exit. Click for a map.
Contact: Louise Flenner, lflenner@hotmail.com / (573) 268-7468