The Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society invites you to join us for our first-ever Haunted Bird Walk: an evening outing to the historic Cane Hill Cemetery as we search for owls, crows, vultures, and other spooky nighttime birds. We'll explore this Civil War-era cemetery site and tell some Arkansas ghost stories—and we'll be joined on the walk by Historic Cane Hill experts who will share the history of the site with us. Sunset is a great time to see many other migrants foraging and settling down for the evening as well, including sparrows, grosbeaks and a variety of forest and grassland resident species.
Meet us at the Cane Hill Cemetery (GPS: 35.913984, -94.399121) at 5:30pm Saturday, Oct 24. Expect to walk slowly for 60-90 minutes over uneven terrain. We'll finish after dusk, so flashlights are recommended along with hiking shoes and bug spray. For bonus fun, come in a walking-appropriate Halloween costume!
Roadside parking will be available near the cemetery site within easy walking distance. Guides and Historic Cane Hill leaders will be on site to direct you to parking. To limit cars, we ask attendees to carpool whenever possible.
We’re asking participants to RSVP to limit our group size to no more than 25. To RSVP, email [email protected] to let us know you plan on attending the Haunted Bird Walk field trip. In your email, please include your name and the total number in your party.
From Fayetteville, head east on U.S. Hwy 62 for 15 miles until it crosses Budd Kidd Creek. Turn left (south) just after the creek onto AR Hwy 45 and continue for 3 miles, then turn right (west) onto Canehill Rd. The cemetery will be on your left after 1/3 of a mile (GPS: 35.913984, -94.399121). Guides and Historic Cane Hill leaders will be on site to direct you to parking.
When the weather is bad for humans, it’s usually bad for birds too. We’ll cancel the trip at least 12 hours in advance if the weather is forecasted to be dangerous or unsuitable for birding. Field trip cancellations will be emailed to the NWAAS field trip list (email [email protected] to be added to this list). We’ll also try to post wherever else we can in a timely manner (Facebook, etc.)
Contact info for questions about the trip.
All Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society field trips are free and open to the public. We always welcome new members, but membership in NWAAS is not required for participation. We try to make our field trips accessible to everyone, all ages, abilities, interests. Beginning birders are always welcome. No pets please. We have field trips on Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate different schedules. We encourage carpooling where possible.
If you plan on attending a field trip, please RSVP to [email protected]. This helps us plan for attendance, communicate to participants last-minute, and manage attendance for trips with limited capacity.
For maps and more information about these places, check the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society web site http://www.nwarkaudubon.org/ and the section “Places to bird in northwest Arkansas” (under Menu on upper left side of the home page).
If you are interested in being added to the NWAAS email list for updates on field trips and other society events, please send a message to: [email protected]. Some of the information on the trips below can change, so additional details & updates about trips are sent via the email prior to the announced date -- check the NWAAS Facebook page for the latest.