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Birds of Northern New York [F-11-12]

The three classroom sessions of this course focus on these topics: “All About Birds,” “Warblers of Northern New York,” and “Boreal Birds of the Adirondacks.”

FIELD TRIP: The fourth session is a birding field trip that takes course participants to Massawepie Mire* (near Tupper Lake). This field trip will take place on 9/20 at 10:00-2:00, with a rain date 9/21 at 10:00-2:00.

Directions to Massawepie Mire meeting place (pdf) (includes map on how to get there - see the photos on this page of the map and the "boy scout sign" where the group will meet.)

*Massawepie Mire is the largest bog (actually a fen!) in New York. The hike is on a level dirt road (formerly a railroad bed) that leads into the open mire. We will be looking for year-round birds (including several boreal species) in addition to watching for migrant species.

DIRECTIONS:

Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 (rain date of September 21)
Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Distance: Approximately 3 to 4 miles round trip on level terrain
Bring: Water, lunch, sunscreen, binoculars, (camera and field guide for birds – optional), hat, waterproof jacket, and wear sturdy shoes (preferably hiking shoes). (Leaders will bring their scopes!)

Leaders: Joan Collins (315) 244-7127 cell; (518) 624-5528 home, & Mary Beth Warburton

Our meeting location will be the Massawepie Boy Scout sign (on right) on Route 3 a few minutes before 10 a.m. Directions: 1 From the intersection of Route 56 and Route 3, take Route 3 east (toward Tupper Lake) for approximately 5.8 miles to Massawepie Road on the right. 2 This is our meeting location. After we are all together, we’ll drop some cars off at a parking area roughly 1 mile down Massawepie Rd. and car-pool to the mire. From the car-drop parking area, we will continue the drive for ~ 3.6 miles to a 4-way intersection. 3 At the intersection, we will turn right and go 2 tenths of a mile to a “Y” intersection and park on the right.

Joan Collins is President of the Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops, LLC. She is also a board member of the New York State Ornithological Association, the Audubon Council of New York State, and the Northern New York Audubon; she is also a past President of the High Peaks Audubon Society. Besides leading birding field trips and giving many presentations throughout New York State, Joan educates the public by publishing articles on a variety of wildlife and conservation topics. Joan is also a New York State licensed guide and an Adirondack 46-er. (For more information about Joan, "meet her" on her web site "About Us" section.)

DOCUMENTS:

• Birds Species List from field trip 9-21-11
  
• Birds Boreal Habitat Locations

LINKS:

• http://www.allaboutbirds.org The "All About Birds" web site is the web site of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University. Here you can find information on 585 species of birds in their online bird guide.  You can browse birds by name or by taxonomy and listen to their songs. This comprehensive site also contains a section where you can learn how to build your birding skills and view free videos.
• http://nnya.org Links to the Northern New York Audubon web site, serving the Adirondack, Champlain and St. Lawrence Regions. Includes links to field trips/events, newsletter, conservation, books, etc. and some links, including a link to the Adirondack Birding Map  (useful map).
• http://www.nybirds.org Links to New York State's  Ornithological Association web site. Includes sections on Conservation, Projects & Resources (breeding bird atlas, NY breedubg sites, some web links, etc.), Records & Reporting (checklists, rare bird sitings, etc.), along with annual reports and other information about the association.   
• http://www.adirondackavian.com Link to Joan's website for her bird guiding business.