Bird Watching in the Adirondacks

The Adirondacks are a mountain range in northeastern New York State. It is best know as a popular winter resort area with a long history of entertaining celebrities of a sort. Less well known is the fact that the area is a great place to pick up additions to your life list.

During the summer of 2005, Hamilton County held the first Adirondack Birding Festival to honor the birds whose habitat lie within the region. The festival encouraged the participation in hikes, canoe trips and nature walks to watch over 100 species nest in Adirondacks' Hamilton County, home to the Bicknell's thrush, a rare songbird only found in mountaintop forests of the Northeast. Other birds that can be seen during the festival include the Common Raven, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Golden-Crowned Kinglet to mention only a few.

The Adirondacks are home to many boreal bird species. Some of them include the Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Lincoln's Sparrow, Palm, Blackpoll Warblers, Yellow-Bellied, Olive-Sided Flycatchers and other species. The boreal chickadee is also native to the Adirondacks, but lives in Hamilton County. While bird watchers can find birds like the gray jay or black-backed woodpecker throughout the year, the migrating birds are seen in June. To find them, just keep quiet and listen for their singing, which announces their arrival to the Adirondack region. Once the migration begins, the area is flush with a wide variety of species and sightings can be made while driving along. Try not to crash!

The Adirondack Regional Tourism Council has also developed a ton of information devoted to education on birding in the Adirondacks. The council provides detailed maps and information on 86 Adirondack's birding sites and more than 300 species in the entire region including specialties such as the Bicknell's Thrush and Spruce Grouse. Contact them for more information.

Bird watching in the Adirondacks is a great way to get out of the big city. With the wide variety of species and sighting points, your life list is sure to benefit.