Trail Provides Affordable Birding Opportunities for All New Yorkers to “Get Offline, Get Outside”
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced the addition of 12 new locations to the New York State Birding Trail. The new additions provide affordable opportunities for quality birding experiences for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy.
“The New York State Birding Trail provides enjoyable, affordable opportunities for all New Yorkers, regardless of age, ability, identity, or background to have access to locations to experience the joy of watching birds,” said Commissioner Lefton. “With hundreds of visiting and resident bird species to observe this summer – including songbirds, waterfowl, and birds of prey – there is a spot on the Birding Trail for everyone to experience all New York has to offer.”
DEC coordinates the New York State Birding Trail in collaboration with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the many partners who own and manage specific sites on the trail. Selected sites meet criteria to help ensure a positive experience for visitors throughout the state. Additionally, sites post signage noting them as official locations on the Birding Trail. For information on the nomination process, see DEC’s website.
State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons said, “This expanded partnership encourages visitors of the benefits of Governor Hochul’s ‘Get Offline, Get Outside’ initiative. The New York State Birding Trail helps people connect with nature and offers chances for people to unplug from devices and just enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. We’re excited to be part of this expanded program as it takes flight!”
The New York State Birding Trail is a starting point for experiencing New York’s diverse and vibrant wildlife. This unique network of birding hotspots across New York State offers endless opportunities to connect with nature, whether you’re marveling at owls in quiet woodlands, tracking shorebirds along scenic coastlines or catching glimpses of majestic eagles along quiet rivers. In 2022, 7.4 million residents enjoyed wildlife watching close to home and 2.7 million visitors travelled to New York to experience its diverse birding opportunities. These outdoor recreation opportunities complement Governor Kathy Hochul’s “Get Offline, Get Outside” initiative encouraging New York families to put down phones and devices and enjoy recreation and outdoor social gatherings.
The latest additions to the New York State Birding Trail bring the total number of sites on the trail to 402. They enhance opportunities to go birding in the Central-Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley regions and build robust community partnerships across the entire state.
The newly added locations are on public and private lands across two Birding Trail regions:
Central – Finger Lakes:
- Butternut Creek Recreation & Nature Area
- Cobbs Hill Park
- Durand Eastman Park
- Highland Park
- Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park (Irondequoit Bay Outlet)
- Lime Hollow Nature Center
- Mendon Ponds Park
- Oatka Creek Park
Hudson Valley:
The new additions provide a diversity of habitats that include forests, meadows, vernal pools, streams, and peat bogs. Although habitats vary across the locations, these sites offer great opportunities to observe seasonal migrating birds such as woodland warblers and flycatchers.
Rochester Birding Association President Brian Rohrs said, “The Rochester Birding Association is excited to celebrate the addition of these sites in and around Rochester to the New York State Birding Trail. One of our key missions is to provide access to birds, so we are pleased that these sites showcase some of the rich birding habitats in our area, and that they will bring fellow nature enthusiasts to our community. We are grateful to our local and state partners who helped make this effort a reality.”
Montezuma Audubon Center Director Chris Lajewski said, “Birds in the Central - Finger Lakes region are incredibly active right now, capturing hundreds of protein-rich insects per day to feed their young. These eight new sites in our area offer essential nesting and feeding habitat for warblers, swallows, woodpeckers, and so many more. We are thrilled to see even more accessible trail options added to the Birding Trail so more people can enjoy the wonders of nesting season.”
The New York State Birding Trail is committed to offering an inclusive experience that encourages all visitors to experience birding. Several of the newest additions to the Birding Trail have a variety of wheelchair accessible features, including an accessible trail at Lime Hollow Nature Center that connects to an observation deck. A battery-powered, all-terrain Action TrackChair is also available at the Nature Center for visitor use.
The New York State Birding Trail map is available at www.ibirdny.org and provides valuable information on each site such as location, available amenities, species likely to be seen, directions, and more. Digital information on the Birding Trail will be updated periodically, so budding outdoor enthusiasts are encouraged to check back often.
DEC encourages birding enthusiasts to visit I BIRD NY for more information on where and how to observe birds, upcoming bird walks, a downloadable Beginner's Guide to Birding (PDF) (available in Spanish (PDF), information on the annual I BIRD NY Challenge, and additional educational resources.
