March 2025 Bird Walks in & around the Hudson Valley
Join bird walks near you! Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Ulster County NY & Berkshire MA.
Columbia (and Greene) County - Alan Devoe Bird Club
For more details & to register, please visit:
https://www.alandevoebirdclub.org/AboutCalendar.htm
SAT, MAR 8
COPAKE LAKE
Coordinator: Marian Sole 203-710-9096
Meet 9:00 am at the intersection of County Route 7 and Lake view Road (Copake Lake). We will search for spring migrant waterfowl.
SAT, MAR 15
VOSBURGH SWAMP WMA w/HMBC (Greene County)
Coordinator: Alan Mapes 518-817-1512
Meet 8:00 am at the Four-mile Point Preserve parking lot on Four Mile Point Road. From Mansion Street in the Village of Coxsackie, go South on State Route 385 (Washington Ave), approximately 2.5 miles to a left turn onto Four Mile Point Road. Proceed to the bottom of the hill – parking area is straight ahead where the road takes a 90-degree bend to the right. We will look for resident birds and early migrants, Eastern Phoebe, Brown Creeper, Kinglets, and Fox Sparrow. The trail also provides access to views of the Hudson River and ponds for waterfowl.
Dutchess County - Waterman Bird Club
For more details & to register, please visit:
https://watermanbirdclub.org/about-us/field-trips-2/
Wednesday, March 5
Mills Norrie Point SP, Staatsburg
Leaders: Ken & Carol Fredericks (845-452-7619). Meet at the Education Center parking lot (Staatsburg) at 9:00am.
Saturday, March 8
Empire Rail Trail/Stormville
Leader: Russ O’Malley (845-464-1147). From Rt. 55 take Rt. 216 to So. Greenhaven Rd. to parking lot on right. Meet there at 9am. Please call if you plan to attend.
Wednesday, March 12
Harlem Valley Rail Trail/Coleman Station
Leader: Janet Allison (845-264-3222). Meet at the parking lot off Rt. 22/44 north of Amenia at 9am.
Wednesday, March 19
James Baird State Park
Leader: Barbara Butler (914-474-5981). Meet at the restaurant parking lot (off Taconic State Parkway north of Rt. 55) at 9:00am.
Wednesday, March 26
Bowdoin Park
Leader: Barbara Michelin (845-242-2301). Meet at the upper-level parking area (off Sheafe Rd., Wappingers Falls) at 9:00am.
Saturday, March 29
Bontecue Property
Leader: Janet Allison (845-264-3222). Please call for time and meeting place.
Ulster (and Dutchess) County - John Burroughs Natural History Society
For more details & to register, please visit: https://jbnhs.org/events/list/
Sunday, March 9
EARLY MIGRANTS ON THE RONDOUT
8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Join Mark DeDea (forsythnature@aol.com ) and celebrate the approach of spring and many fond memories of this longtime JBNHS favorite. Please register with Mark for meeting location and the morning’s plans. Party will travel upstream from Rosendale to the High Falls area, noting early harbingers of spring.
Thursday, March 20
JBNHS GENERAL MEETING
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. JBNHS general meeting at the conference room of the Hudson River Maritime Museum Wooden Boat School. Meet, mingle, and enjoy a brief business meeting after the program, to be announced later.
Friday, March 21
VERNAL EQUINOX WOODCOCK WALK
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Celebrate the Vernal Equinox with one of the year’s great natural history events. Please register with trip leader Christine Guarino (chrissy.guarino@gmail.com) for an evening stroll in the Shawangunk Grasslands to hear and possibly see male woodcocks perform their courting flights. We should hear early amphibians and maybe an owl or two also. Meet at the refuge entrance on Hoagerburg Road (Ulster Cty. Rt. 18), field party will make the short walk to the east (and the main refuge parking lot).
Saturday, March 22
SIGNS OF SPRING NATURE WALK
8:00 am - 12:00 pm. The Esopus Creek Conservancy and John Burroughs Natural History Society are co-sponsoring a guided nature walk to observe early signs of spring in a variety of ecologically rich habitats in the Town of Saugerties on Saturday,
March 22, 2025. Depending on available time, conditions, and participant interest, we will visit The Great Vly Wildlife Management Area, Esopus Bend Nature Preserve, Falling Waters Preserve, and/or the Saugerties Lighthouse peninsula on the Hudson River. Meet in the Saugerties Village Beach parking lot on Rte. 9W, just north of the Esopus Creek bridge, at the foot of Partition Street in the Village of Saugerties. Participants can stay for the duration, or drive to each location and leave whenever necessary. Bring binoculars, field guides, and spotting scopes if you have them, and be prepared for wet, muddy trails, and early spring weather conditions. Light rain often makes for excellent birding and nature observation, but heavy rain will cancel the walk. Children are welcome and encouraged, but please do not bring pets. Please register with field trip leader, Steve Chorvas (schorvas@gmail.com) and for additional information or directions. This joint ECC/JBNHS Environmental Education walk is free and open to the public. For additional information about upcoming ECC Nature Walks and Paddles, please visit www.esopuscreekconservancy.org.
Sunday, March 23
TIVOLI BAYS BIRDING
8:00 am - 12:00 pm. We will explore the tidal marshes and upland habitat of this DEC property. Bald Eagles, waterfowl, and other early migrants (like Rusty Blackbird) are reasonable expectations on this walk. Please register with trip leader Jessica Cukrovany (procolinos@gmail.com). Field party will meet at the Bard College parking lot on Gatehouse Drive just north of sharp turn on Dutchess County Rt.103 and Cruger Island Road. The group will walk down Cruger Island road to the bays and the causeway and trails will surely be muddy. Please consider this and choose proper footwear (like muck boots).
Berkshire County, MA - Hoffman Bird Club
For more details & to register, please visit: https://hoffmannbirdclub.org/events/
Sunday, March 9
Game Day: Wingspan
1:30 pm, Free. Back by popular demand! Join us for an afternoon of playing the board game Wingspan! Table space is limited; please RSVP below if you would like to attend. If you have a copy of the game you’d be willing to bring for use at this event, please let us know! Light refreshments will be provided. Never played before? That’s great! We’ll have an introductory round for first-timers. Meet at BEAT’s Environmental Leadership & Education Center, 20 Chapel St., Pittsfield.
Monday, March 10
March Meeting: Dr. Katherine Gura, Ph.D. – “Over a decade of research on the Great Gray Owl”
7:00 pm. HBC Monthly Meeting (Virtual Meeting – Contact for the Zoom Link)
Dr. Gura will present on one of North America’s most iconic and enigmatic raptors, the Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa). She will share findings from her long-term study of this species, including information on Great Gray Owl natural history, behavior, breeding dynamics, and seasonal movements. Her presentation also will provide a window into how researchers go about studying such a difficult-to-find bird! Finally, Katherine will share information about the conservation challenges this species faces and next steps in her Great Gray Owl research program.
Sunday, March 16
American Woodcock Walk, Williamstown
6:30 pm. We will listen to their nasal “peent” calls and hopefully see the amazing aerial displays of the American Woodcock in the evening. The rain date is Sunday, 3/23/25. The estimated time is 6:30 PM, about ½ hours after sunset.
Meet at Woodcock Road in Williamstown. Woodcock Road is located off Route 7. Coming from the7, you will proceed straight through the “5 Corners” intersection with the store. It is a left turn after the High School. We will park along the road near the first bridge and walk along the road; we will not walk south on Route into fields.
Sunday, March 23
Spring Waterfowl Search
7:30 am. Spring is a great time to look for waterfowl on our local lakes wherever there is open water. This trip will involve driving to multiple lakes and wetlands. There is limited walking. Meet at Farnams Causeway (off of Rte. 8) on Cheshire Lake.
Berkshire County, MA - Berkshire Bird Observatory
Every Saturday from January 1st through March 31st 2025
WINTER BIRD WALKS
Berkshire Food Co-op
10am. Ben leads a weekly bird walk right in the town of Great Barrington, in collaboration with The Great Barrington Land Conservancy.
Learn to find, identify and more fully appreciate our winter resident birds on these community birds walks. Bring binoculars if you have them--if not, we can share. Beginners are welcome!
Bird walks last about an hour. We cover ~1.5 miles of ground along the GB Riverfront Trail. The trail is flat, fine gravel, and handicap accessible.
Please register for this free program HERE.
Local birdy things wanted!
If you have any bird walks that is not listed here, or bird related event, bird-themed art shows etc in & around the Hudson Valley, I’d love to introduce them here on Beakuency Substack and/or radio show on WGXC. Please feel free to get in touch!
That is an absolutely beautiful red-winged blackbird rendition!