John Burroughs Natural History Society

NYML CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
2024-12-14
Contact Steve Chorvas (246-5900 or schorvas@gmail.com ) for possible assignment in the Mohonk Lake/Ashokan Reservoir count circle no later than Saturday, November 30th. Reports from feeder watchers in the count circle are also desired. A post count compilation gathering will follow at the Hasbrouck Park Stone Building in Kingston. Contact Mark DeDea (forsythnature@aol.com ) for details or if you plan on attending.

NYUD CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
2024-12-28
Contact Mark DeDea ( forsythnature@aol.com ) for possible assignment in the Ulster/ Dutchess count circle no later than Saturday, December 21ST. Reports from feeder watchers in the count circle are also desired. A post count compilation gathering will follow at the Hasbrouck Park Stone Building in Kingston. Contact Mark DeDea (forsythnature@aol.com) for details or if you plan on attending.

NYMS CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
2025-01-04
The NYMS (Minnewaska/Shawangunk) Christmas Bird Count is sure to be exciting with lots of our favorite winter birding spots within the circle. Contact Nick Martin (255-0752 or Nicholas.Martin@parks.ny.gov ) for possible assignment no later than Saturday, December 28TH. Reports from feeder watchers in the count circle are also desired.

WALLKILL VALLEY RAPTOUR
2025-01-05
Contact Christine Guarino (chrissy.guarino@gmail.com ) to register for this outing and find out meeting time and location. Enjoy minimal walking on this popular roadside trip between New Paltz and Wallkill. Please understand that attendance and carpooling may be limited to help ensure safe birding. Wintering raptors, waterfowl, and larids as well as half hardies will be the focus on this outing. Possible stops along the tour may include a drive though of Blue Chip and Watchtower Farms, Wallkill River, Shawangunk Grasslands NWR (Galeville), and the Ulster County Fairgrounds

ALL DAY ANNUAL WINTER BIRD COUNT AT EBNP
2025-01-11
The 19th annual Esopus Bend Nature Preserve Winter Bird Count (WBC) will be conducted on Saturday, January 11, 2025. Participants will census wintering birds throughout the 160-acre Nature Preserve, recording numbers of individuals and species diversity. WBC results will become part of the Preserve’s biodiversity database and will help provide future guidance for land management and stewardship decisions. Esopus Bend Nature Preserve is located on the banks of the Esopus Creek in the Village and Town of Saugerties in northern Ulster County. Previous counts conducted during early January have recorded a cumulative total of 70 species and a single-year high count of 966 individuals. Highlights from previous counts include Bohemian Waxwing, White-winged Crossbill, Gray Catbird, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Winter Wrens, six species of woodpeckers, and double-digit numbers of wintering Hermit Thrushes. The WBC is a great way for birders and nature enthusiasts to start off the New Year and contribute to our knowledge of the winter bird population inhabiting Esopus Bend Nature Preserve. Additional field observers are always welcome and full day participation is not required, but you should be prepared to invest several hours out in the field under cold winter conditions. Pre-registration is required. Please contact Steve Chorvas (schorvas@gmail.com or 845-246-5900) to register, or for additional information, no later than 12:00 noon, Friday, January 10th.

ALL DAY NYSOA WINTER WATERFOWL COUNT
2025-01-18
This annual statewide count includes waterfowl and their allies as well as eagles. Data collected will aid in understanding population trends and conservation practices of Atlantic Flyway waterfowl. The survey will include open bodies of water, especially along the Hudson, Esopus, Wallkill, and Rondout Rivers and possibly the Ashokan Reservoir as well as open agricultural areas where geese may graze. Contact Steve Chorvas (schorvas@gmail.com or 845-246-5900) for assignment. NOTE: snow/rain date on Sunday 1/19/25

STATE MUSEUM AT ALBANY/ HALL OF NY BIRDS EXHIBIT
2025-01-19
This is a special opportunity to meet Jeremy Kirchman who curates the bird and mammal collections at the State Museum at Albany and who will provide a behind the scenes tour for up to 15 people in the collections room. This unique visit will last about an hour and then Jeremy would give a little intro to the Hall of NY Birds exhibit and the group could go off on our own to see the exhibit/museum. Please contact trip organizer Heather Gaston (heathermgaston@gmail.com ) to register and discuss meet up location and time for carpooling from Kingston.

ULSTER COUNTY GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT - FEBRUARY 14-17, 2025
2025-02-14 - 2025-02-17
LEARN MORE ABOUT ULSTER COUNTY’S AVIFAUNA ALL PRESIDENT’S WEEKEND LONG!!!
Kenco Outfitters invites all Attendees of GBBC outings and events for a complementary binocular fitting
2/14 9:00 AM GARDINER LIBRARY BIRDING Nick Martin nicholas.martin@parks.ny.gov
2/14 3:30 PM BACKYARD BIRDING email Mark DeDea forsythnature@aol.com
2/15 8:00 AM WINTER WILDCARD BIRDING email Peter Schoenberger pdsis@yahoo.com
2/15 9:00 AM MINNEWASKA S.P.P. BIRDING email Nick Martin nicholas.martin@parks.ny.gov
2/16 8:00 AM ESOPUS BEND N.P. BIRDING email Steve Chorvas schorvas@verizon.net
2/16 9:00 AM KINGSTON WATERFRONT BIRDING/CHICORY NATURALIST VISIT email Wendy Tocci wtocci@gmail.com
2/16 9:00 AM NYQUIST-HARCOURT BIRDING email Deb Weltsch dweltsch13@gmail.com
2/17 8:00 AM SOJOUNER TRUTH S.P. BIRDING email Mark DeDea forsythnature@aol.com
2/17 2:00 PM SGNWR BIRDING email Deb Weltsch dweltsch13@gmail.com
2/18, 2/19 1:00 – 3:00 PM KENCO OPTICS DEMO/CLINIC email Wynter Kennedy wynter@kencooutfitters.com
Read about the Great Backyard Bird Count
Please email JBNHSinfo@jbnhs.org with questions about future programming and field trips, to receive email notifications, or to join our Ulster rare bird alert.

WINTER WOODY PLANT WALK AT FALLING WATERS PRESERVE
2025-02-22 12:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Enjoy a brisk, afternoon, late winter walk identifying woody plant by bark, structure, and bud. This Scenic Hudson preserve has an easily used trail system that offers scenic overlooks of the Hudson River and two waterfalls. Directions: On Rt. 32 in Glasco turn east on Glasco Tpk./Main St. continuing east on Delaware St. the north on York St. and then turning east on Dominican Ln. to parking for the preserve. Contact trip leader Tom O’Dowd (tkodowd@gmail.com or 914 213-7079) to register for this outing.

EARLY MIGRANTS ON THE RONDOUT
2025-03-09 08:00 - 12:00
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

JBNHS GENERAL MEETING
2025-03-20 18:00 - 20:00
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.

VERNAL EQUINOX WOODCOCK WALK
2025-03-21 18:00 - 20:00
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).

SIGNS OF SPRING NATURE WALK
2025-03-22 08:00 - 12:00
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.

TIVOLI BAYS BIRDING
2025-03-23 08:00 - 12:00
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).

SPRING YOUNG NATURALIST OUTING AT BLACK CREEK PRESERVE
2025-04-13 09:00 - 12:00
The first of a new series of welcoming seasonal walks designed to bring together young families in the field interested in exploring and learning more about Ulster County’s natural world. This spring outing will be a timely visit to Scenic Hudson’s recently updated Black Creek Preserve. Spring ephemerals, newly emerging Mourning Cloaks, returning breeding birds (like Louisiana Waterthrush), and even juvenile American Eels (glass eels) are expected signs of spring at this location and in this timeframe. Please make sure to register by emailing JBNHSinfo@jbnhs.org

SPRING BIRDING WILDCARD
2025-04-19
The spring procession of migrants starts in earnest in this time period with new arrivals daily. Depending on recent reports or rare sightings, the destination (or destinations) of this trip will be determined just prior to the outing by field trip leader Peter Schoenberger (pdsis@yahoo.com). Please make sure to register with Peter for meet-up time and location.

SPRING CATSKILL PEAK HIKE – WESTKILL MTN
2025-04-26
Meet at Kingston Thruway traffic circle park & ride at 7:00AM to carpool, or meet at 8:00AM at the trailhead (end of Spruceton Road in West Kill, coordinates 42.180802,-74.270499). West Kill Mountain at 3898′ is the 6th highest Catskill peak, and most of this hike will be through first growth forest. Michael Kudish documented a large red spruce in Diamond Notch estimated at 250 years of age. We will start on a gentle slope along the creek to scenic Diamond Notch Falls. From there we cross the stream and climb steadily to the summit, gaining about 1800′. Round trip distance is 6.5 miles, and should take around 5 to 6 hours. Just before the summit is Buck Ridge Lookout, where we can break for lunch. Hikers should have water, food, and be prepared for black flies. Rain will cancel. For more info or to register contact Dave Hayes 845-417-9251 or vireo44@gmail.com.

SPRING TREE IDENTIFICATION WALK ESOPUS BEND NATURE PRESERVE
2025-04-27 09:00 - 12:00
It’s a wonderful time of year to visit the Esopus Creek Conservancy’s Esopus Bend Nature Preserve regardless of the focus but a true joy to celebrate the woody plants and trees in the preserve with some giant specimens of several species to enjoy. Make sure to bring along binoculars to help with bud and flower identification if not for looking at a tree top warbler. Other signs of spring flora and fauna will be noted along this walk as well. Please make sure to register with Steve Chorvas (schorvas@gmail.com) for this co-sponsored outing. Please visit www.esopuscreekconservancy.org to learn about other outings and ways to support and volunteer at the preserve .

NATURE WALK KINGSTON GREENLINE
2025-05-01 08:30 - 10:00
Join in on a new series of local walks planned to start the day right with fresh air, shining sun, and birds singing. These will be short, easy strolls designed to have you home earlier to be a “productive” part of society (domestic chores) yet allowing an hour and a half of escapism and camaraderie from said society. This particular walk will explore the western end of the Midtown Linear Park along Kingston’s GreenLine. Please register with Charlotte Adamis (charlotteadamis@gmail.com) to find out meet-up location and other details.

JBNHS ULSTER COUNTY BIG SIT
2025-05-03
JBNHS’ 10th annual Big Sit is also our BIG fundraiser for the year (that’s why we do ours in May) but serves too as a friendly competition between the established sits. Do you have a birdy back deck or favorite patch and a cause worth birding for? Why not join the challenge and see how many species you can identify from a 17’ diameter circle and get friends and family to pledge to your effort. In the past money has been raised to help worthy endeavors like numerous enhancements at SGNWR, support the wonderful New York State Young Birders Club, help the important NYS Breeding Bird Atlas, installation of Where to Bird in Ulster County panels now located at four locations about the county, create Naturalist’s Backpacks for area libraries to lend out, and aid Annie Mardiney’s important educational and rehabilitation work at Wild Mountain Birds.
Bird Homestead Sit
Team Nature Club This 17’ circle will encourage participation of our youngest set to join this special event. Offering art activities, board games, snacks, and other science based exploration to help create some excitement during the midday doldrums, this even sounds appealing to all of us who will just be birding all day long!!! Nature Club will be birding to help stock the bird feeders at Galeville and also providing support for our favorite rehabilitator/educator Annie Mardiney (Wild Mountain Birds). Please contact Kali Bird (kalicbird@gmail.com ) if your young birder would like to join in the fun.
Bowdery’ Homestead Sit
Lynn and Allan and extended family will bird their yard with hopes of a good feeder bird to pad our cumulative list and raise the most money we can to distribute in June to important environmental and conservation concerns in the region.
Galeville (SGNWR) Sit
Spend some time on the observation deck at Galeville (SGNWR) looking and listening for those ever important (and harder to find) grassland species. Team Shawangunk Redemption could have another Sandhill Crane up their sleeves. Pledges raised in recent years have been used to install a bench on the new observation platform, a new refuge sign, and supplies for the pollinator garden. This year the Shawangunk Redemption will bird to install a new updated “Where to Bird in Ulster County” panel on the Galeville Gazebo and to support our friend (and JBNHS trustee) Annie Mardiney and her important work in bird rehabilitation and education with Wild Mountain Birds. Please contact Debbie Carney (deb.carney@gmail.com ) or Evelyn Leigh (evelynleigh11@gmail.com ) to plan and schedule your shift.
Great Vly Sit
Team Bobcat will again be birding Fradon Marsh from a pressure treated tower and greatly helping our cumulative JBNHS Big Sit total with all those wonderful marsh birds and maybe a surprise like another Black Tern. Support in 2022 allowed for the assembly and installation of over 30 Wood Duck boxes in the Vly! In 2023 the Bobcats worked the same magic for the Wood Ducks in Tivoli Bays. This year they’ll be birding to help send young master birder Zade Pacetti to the renowned Camp Chiricahua for youth birding in Arizona.
Hayes’ Homestead Sit
Morgan Hill Misfits Dave and Tracey will bird their yard and do so for as good a cause as you could find, Wild Mountain Birds and JBNHS trustee Annie Mardiney’s awesome work.
Kingston Point Sit
Team CoCo Puffs will bird from Harrison Point looking out over Kingston Point Lagoon, the mouth of the Rondout, and down river while tallying new spring arrivals and doing so with a vengeance. Aside from hoping to regain bragging rights the CoCo Puffs will also bird to help one of our favorite young birders, Zade Pacetti to attend Camp Chiricahua for youth birding in Arizona.
Normann Homestead Sit Normann Conquerors
William the Conqueror may not be in Dafne and Steve’s backyard but our western most sit location is in habitat we’d all be jealous of. The conquerors will not occupy England but rather bird to create Naturalists Backpacks for libraries in Pine Hill and Phoenicia.
Nyquist-Harcourt Sit
The Oxbow Oddballs will appropriately bird for our friends at the WVLT and the wonderful work they do. This is a birdy location and the more eyes and ears the better so please contact Sara DeAngelis (saradeangelis@me.com ) or Deb Welstch (dweltsch13@gmail.com ) to help or to pledge support.
Thorn Preserve Sit Thorn Thrashers
Please contact Dixon Onderdonk (dixononderdonk@gmail.com ) if you’d like to help. The Thorn Thrashers will bird to purchase specially designed binoculars for young birders and to be used on JBNHS field trips. The Thrashers efforts in the past provided the assembly of Naturalist Backpacks for last year’s recipient the Olive Free Library and the preserve’s kestrel box.
New Location for a Sit?
Please contact Mark DeDea (forsythnature@aol.com) with any questions and to let us know about a new sit for promotional/ fundraising sake.
Donations can be based on a pledge per species (specific sit or cumulative) or flat donation.
To Donate by Check:
Please make checks payable to JBNHS and note desired sit you’d like to support. Send in donations to the Treasurer
Mary T. Moxham CPA PLLC
PO Box 4223
Kingston NY, 12402
To Donate Online:
Visit our Make a Donation page. After clicking on the Donate button select Big Sit Fundraising from the Use this donation for dropdown. When prompted to Write a note add the name of the location you want your donation to be directed to.

SPRING MIGRATION AND WILDFLOWERS IN SAUGERTIES
2025-05-04 07:30 - 12:00
The Esopus Creek Conservancy and John Burroughs Natural History Society are co-sponsoring a guided nature walk in woodlands and wetlands in the Town of Saugerties on Sunday, May 4, 2025. Late April/early May is an exciting time for neotropical migration at this latitude, and early morning is the best time to see and hear recently arrived songbirds in their brilliant spring plumage. We will explore a variety of ecologically rich habitats to experience this annual rite of spring, identifying birds by sight and sound while pausing along the way to observe a diversity of wildflowers and animal life. Meet up will be at 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 carpool and 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 contact the field trip leader, Steve Chorvas (schorvas@gmail.com) to register 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.

SPRING MIGRATION AT HIGH BANKS
2025-05-05 06:00 - 23:00
An early morning visit during spring migration to this Scenic Hudson property in the Town of Esopus should provide a generous selection of neotropical migrants. Please register with trip leader Jessica Cukrovany (procolinos@gmail.com) . There is an initial climb of 200 feet on the trail but walking is easy after that and a panoramic view of the mid-Hudson Valley can be enjoyed while scanning the treetops for colorful songsters.

SPRING MIGRATION AT NYQUIST/HARCOURT SANCTUARY
2025-05-07 07:00 - 12:00
This Wallkill Valley Land Trust holding is a fine spot to take a morning walk in May with a floodplain forest and oxbow habitat (along with river frontage) all encapsulated in the nearly sixty acre property. Muck boots are a good idea this time of year anticipating soggy trails conditions. We will meet at the New Paltz Municipal Parking Lot on Hugenot Street. Please register with Mark DeDea (forsythnature@aol.com ) to join this short morning walk.

PEACH HILL SPRING MIGRATION
2025-05-08 07:00 - 12:00
This 159 acre park is a former apple orchard and is the highest point in Poughkeepsie. All attributes making it a great location to receive spring migrants and if conditions and timing are right, a very good fall out spot for new arrivals in the morning. Please register with Tracy Little (mycoleydog@netscape.net ) to plan your morning. Meet at Peach Hill Park (32 Edgewood Drive Poughkeepsie NY12603) at 7:00 AM or at the Kingston Thruway traffic circle park and ride to car pool at 6:15 AM

NATURE WALK KINGSTON GREENLINE
2025-05-08 08:00 - 17:00
Join in on a new series of local walks planned to start the day right with fresh air, shining sun, and birds singing. These will be short, easy strolls designed to have you home earlier to be a “productive” part of society (domestic chores) yet allowing an hour and a half of escapism and camaraderie from said society. This particular walk will explore the eastern end of the Midtown Linear Park along Kingston’s GreenLine. Please register with Charlotte Adamis (charlotteadamis@gmail.com ) to find out meet up location and other details.

ULSTER COUNTY SPRING CENSUS: BIG DAY COUNT
2025-05-10
This is the day we all look forward to….. the holiest day of the year! Spend the whole day in the field or just a few hours….who knows what may be found. Refer to your copy of Where to Bird in Ulster County or visit www.jbnhs.org for good birding locations. Submit your report in checklist order to Steve Chorvas
(schorvas@gmail.com ) or P.O. Box 214, Saugerties, NY 12477). This information is combined in a regional report published by the New York State Ornithological Association.

SPRING MIGRATION AT IMMIGRANT’S WAY
2025-05-14 07:00 - 12:00
Please register with trip leader Mark DeDea ( forsythnature@aol.com ) to participate on this easy walk along the paved Empire State Trail that runs parallel to Hudson River through Ulster County’s newest state park. We will start at Kingston Point Beach and walk north to East Kingston (round trip of a little more than four miles).

NATURE WALK KINGSTON MONTREPOSE CEMETERY
2025-05-15 08:30 - 12:00
Join in on a new series of local walks planned to start the day right with fresh air, shining sun, and birds singing. These will be short, easy strolls designed to have you home earlier to be a “productive” part of society (domestic chores) yet allowing an hour and a half of escapism and camaraderie from said society. This particular walk will explore one of Kingston’s coolest green spaces; with a blend of historic headstones, specimen trees, and one of the better spots for birding in Kingston during spring migration. Please register with Charlotte Adamis (charlotteadamis@gmail.com ) to find out meet up location and other details.

SPRING MIGRATION AT BASHAKILL WMA
2025-05-17 07:00 - 12:00
The “Bash” is considered one of the best birding locations in our region, especially during spring migration with hopes of species like Prothonotary and Cerulean for the day list. It is wonderful to again have this trip on our schedule and shouldn’t be missed. Please email Tracy Little (mycoleydog@aol.com ) with questions or to register. Meet up to carpool at the Kingston Park and Ride (I-587/Exit 19 Roundabout) for a 6:00 A.M. departure or meet at the “Birder’s parking lot” (turn left off of Haven Rd. after crossing the Bashakill) for a 7:00 A.M. start time.

Pollinator Sanctuary Spring Clean-Up Party!
2025-05-17 09:00 - 13:00
Join @hvbees and our friends @johnburroughs2022 at the Pollinator Sanctuary across from JFK School (81 Gross St, Kingston) for a Spring Clean-Up Party! Enjoy community and conversation, learn with bird and bee folx, while helping us weed, spruce, and mulch the native perennial garden! Tools provided. You are welcome to bring your own tools and water bottle. #springclean #pollinatorgarden #birdsandbees
