Hey there! Yet another Adirondack birding festival to report. Coming THIS WEEKEND, June 19 – 21, the 5th Annual Hamilton County Birding Festival will take place. Click here for a list of birds you might get to see during this festival.
You won’t find a single traffic light in Hamilton County, which is the third largest and least populated county in New York State.
No wonder there’s excellent birding here: 60% of the county is designated Wilderness or Wild Forest area and it has mountains that approach 4,000 feet. In addition, the county has a million acres of forest, 1,500 miles of rivers and streams and over 56,000 acres of lakes and ponds.
A reader pointed out (thanks, Phil!) that Gary Lee, co-author of the Adirondack Birding guide that I talked about in my last Adirondack post will be leading a trip to Ferd’s Bog at 7 am THIS Friday. The complete schedule can be found here.
If I had the luxury to attend this festival, I’d definitely meet Gary and then attempt the hike up Blue Mountain (3,759 ft) to see Bicknell’s Thrush. Supposedly, a sizable population of Bicknell’s resides on that peak and, as I’ll describe in a future post, it would a more honest way to see the thrush compared to what I did – driving up Whiteface.
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BUT REMEMBER: June is also black fly month in the Adirondacks. When I visited Ferd’s Bog those nasty little suckers wanted me BAD, especially when I was out at the end of the boardwalk. But I can happily say I was not bitten even once during four days of birding. A coating of DEET helped, but so did the hat I’m wearing in the photo, below. I’ll continue this thread in my next post.
The Bug Bonnet Keeps Black Flies at Bay (hey, that's catchy!)
Related posts:
- Hamilton County Birding Festival Kicks off June 18 You already know I love the Adironacks. And you know the bird watching is great in the Adirondacks. Now let me give you a reason...
- June is Birding Month in The Adirondacks The Adirondack Park is a haven for boreal birds that migrate to the region every spring. Migrants arrive in full force by late May, and by...
- First Inaugural Birding Festival at Roger Tory Peterson Institute To celebrate the life and legacy of Roger Tory Peterson, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute will launch its inaugural annual birding festival June 4-7, 2009....
