19th Annual Hamilton County Adirondack Boreal Birding Festival

The Hamilton County Department of Tourism and Audubon NY welcomes you this June for the 19 th Annual Adirondack Boreal Birding Festival.

The Adirondack Park in upstate New York is a bird-watching haven! In June, the Adirondack Boreal Birding Festival in Hamilton County celebrates the height of the breeding season with 4 days of birding hikes, walks, safaris, outings, and presentations throughout the county.

Joan Collins, owner of Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops, LLC, leads birding tours year-round, is a New York State licensed guide, an Adirondack 46er, and has climbed all the Adirondack fire tower peaks. She writes the Birdwatch column for Adirondack Explorer magazine, and has published several journal, magazine, and newspaper articles on wildlife and conservation topics in various publications including Audubon, Conservationist, Adirondack Life Magazine, Adirondack Explorer, New York Birders, LOCALadk Magazine, and The Kingbird. Joan authored several warbler species accounts, in addition to serving as a peer reviewer for The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. She is a past President of the New York State Ornithological Association and Editor of New York Birders. She served for many years as a Board of Directors member of the Audubon Council of New York State and Northern New York Audubon Society, and as a past President. Joan is a frequent keynote speaker and presenter on ornithology topics.

Follow Joan on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackAvian
Her website can be found at: http://www.adirondackavianexpeditions.com/

Rich Hanlon is a birder, naturalist educator, author, NYS licensed guide, and owner/operator of Wild Neighbors Nature Connection, LLC with an Environmental Studies degree from Penn State University ('09) and 17 years of experience investing in his passion of helping people to experience transformational connection with nature's community. Most of his work involves guided birding in the northern Adirondacks and young naturalist series at local rec parks. He is a relational birder, meaning that his focus is on the connections between birds and their environment. With him, you can expect to learn as much about the habitats of our feathered neighbors as the birds themselves. Rich lives in Duane Center, NY, just a little north of Paul Smith's with his wife Erin and their dog Polly.

Follow Rich on Facebook at: http://www.Facebook.com/adknatureguide
His website can be found at: http://www.wnnc.net

Pat Bixler is an experienced hiker, birder, and licensed guide who has spent countless hours in the Adirondack wilderness. He is an official 46er, Northville-Placid trail finisher, and can also be found on his kayak or mountain bike. During the summer months, Pat serves as a steward on the summit of Whiteface Mountain protecting the sensitive alpine habitat and interpreting the flora and fauna for visitors. Through all of this, he has found a personal connection to our feathered friends and hopes to share that experience with you. Pat lives in Saranac Lake, NY, just outside of the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks.

Mike & Wanda Moccio have visited the Adirondacks since their college days. While working in their careers in Connecticut, Mike’s newfound interest in bird watching inspired him to help establish the Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Stamford, Connecticut, dedicated to conserving habitat for birds and other wildlife. This sanctuary is now an Important Bird Area (IBA). Mike and Wanda became NYS-licensed hiking guides to lead and engage bird-watching participants. They also participate in breeding and waterfowl surveys for various state and federal organizations. They retired in 2016 and currently reside in Indian Lake, NY.

Schedule:

Thursday, June 5, 2025
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WALK: Railbed Wetlands, Minerva – 6:00 AM

Join Joan Collins for a short walk on a railbed through wonderful wetlands and some forests! The old railbed travels along Vanderwhacker Brook with fascinating marshes and ponds. There are also boreal forest sections surrounding the wetlands. We will hike less than 1.5 miles round trip on an old, level railbed. Some of the species we may find include: Wood Duck; American Black Duck; Hooded and Common Mergansers; Black-billed Cuckoo; Ruby-throated Hummingbird; Virginia Rail; American Bittern; Great Blue Heron; Broad-winged Hawk; Belted Kingfisher; Black-backed Woodpecker; Eastern Kingbird; Olive-sided Flycatcher; Eastern Wood-Pewee; Yellow-bellied Flycatcher; Alder Flycatcher; Least Flycatcher; Eastern Phoebe; Boreal Chickadee; Winter Wren; Swainson’s Thrush; Hermit Thrush; White-throated Sparrow Swamp Sparrow; Rusty Blackbird; and many Warblers including Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellowrumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Canada Warbler.
GUIDE: Joan Collins
EVENT LENGTH: 3-4 hours
LIMIT: 15 Participants
BRING: Insect repellant, hat, sunscreen, water, food, binoculars and appropriate clothing/jacket
and footwear.
MEET: At Overlook Park in Newcomb off Santanoni Drive. There are restrooms at this location.
There are also fantastic views of the High Peaks! We will caravan the 5 miles east to the railbed
in Minerva from this location.
DIRECTIONS: Overlook Park is across the street from the Newcomb Medical Center located at 4 Santanoni Drive. You can see Overlook Park and the Newcomb Medical Center from Route 28N.

HIKE: Vanderwhacker Mt. Trail, Minerva – 11:00 AM
The Vanderwhacker Mountain Trail just re-opened after closing for bridge repairs on the road to the trailhead in 2020. We will hike approximately 2 miles round trip on a dirt hiking trail that may have some muddy sections and one brook crossing. The first mile of the trail is fairly level with a few small hilly areas. (We won’t be climbing the mountain!) The habitat is mixed forest with several beaver-created wetlands. There are usually several pairs of Olive-sided Flycatchers and in 2020, just before the road closed to the trailhead, we found an active Rusty Blackbird nest with 4 young! This species is quickly becoming rare to find. A wide variety of warblers, and both Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes are found along the trail. The trail is also known for its beautiful wildflowers. There is an outhouse at the trailhead.
GUIDE: Joan Collins
EVENT LENGTH: 4 hours
LIMIT: 15 Participants
BRING: Insect repellant, hat, sunscreen, water, lunch, binoculars and appropriate
clothing/jacket and footwear.
MEET: At the intersection of Route 28N and Moose Pond Club Rd. (next to the Boreas River
Bridge) in Minerva. We can leave some cars at a parking area near the river and carpool to the
Vanderwhacker Mt. Trailhead off Moose Pond Club Rd. (Trailhead is ~2.5 miles in on Moose
Pond Club Rd., a dirt road.)
DIRECTIONS: The Boreas River Bridge is less than 2 miles south of the Minerva railbed (the earlier field trip location).