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BIRDWATCHING
IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY
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The natural assets of Livingston County-the Genesee River, the
Finger Lakes, lush forests and huge tracts of rolling, pastoral
grasslands-make it a great place to watch birds in any season.
So whether you want to find nesting sparrows along Nations Road,
short-eared owls in Lima, or warblers in the forests along Letchworth
gorge, there are many places (listed below) to relax and watch
birds.
The
Audubon Society recognizes three sites in Livingston County as
Important Bird Areas, which means the site provides essential
habitat for one or more species of birds. These sites are listed
with an asterisk.
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Nations Road:*
Ask long-time bird watchers which birds are most likely to attract
out-of-towners to Livingston County and they'll probably say "The
grassland birds on Nations Road."
Grasslands
are a disappearing feature of America's landscape and the species
adapted to them face widespread declines. The infrequently mowed
agricultural fields along Nation's Road from Avon to Geneseo are
unique assets because they protect the survival of grassland birds,
such as meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds, bobolinks, and many
sparrows.
In
summer on Nations Road, where many species of sparrows can be
seen and heard in one field, birders are easily motivated to identify
them using their distinctive, buzzy songs and subtle field markings.
Savannah, grasshopper, field, and vesper sparrows are regular
in summer, and the state-threatened Henslow's sparrow is a rare
and thrilling find.
In
winter, Nations Road is an excellent spot to find horned larks,
snow buntings, northern harrier hawks, and the state-endangered
short-eared owl. Visit an hour before sunset to see these two
raptors circling above the fields hunting for prey.
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River
Road:
River Road holds much of the same pastoral beauty and habitat
as Nations Road. A Sunday drive on River Road is likely to
turn up wintering raptors including hawks, kestrels, shrikes
and short-eared owls. Ring-necked pheasants, horned larks,
snow buntings, and Lapland longspurs are common in winter.
During summer, look for grassland birds such as bobolinks
and savannah and grasshopper sparrows. |
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Letchworth
State Park:*
Letchworth is an obvious choice for bird watchers. With 14,000
acres and 225 bird species, bird watching in the park can be
a lifetime pursuit. Turkey vultures, chimney swifts, and other
swallows are regularly seen in the gorge during the warm months.
Dishmill Creek basin and the parade grounds, near the south
end of the park, are great spots to find nesting warblers (up
to 25 species!) and other songbirds. The Genesee River acts
as a funnel for migrants, so any location in the park has the
potential to show good birds during spring and fall.
Hemlock
and Canadice Lakes:*
These are the only Finger Lakes with undeveloped shorelines
and mostly intact habitat. Hemlock Lake was famous in the 1970s
for hosting the last "wild" bald eagle nest in the
state and descendants of that pair continue to nest here today.
The trails around both lakes are great for seeing bluebirds,
flycatchers, chickadees, and other songbirds. If planning a
visit, obtain a free visitor permit from the City of Rochester
(which owns 7,100 acres of shoreline as a public water supply)
at the north end of Hemlock Lake.
Conesus
Lake Inlet:
Though the shoreline of Conesus Lake is mostly developed, the
swampy areas surrounding its southern inlet (south of Sliker
Hill Road and north of Guiltner Road) attract many good birds.
In summer, birders enjoy a breeding colony of great blue herons
(called a rookery) and a nesting pair of bald eagles. Red-headed
woodpeckers, which are losing ground in the state, also breed
here. The inlet is a fantastic place to see migrating ducks,
geese, and shorebirds.
Doran
Road in Lima:
Located east of downtown Lima, Doran Road is a favorite place
to watch short-eared owls and northern harrier hawks hunt for
prey over open fields.
Genesee
Valley Greenway:
Nearly half of the 90-mile long Genesee Valley Greenway, which
follows the old canal, runs through Livingston County. The Genesee
River also runs parallel to the trail and provides a natural
migration route that attracts songbirds, raptors, waterfowl,
and other birds. Though the Greenway hosts many species year-round,
the trail is most alive with birds in spring and early summer
and again during fall. Several ponds and wet areas along the
Greenway are good for finding geese, ducks, and shorebirds,
including the next site, Cuylerville Pond.
Cuylerville
Pond:
You'll see an impressive variety of waterfowl and shorebirds
in this pond/cattail marsh, which is located one mile north
of Rt. 20A (at Greenway mile marker 29). Notable species have
included wood duck, blue-winged teal, least bittern, Virginia
rail, sora, common moorhen, cuckoos, great horned owl, and willow
flycatcher.
Directly
east of the pond, on the opposite bank of the Genesee River,
is the privately owned Geneseo Airfield and Big Tree Farm areas
which are good bird-watching sites. The landowners usually don't
mind bird watchers gazing from the perimeter of their land.
Local
Birding Resources:
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Written by Laura M. Kammermeier
Author
bio: Laura M. Kammermeier is a freelance writer who
has lived and birded in the Finger Lakes region of
New York for six of the last nine years. She is the
former project leader for Cornell Lab of Ornithology's
Project FeederWatch, former web consultant for Bird
Watcher's Digest, and a co-founder the Ohio Ornithological
Society and has contributed to the Genesee Sun newspaper.
She writes from her home in Honeoye Falls, NY.
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