Birding Festivals in the Adirondacks:
2016 Great Adirondack Birding Celebration
Madawaska Flow Field Trip

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Boreal Birds of the Adirondacks: Boreal Chickadee. Photo by Larry Master. www.masterimages.org

This site is no longer being updated with current information on birding activities at the VIC. For current information on the events planned for the 2017 Great Adirondack Birding Celebration, visit: http://www.paulsmiths.edu/vic/gabc/schedule/. For information on birding in the Adirondacks, visit: Adirondack Wildlife: Birds of the Adirondacks.

• Time: Saturday, 4 June, 7:00 AM and Sunday, 5 June, 7:00 AM
• Price: $40 per person. $36 for Friends of the VIC or Northern New York Audubon members. $20 for Friends of the VIC Warblers. Each field trip is limited to 20 participants. Please register early.
• Where to Meet: Participants will meet in the Paul Smith's College VIC parking lot. There will be a blue sign with yellow letters GABC (Great Adirondack Birding Celebration) at the picnic pavilion closest to the VIC building to indicate the meeting point in the parking lot for the Madawaska Field Trip participants. Participants and leaders will then car pool to Madawaska from the PSC VIC.
• What to Bring: Gear for a short day trip: hat, binoculars, sunscreen, snack, water, rain gear, insect repellent

Madawaska has been a favored boreal birding area for a half-century or more. The area encompasses conifer forest, mixed hardwood forest, and a variety of wetlands, as well as Madawaska Pond. Madawaska is an eBird Birding Hotspot. Sightings may include:

• Palm Warbler
• Lincoln's Sparrow
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Gray Jay
• Boreal Chickadee
• Northern Parula
• Chestnut-sided Warbler
• Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
• Olive-sided Flycatcher
• Blackburnian Warbler

As the habitat changes to white pine forest, the Brown Creeper can be found nesting behind loose bark. Madawaska Pond may have Green-winged Teal, American Bittern, and Bald Eagle.

This field trip involves some "birding by car," with frequent stops along the way to take advantage of the varied habitats. Participants will caravan west on Keese Mill Road, which becomes Blue Mountain Road, stopping along the road to listen and watch for boreal species. The group will park at the Indian Rock parking area and hike into Madawaska Pond, which is about 1.5 miles from the parking area. The walking is easy along a flat, grassy dirt road. The most challenging part of the trip involves dealing with hungry mosquitoes, so plenty of insect repellent is advised.

Click here for a report on a previous GABC field trip to Madawaska Flow.