Birdwatching in New York

Birding contacts and birdwatching information



Local Birdingpal Contacts

Local Birdwatchers Using the Birdingpal resources you must agree to the following: If you contact a local Birdingpal and make arrangement to go birding, you should note it is common courtesy to make sure you show up for the appointment. If for any reason you are unable to do this, the least you must do is contacting the local Pal right away. Please note that most Birdingpals are serious birdwatchers. It is a privilege to contact them, and your message should reflect it. A local Pal does not get paid, but should he/she offer to take you out birding, using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club. _____________________________________________________________ We want to hear about your experiences with Birdingpals. Please contact us with any comments or suggestions you have. CONTACT US _____________________________________________________________
Shortcuts to Local Pals in major cities: Albany Long Island New York Niagara Falls Rochester Syracuse Professional Guides Local Information
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		M	Staloffk	Ava	Anytime	English
		I live in upstate New York between Lake Ontario and Adirondack Mountains. I have been birding since the 1960's. My maiden name is Kelley - my great grandfather came from Roscommon.
		JB	Timmis	Albany	Anytime	English
		C	Finger	Albany	Weekend	English
		S	Mesick	Albany	Anytime	English, some Spanish, Russian
		Lots of habitat variety around Albany. Mountains, fields, marshes, rivers, deciduous and conifer forests. Adirondack National Forest and Catskill mountains both a couple hours away.
		J	Vellozzi	Ardsley	Anytime	English
		D	Watkins	Binghamton	Anytime	English
		The Binghamton area has several very good spots to bird. One is listed on the NY important areas. Warbler migration time is most likely our best time. It is not unusual to get 20 types of warblers on a good morning. I am a member of our local bird club, where I am on the broad and lead a weekly trip to local hotspots. I have done the World Series of Birding for the last 7 years, being the captain the last 3 years. Once a year I lead a national trip to Alabama.
		J	Malbin	Brooklyn	Most weekends	English, good understanding of French
		If it is around in Brooklyn, I should have a good idea of where to find it. I have chased my Brooklyn year list every year for nearly the last decade and have pointlessly set and reset the Brooklyn Big Year mark several times.		Area: Prospect Park, Green-wood Cemetery, Plumb Beach, Shirley Chisholm State Park, others. If you come with a kayak, I can even bring you kayak birding in Jamaica Bay. Area Birds: Brooklyn gets a wide variety of common and unusual migrants of all kinds: passerines, shorebirds, and waterfowl depending on the season.	Interests: Nature: birdwatching, kayak birdwatching
		P	Lengyel	Brooklyn	Anytime	English, a little French
		A relatively new birder, with a pretty flexible schedule looking for fellow birders to hit the local hot spots with (esp Prospect Park).
		R	Harris	Cambridge	Anytime	English, German
		I live in upstate New York between the Hudson River and the Vermont border, between Albany, NY and Bennington,VT.
		B	Marrs	Centereach	Anytime	English
		I am a profitient birder. I have traveled extensivly throughout the U.S. birding. I also have a lot of research experience working with many of the local passerines and have done bird research elsewhere in the country.
		P	Burkard	Buffalo, Chautauqua County	Weekend	English, Spanish
		Novice birder, area of Eastern Great Lakes, featuring migratory routes and water fowl.
		C	Wodinsky	Cedarhurst	Anytime	English
		I'm a lifelong birder and have been living in the NYC area for the last 27 years.		Area: South coast of Long Island in Nassau County, very close to JFK Airport and New York City. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Jones Beach Area Birds:	Interests: Nature: birdwatching, photography, wildlife Travel: walking, hiking, biking, kayaking. Visit: tourist sites, museums, art galleries, arboretums, architectural and historical sites, antiques. Enjoy: concerts, ballet, dance performances, theatre, classical, country and folk music. Participate: International and Israeli folk dance.
		N	Ziemba	Fredonia, Chautauqua County	Anytime	English
		I am an intermediate birder, based in Fredonia, Chautauqua County. Dunkirk Harbor is a great sight to spot overwintering water fowl. I also know of several local "hot spots". A short 45 minute will take you to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, as well as the local Audubon Society. I am free most weekends, and with enough daylight available, most evenings.
		K	Diamond	Chester(Orange County)	Anytime	English, American Sign Language
		E	Williams	Clinton	Weekend	English
		I am a senior at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. I am a passionate but intermediate birder of the birds normally found around the central NY state area. If you are interested in doing some birding in the Utica/Rome area let me know! If I am not around I have most likely gone home to the seacoast of New Hampshire for break.
		J	Hopkins	Cornwall-on-Hudson	Anytime	English
		I am within an hour's drive to Basha Kill Wildlife Refuge which is great for migrating warblers. Also near Wallkill River Refuge and Kenridge Farm for Orioles, warblers, etc.Also am near Iona Island for Cerulean warblers.
		M	Klein	Great Neck (Queens/Nassau Border), New York, USA	Anytime	English
		I love birding, especially as a social activity with other people. I have been actively birding for about 10 years and have traveled to bird in places like Iceland and Panama, among others. I look forward to meeting new people and being out in nature. Finding birds only makes it that much more exciting! I am a talker and enjoy company. If you are looking for an extremely quiet/reserved birder, look elsewhere. We will have fun. I'm very nice but also very talkative.		Area: North Shore Long Island. Old oak trees and water. Central Park, Jones Beach, Alley Pond Park Area Birds: Migrating Warbler Species, Shore Birds, Owls, Etc.	Interests: Nature: birdwatching
		B	Spencer	Haverstraw	Weekend	English
		A	Williams	Hortonville	Weekend	English, some French
		This area, Sullivan County, is in the foothills of the Catskill mountains and contains the Bashakill Wildlife Area, the Delaware River, lakes, and farmland. I am not an expert birder, but can recognize most of the local species by sight and sound.
		H	Sprung	Hyde Park	Anytime	English
		Hyde Park is on the Hudson River about 100 miles north of NYC. It is a rich birding area. I mostly bird with a camera and kayak. Two excellent natural areas are the Audubon Ramshorn Sanctuary near Catskill, NY and the Tivoli Bays area near Tivoli (Rhinebeck, NY). Both are best accessed by Kayak - both are fresh water tidal areas. I am NOT going to be in the area this late spring, summer and fall as I will be traveling throughout the Western and North Central US birding and picture taking for the season. I will be in semi-regular (at least weekly e-mail) contact with the world. I would be glad to give long distance advice on my area while I am away.
		W	Cook	Hudson/Albany	Weekend	English
		I am willing to go birding with visitors for a morning, or perhaps a full day in the vicinity of Hudson, New York without pay. I am a teacher, so I can go out on week days in the summer. I am an experienced birder and have been birding since 1976.
		B	McGuire	Ithaca	Anytime	English
		Instructor/trip leader for Steve Kress' Spring Field Ornithology, past president of Cayuga Bird Club, editor of 'Birding the Cayuga Lake Basin'
		M	Haribal	Ithaca	Weekend	English
		S	Fern	Ithaca	Anytime	English
		J	Dombroskie	Ithaca	Anytime	English, some French, Spanish
		I am interested in all aspects of natural history, especially entomology.
		P	Becker	Katohna, Westchester	Anytime	English, French
		B	McAllister	Lake Placid	Anytime	English
		K	Bucolo	Lockport	Anytime	English
		H	Farber	Melville	Weekend	English
		I Band (ring) birds for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife during May, September & October, as a hobby. I live on Long Island, NY. where I am near ocean, bay and wooded habitat.
		P	Ludwig	Dix Hills, Long Island	Anytime	English, German
		Retired but still working. Can go birding on different days. Have been a casual to serious birder for over 50 years.
		R	Savage	East Hampton, Long Island	Anytime	English
		D	Taggart	Moriches/Long Island	Anytime	English
		M	Cooper	Long Island	Anytime	English
		Long Island, New York, is located along the Atlantic Flyway in Eastern North America. The widest variety of birds are present during spring and fall migration, with peak diversity in May and again from August through early October. As a coastal barrier island, winter is also good for interesting waterfowl, gulls and vagrants from western North America, while shorebirds (waders) are often the higlight during midsummer. Local specialties include, at the proper seasons, Piping Plover, Roseate Tern, Fish Crow, Sharp-tailed Sparrows, Seaside Sparrow and alcids and sea ducks. I've been birding Long Island for over 30 years, and I've been leading field trips for local birding groups for most of that time. I'm very familiar with Long Island hotspots, somewhat familiar with Manhattan and New Jersey areas, but I can offer general guidelines for most areas in the northeastern US.
		D	Holgate	Manlius	Anytime	English
		Major spring migration area, near lake Ontario, various habitats, all make upstate NY a great place to bird!
		R	Olley	Bronx, New York	Weekend	English
		Work at Bronx Zoo, travel to S American and C America looking for local birders and people who would like to get together and travel to Mexico in a group.
		R	Perera	Bronx, New York	Anytime	English
		R	Olley	Bronx, New York	Anytime	English, touch of Spanish
		Have traveled to Peru, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Texas for birdwatching. Live in Bronx next to Botanical Gardens. Have a house in Bonoa, Dominican Republic.
		P	Dorosh	Brooklyn, New York	Weekend
		K	Notopoulos	Brooklyn, New York	Weekend	English
		E	Harold	Brooklyn, New York	Anytime	English, French
		A	Bielskas	New York, New York	Weekends, some evenings.	English
		I'm a Native New Yorker and live in New York City and have been birding for the last few years. I love to travel, and try to bird a bit whenever I travel if it's possible. I also enjoy photography and try to incorporate that into my birding trips as well. I bird as much as I can in New York and bird quite frequently in Central Park. I like to bird with others, and appreciate the knowledge and expertise locals can share of their favorite birding spots when I'm in an unfamiliar birding spot.		Area: Central Park Area Birds: Central Park, Bronx Zoo other parks in NYC	Interests: Nature: birdwatching, twitching, photography, butterflies, fishing, skiing, swimming, beach, surfing, snowmobiling, sky diving Travel: stroll, walking, hiking, climbing, train, bus, car, hitchhiking, biking, long walk, backpack, portage, canoe, ship, cruise, pilot, dog sled, snow mobile Visit: tourist site, museum, restaurant, club, vineyard, ski run/trail, monument, arboretum, architecture appreciation, shop, antique, fashion, tech, casino Attend: concert, horse race, ballet, dance show, theatre, live music, sports event, auction, antique, convention, political rally, protest, competition, swap Participate: night life, party, dance, club, bar, rock, country, classical, hiphop, rap, swing, wine, beer, liquor, revival, ceremony, flash mob, round table Play: cards, sports, boardgames, billiards, chess, checkers, scrambled letters games, lawn games, water sports, computer games, motor sports
		C	Beilman	New York, NY	Weekends	English, Spanish, Portuguese
		I enjoy birding across the greater New York City area. I bird regularly with a local bird birding club, and have good local knowledge to share.		Area: Jamaica Bay, Central Park and other local hotspots and parks Area Birds: seasonal	Interests: Nature: birdwatching, twitching, photography, butterflies, fishing, skiing, swimming, beach, surfing, snowmobiling, sky diving Travel: stroll, walking, hiking, climbing, train, bus, car, hitchhiking, biking, long walk, packpack, portage, canoe, ship, cruise, pilot, dog sled, snow mobile Visit: tourist site, museum, restaurant, club, vineyard, ski run/trail, monument, arboretum, architecture appreciation, shop, antique, fashion, tech Attend: concert, horse race, ballet, dance show, theatre, live music, sports event, auction, antique, convention, political rally, protest, competition, swap Participate: night life, party, dance, club, bar, rock, country, classical, hiphop, rap, swing, wine, beer, liquor, social games, computer games, casino
		C	Bloch	New York	Weekend	English
		P	Johnson	New York	Anytime	English, Spanish, Brazilian, Portuguese
		Join me for birding in Manhattan's Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park; also familiar with sites in Columbia County [2.5 hrs north of NYC, on the Hudson River] I'm an academic working on Latin America. I have been birding for 25 yrs or so.
		P	Epstein	New York	Anytime	English
		P	Shen	New York	Weekend	English
		S	Rouff	New York	Weekend	English
		R	Zain-Eldeen	New York	Weekend	English
		I do not have a car but I can take birders out to places accessible by public transportation, such as Central Park, Prospect Park, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
		A	Rubenfeld	New York	Weekend	English
		Long-time birdwatcher (with car) familiar with NYC and metropolitan area, including Long Island, lower Hudson River Valley, and central/northern New Jersey.
		C	Thoreen	New York	Anytime	English
		R	Elve	New York	Anytime	English
		All seasons daily sunset tour of Hudson River Park, west village generally Christopher Street to w 14 street along river side some horticultural/garden interests as well Audubon and Sierra Club, information per other areas.
		J	Drucker	New York	Weekend	English, some Japanese
		I am a 16 year old high school student who resides in Manhattan, New York City, and has a second home"+" in Sheffield, Massachusetts. I have been been birding over 9 years, and my passion from Ornithology has taken me all over the U.S., as well as to South America and Europe. I am very familiar with Central and Riverside Parks in Manhattan, as well as the birding locations in Southern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. As I am a student, my time may be limited, but I will try my best to show any guest the local wildlife.
		J	Capron	New York	Anytime	English, French
		I understand some of the best bird-watching occurs in Central Park. I would like to learn more about birdwatching here and wherever I travel.
		G	Waskow	New York	Weekend	English
		We have Central Park, Riverside Park and miles of shore.
		J	Buckler	New York	Weekend	English
		I am a Brit living in Manhattan. I have been in the US for 3 years as at 2012. I have reasonable knowledge of sites in and around Manhattan. I have previously lived and birdied in the UAE (3 years). Prior to that birding very UK centric.
		H	Fischer	Staten Island, New York	Anytime	English, some German
		Great parks especially in spring.
		G	Light	Niagara County	Weekend	English
		I am very familiar with Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, and the Lake Plains. Contact me with your bird wish list and I'll let you know which birds we may see. I also have access to up-to-date Rare Bird reports.
		K	Cohen	Niagara Falls/Buffalo	Weekend	English
		Western New York has many different ecological areas to explore from the hills of Allegany State park to the marshes of Iroquois National Wildlife refuge. In winter the Niagara river and Lake Ontario sustain many wintering waterfowl.
		N	Klein	Northport	Anytime	English
		S	Ervine	Ossinger	Weekend	English
		M	Thompson	Oswego	Weekend	English
		A	Braunstein	Riverdale	Weekend	English
		R	Minetor	Rochester	Weekend	English
		K	Sucy	Rochester	Anytime	English
		I'm available most weekday mornings and weekends. I love the Rochester area and its birding spots, and enjoy showing them to new people!
		L	Bassett	Russell	Anytime	English
		Live in foothills of Adirondack mountains on 150 acres. Be glad to show our area to anyone traveling in the area.
		J	van Leeuwen	Savannah	Anytime	English
		I live in the hamlet of a small town and supply many feeding opportunities through feeders, flowers, shrubs etc... I have been birding for only 5 or 6 years and began with hummingbirds. From there my love grew to all the birds in the area.
Suffolk County
		R	McNeil	Yaphank, Suffolk County	Anytime	English
		Birding has been a passion of mine for 19 years in GA, TX, CT and now NY.		Area: Suffolk County has the most species of any county in NY. Whether you like seawatching at Montauk for alcids, shearwaters at Robert Moses, shorebirds at Cupsogue, or warblers at Manorville Hills. This area has a wide variety of birds in all. Area Birds: Typically bird the hotspots from Robert Moses SP to Montauk	Interests: Nature: birdwatching, twitching, photography, butterflies, swimming, beach, Travel: stroll, walking, hiking, train, bus, car, long walk, Visit: tourist site, museum, restaurant, vineyard, wine
		M	Mau	Syracuse	Anytime	English
		Been birding all my life, started with my grandmother at 5 and never stopped. I'm now retired from the military and have tons of time to help others build their lists, learn the hobby or find that hard to find species. I'm up for anything, a couple hours or a big day just give me a shout.		Area: Syracuse, Central NY, Adirondack Area Tons of hotspots in CNY, Montezuma NWR, 3 Rivers, Beaver Lake, Happy Valley Area Birds: We have awesome migrate viewing, hawk watching, passerines, shorebirds	Interests: Nature: birdwatching
		R	MacLean	Syracuse(East)	Anytime	English
		W	Dwyer	Troy	Weekend	English, German, Japanese(basic)
		My wife and I live near Albany, the capital city of NY state (3 hours north of New York City by car or train). There are many good local birding spots we enjoy including Five Rivers Environmental Center, Vischer's Ferry and Niles Huyck Nature Preserve.
		P	Relson	Ulster Park	Weekend	English
		P	Schoenberger	Woodstock	Weekend	English
		B	Manning	Tarrytown, Westerchester	Anytime	English
Local wildlife photographers Birdingpal wildlife photographers, like Pals, do not get paid. So should he/she offer to take you out using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		D	Koch	Pine Plains	Anytime	English
		Veterinarian/Birder/Photographer Mid-Hudson Valley New York.
Professional Guides If you contact a professional Birdingpal guide you must be prepared to pay a fee for guiding services.
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		S	Haber	New York	Anytime	English, some Spanish
		I am a professional ornithologist with an undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where I worked at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I have been a serious birder for over a decade, with international birding and fieldwork experience in Central America, South America and Europe, and I've also participated multiple times in the World Series of Birding. I'm available to guide in the New York City area and throughout New Jersey, with extensive knowledge of Central Park, Cape May, and the breeding birds of Northern New Jersey in particular. I can provide transportation with my own car as well. I pride myself on being able to cater to serious listers, casual/beginning birders, and everything in between. I generally charge $30/hour, or $200 for a full day, but this can be vary based on the need for car transport and other factors.
		B	Elrick	West Milford	Anytime	English
		Friendly knowledgeable birding guide in the New Jersey, New York metro area Some of the best bird migration sites in the Eastern USA are in the NY, NJ, Metro area. The migration through NJ during April and May has becoming better known in the last few years after many teams from around the world have competed in the World Series Of birding. There are also within 1hr from Manhattan Island some breeding sites of the less common and highly sought after species Including Golden-winged, Worm-eating and Blackburnian warblers. Add to that the Sandpiper migration in July through August and you have a World class birding area for most of the year. I have 20 years experience as a bird guide in NY, NJ, PA and GA leading bird walks for bird clubs and organizations. I have a masters U,S,G,S, banding permit and earned a B,T,O, "A" ringing permit before emigrating to the USA. The best birding is just after sunrise and so most days 4 or more hrs birding can be managed before any other commitments. There is always a minimum of a four hr charge.
Local Information
		Name			Description
		Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia			New York
		Local weather			Yahoo
		The Linnaean Society of New York			Club
		Audubon New York			Club
		Audubon Society of the Capital Region			Club
		Brooklyn Bird Club			Club
		Bedford Audubon Society			Club
		Bronx River-Sound Shore Audubon Society			Club
		Buffalo Audubon Society			Club
		Buffalo Ornithological Society			Club
		Cayuga Bird Club			Club
		Central Westchester Audubon Society			Club
		Chemung Valley Audubon Society			Club
		Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club			Club
		Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society			Club
		Eastern Long Island Audubon Society			Club
		Four Harbors Audubon Society			Club
		Genesee Valley Audubon Society			Club
		Great South Bay Audubon Society			Club
		Hudson River Audubon Society			Club
		Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society			Club
		Jamestown Audubon Society			Club
		New York City Audubon Society			Club
		North Fork Audubon Society			Club
		North Shore Audubon Society			Club
		Northern Catskills Audubon Society			Club
		Northern New York Audubon Society			Club
		Onondaga Audubon Society			Club
		Orange County Audubon Society			Club
		Putnam Highlands Audubon Society			Club
			Queens County Bird Club Inc	NYC / Long Island	Anytime	English
		There is a lot of information including MAPS & descriptions of most birding hotspots.			A Gilbert Queens County Bird Club Inc www.qcbirdclub.org
		Rockland Audubon Society			Club
		Saw Mill River Audubon Society			Club
		Southern Adirondack Audubon			Club
		South Shore Audubon Society			Club
		Sullivan County Audubon Society			Club
		Rochester Birding Association			Club
		John Burroughs Natural History Society			Club
		Latest Sights NYC			RBR
		Fire Island			Hawk Watch
		Long Island			Sites
		Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island			Pelagic
		Birding Hotspots around the world			Sites

Last update 29/01/2014