Chester, New York

Yellow-bellied sapsucker, from “Bird neighbors, an introductory acquaintance with one hundred and fifty birds commonly found in the gardens, meadows, and woods about our homes” (1899), Smithsonian Libraries

The meeting location for Goosepond Mountain State Park field trips is the parking lot of the McDonald’s at 73 Brookside Avenue in Chester, New York.

Goosepond Mountain State Park (~1500 acres) is a mostly undeveloped park consisting of a mixture of woods, open fields, and wetlands. A 2.6-mile stretch of abandoned road (Lazy Hill Road) crosses the main body of the park from roughly north to south. The Open Space Institute recently purchased 400 acres at the southern end of the park; this new section, Goosepond South, can be accessed from Bull Mill Road. In addition, there is a separate nature trail (parking on 17M) that provides access to a 5-acre constructed wetland with a boardwalk (check out a trail map here).

The diversity of habitat means that you can see a wide variety of birds here, including warblers, cuckoos, woodpeckers, Indigo Buntings, flycatchers, hawks, vireos, osprey, herons, and more—all the usual suspects!