American Tree Sparrows, from “A year with the birds” (1916), Cornell University Library
The entrance to the Hudson Highlands Nature Center Outdoor Discovery Campus (formerly Kenridge Farm) is on Angola Road, approximately a mile south of the traffic circle in Cornwall. This site, which abuts Black Rock Forest, features 6 miles of trails on 177 acres of woods, open brush, fields, and wetlands (trail map).
Depending on the season, nearly 150 species of birds can be observed here, including warblers (Canada and Magnolia), sparrows (Lincoln’s Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, and Fox Sparrows), vireos (White-Eyed), Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Bluebirds, owls, and Baltimore and Orchard orioles. Hooded Warblers and Blue-winged Warblers nest on the property, along with Wood Ducks and Canada Geese. In the summer, a Green Heron can almost always be found skulking in the marshy area near the road just below the farmhouse.
Eastern Bluebird. Photo by Alan Wells.
Cedar Waxwing. Photo by Alan Wells. “During rainy days they do not seek any protection from the wet, but sit quietly…with top-knots flattened, looking just a trifle depressed in spirits, as well as literally crest-fallen.” —EA Mearns
Barn Swallow. Photo by Alan Wells.
Fox Sparrows. Photo by Carlotta Shearson. “Its notes are full and rich; and when singing, it is apt to be perched on a tree-top, although it frequently sings in a brush-heap.” —EA Mearns
Green Heron. Photo by Bill Fiero.
Sharp-shinned Hawk. Photo by Carlotta Shearson.
Hooded Warbler. Photo by Alan Wells. “The Hooded Warbler is…a very attractive species, both on account of its brilliant plumage and its delicious song.” —E.A Mearns
Canada Warbler. Photo by Dave Baker.
Wood Thrush. Photo by Bill Fiero.
Swainson’s Thrush. Photo by Kathleen Ashman. “In spring, they are very abundant in the woods and orchards, uttering a note that sounds like the bursting of an air bubble on rising to the surface of a fluid.” —EA Mearns
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