Covering much of northern New York State, the Adirondack region is a breathtaking blend of forested mountains, thousands of lakes and ponds, almost countless miles of rivers and streams, cascading waterfalls, and even open space. In wilder places there, moose, black bear, white-tailed deer, beaver, otter, bobcat, pine marten, and red fox live. Adirondack State Park, the official state-managed entity within this region is unique among managed parks in the United States. It is an intricate and even confusing mix of protected "forever-wild" forest preserve, undeveloped private holdings, small towns, tourism businesses, agriculture, and more. Known for an abundance of opportunities for hiking, fishing, canoeing, hunting, and winter sports, it has also recently become a major birding and bird photography destination. A variety of habitat from low to upper elevation is responsible for a diverse mix of permanent, seasonal, and migrating-through bird species. In conifer-forested portions within the Park, birds breed that are more commonly found in the forests of Canada. A variety of woodland warblers, hawks, flycatchers, and vireos live in this region. The wilder lakes are home to Common Loon, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Great Blue Heron, American Bittern, and more. Adjacent to the mountainous area are the shores of mammoth Lake Champlain, a major flyway for geese, ducks, loons, and shorebirds.

Right up front, I will state that bird photography in this region is not comparable to the bird-filled wetlands of Florida, or overflowing shorelines at Cape May. This six million acre region is as large as the state of Massachusetts. Adirondack bird photography requires doing some basic homework and planning to visit specific locations where the birds are often found. While driving all over a huge area can feel adventurous and occasionally turn up desired photo subjects, it is usually more productive to head to where the locals spot the good birds and post them on bird-sighting websites. Fortunately, there are numerous new resources to help plan an Adirondack journey. This includes birding books, maps, guides, websites, and 2 different festivals held in the region. The Birds of New York State, by Robert Budliger, is a good book to start with. A simple web search will turn up much. These are the main bird photography attractions for those visiting the Adirondacks.

Common Loons

With over 2,800 lakes and ponds, the Adirondack region is one of the premier northeastern destinations to observe, hear, and photograph Common Loons. Loons arrive immediately after ice-out, which varies from late April to mid-May. They depart anywhere from late August to early November. Loons require undisturbed shorelines or islands to nest so are found away from the more touristy lakes. Their long distance take-offs and landings also require a minimum size lake. Some of these lakes are roadside; others require long hikes into the backcountry. The Adirondacks mix of pristine and highly developed shorelines makes homework essential here. The lakes with highly developed shorelines usually offer jet-skis instead of loons. Better to head to more pristine shorelines of which there is much, where loons are more at home. Great places for photographing loons include the St. Regis Canoe Area, Fish Creek Ponds complex, and hundreds of lakes from Inlet to Long Lake. Lodging, campgrounds, and amenities are available in small towns such as Old Forge, Inlet, Long Lake, and Tupper Lake. Larger towns such as Saranac Lake and Lake Placid are quite near the St. Regis-Fish Creeks waters.

Boreal Birds

Found more typically in the boreal woodlands of Canada, Minnesota, and Alaska, the Adirondacks have isolated patches of coniferous woods and wetlands where unique boreal species live. Some are permanent residents such as Gray Jay, Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Woodpecker, and American Three-toed Woodpecker. Others breed but stay seasonally - Palm Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Rusty Blackbird, and Bay-breasted Warbler. A few noteworthy places that these birds are photographed include Ferd's Bog in Inlet, Bloomingdale Bog in Saranac Lake, the Moose River Plains, Massawepie Mire, and with advance permission, the Nature Conservancy's Spring Pond Bog north of Tupper Lake. Of course, these birds can appear anywhere in the Park that coniferous habitat makes them at home.

Woodland Warblers

Challenging photo subjects, avian photographers usually seek out woodland warblers before leaf-out at migrant traps. But to experience a medley of warbler melodies in their breeding locales, the Adirondacks is your classic north-woods experience. Forest habitat is varied throughout the Adirondacks, and so are the warblers. The coniferous woods or wetlands are home to breeding Magnolia, Palm, Blackburnian, and Black-throated Green warblers. Mixed woods have Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue, and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Wet shrubby areas and slow moving streams have Yellow, Common-Yellowthroat, Northern Water-thrush. In boreal woods near Lake Placid, the more rare Cape May and Bay-Breasted might be found.

Eagles and Hawks

The Broad-winged Hawk is at home in thick woodlands throughout much of the Park. As everywhere, plentiful Red-tailed Hawk prefers transitional woods adjacent open space. The Peregrine Falcon is found at several cliffs along Lake Champlain and Lake George. The Bald Eagle has made a magnificent comeback in the Park. While nesting is limited and often in isolated places, wintering eagles are often seen along open water in winter. Northern Goshawk and Merlin also reside here.

Bicknell's Thrush

This globally rare upper elevation bird is found only in a handful of mountainous summits in New York, New England, and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. It was split several years ago from the more northerly Gray-Cheeked Thrush. Lugging a 500 or 600mm lens up a mountain does not sound tempting to photograph this rare bird.

Fortunately, a paved highway to the top of Whiteface Mountain gets you to this bird's breeding territory, just below the summit parking lot. They typically arrive the last week in May and sing early and late in the day in early June. If you are in the mood for a mountain hike however, this thrush is also found on Blue Mt., Pillsbury Mt., and Hurricane Mt.

Winter Birds

The majority of birds leave the Adirondack region before the severe and long winter sets in. Yet this can be an exciting time as more northerly species show up. These birds are highly irruptive and unpredictable, so monitoring online bird lists is the best advice. In irruption years, Pine Grosbeak, Bohemian Waxwing, Northern Shrike, Snow Bunting, Northern hawk Owl and Great Gray Owl may show up. Adirondack breeders that are most prevalent in winter also put on a show -Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, and in irruption years-both Crossbills. Rough-legged hawks are typically seen in the Champlain valley farms and open space. There are no guarantees that any of these birds can easily be found in any given day or year or a certain day. When they are however, they usually stick around for days and weeks in the same area.

Access

Flying to the region, the largest airports are Albany International, Burlington International, and Montreal, Quebec. US interstate 87 travels north-south through the eastern third of the Park. The most scenic and most bird productive main artery is state Route 30.

When to visit

As in many North American places, May is a magical month for bird migration and arrivals. In the Adirondacks, numerous species don't arrive until late May. Loons have arrived and their haunting call echoes across a pristine lakeshore. June offers more birds and unfortunately, the scourge of the northern forest, black flies. Deet, Avon-skin-so-soft, and head-nets are all used to keep these beasts in check. July and August are prime summer tourism months and birds quiet down. Loons are swimming with their chicks. Warblers are quieter now and incredibly, flycatchers and shorebirds are already preparing for their southern journeys. October and November offer fall migration along lake Champlain and the possible arrival of the winter bird mentioned.

Equipment

Birds in the Adirondacks are in no way, adjusted to people, as the wading birds of Florida can be. You will need all the glass you have - at least 400mm. In addition to tripod shooting, using your car as a blind is very effective while driving around. Have adequate support- I use a beanbag. Winter temperatures can be severe and require cold weather care, for not only camera gear, but your vehicle and yourself.

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Jeff is a freelance nature photographer specialized in avian subjects. His photos are often used in regional magazines, birding guides, birding trails, tourism brochures, and nature-oriented publications. National Geographic Books, Adirondack Life, Conservationist, Natural New England, Kaatskill Life, and Adirondack Explorer recently used his images. His images appear on nature education plagues in Vermont, Alabama, and the Yukon. His written article and photos on Adirondack Birds will appear in Bird Watchers Digest in 2007. His website, Jeff Nadler Photography is at jnphoto.net. He has participated in Photo Migrations since its early days.