Preface • Acknowledgments • THE HUDSON VALLEY LANDSCAPE • A Land Shaped by Glaciers • A Land Changed by Humans • The River, Its Tributaries and Shoreline • The Uplands • The Physical Setting of Today’s Hudson Valley • The River • The Land • IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS BIRDWATCHING • Tools for Getting Started • Binoculars for Birding • Field Guides • Bird Feeders as a Stepping-Stone to Birding • Feeding Birds Responsibly • Learning to Bird at a Feeder • FROM BIRDWATCHER TO BIRDER • Before You Go—Staying Safe While Birding the Hudson Valley • The Annual Cycle • Find the Food, Find the Bird • Birds, Migration, and Weather • Some Important Bird Habitats in the Hudson Valley • Forests • Grasslands, Pastures, and Agricultural Lands • Scrublands and Successional Old Fields • Wetlands • Open Waters and Mudflats • Coastal Habitats • A Monthly Guide to Birding the Hudson Valley • STEP UP YOUR BIRDING GAME • Listen to the Birds • Learning Songs and Calls • Tap Into the Birding Community • Bird Clubs and Field Trips • Social Networking for Birders • Activities to Build Your Birding Skills • Seeing, Finding, Reporting, and Documenting Rare Birds • Ethical Birding and Conservation • INTRODUCTION TO BIRDING SITES • Public Land Ownership in the Hudson Valley • About the Birding Sites • THE UPPER HUDSON VALLEY • Albany County • Cohoes Flats • Ann Lee Pond and Bauer Environmental Park • Albany Pine Bush Preserve • John Boyd Thacher and Thompson’s Lake State Parks • Normanskill Farm • Five Rivers Environmental Education Center • Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station • Deer Mountain Nature Trail • Rensselaer County • Lock 4 Canal Park • Tomhannock Reservoir • Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center • Taconic Crest Trail, Petersburg Pass to Berlin Mountain • Papscanee Island Nature Preserve • Schodack Island State Park • Mud Pond Preserve • Greene County • Hannacroix Creek Preserve and Hudson River Interpretive Trail • Coxsackie Creek Grassland Preserve • Four-Mile Point Preserve and Vosburgh Swamp Wildlife Management Area • Hunter Mountain • Mountain Top Arboretum • RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary • Columbia County • Lewis A. Swyer Preserve at Mill Creek • Wilson M. Powell Wildlife Sanctuary • Hand Hollow Conservation Area • Stockport Flats • Ooms Conservation Area at Sutherland Pond • Beebe Hill and Harvey Mountain State Forests • Greenport Conservation Area and Harrier Hill Park • Olana • Lake Taghkanic State Park • Harlem Valley Rail Trail, Copake Falls to Under Mountain Road • THE MID–HUDSON VALLEY • Ulster County • Great Vly Wildlife Management Area • Esopus Bend Nature Preserve • Esopus Meadows Preserve and Lighthouse Park • Balsam Lake Mountain • Kenneth L. Wilson Campground • Falling Waters Preserve • Shaupeneak Ridge • Minnewaska State Park Preserve • Nyquist-Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary • Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge • Dutchess County • Tivoli Bays Wildlife Management Area • Buttercup Farm Sanctuary • Harlem Valley Rail Trail, Millerton Station to Sharon Station Road • Mills Norrie State Park • Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies • Peach Hill Park • Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve • Nuclear Lake • Pawling Nature Reserve • Denning’s Point State Park and Madam Brett Park • Orange County • Stewart State Forest • Six and a Half Station Road Wildlife Sanctuary • Hudson Highlands Nature Museum and Outdoor Discovery Center • Goosepond Mountain State Park • Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge • Mount Peter • Sterling Forest State Park, Ironwood Drive • Harriman State Park, Island Pond • Harriman State Park, Elk Pen • Harriman State Park, Lake Skannatati Pine Swamp Loop • THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY • Rockland County • Bear Mountain State Park—Doodletown and Iona Island • Hook Mountain • Rockland Lake State Park • Kakiat County Park • Piermont Pier and Marsh • Putnam County • Clarence Fahnestock State Park • Wonder Lake State Park • Cranberry Mountain Wildlife Management Area • Little Stony Point State Park • Nimham Mountain Multiple Use Area • William Clough Preserve • Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary • Westchester County • Muscoot Farm • Croton Point Park • Teatown Lake Reservation • Rockefeller State Park Preserve • Cranberry Lake Preserve • Arthur W. Butler Memorial Sanctuary and Chestnut Ridge Hawkwatch • Marshlands Conservancy • Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary • BEYOND THE TEN COUNTIES—NEARBY SITES TOO GREAT TO BE MISSED • Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve • Bashakill Wildlife Management Area • Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch • SPECIES ACCOUNTS • Waterfowl • Quail, Grouse, and Turkeys • Grebes • Pigeons, Doves, and Cuckoos • Nightjars • Swifts and Hummingbirds • Rails, Gallinules, Coots, and Cranes • Shorebirds • Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers • Loons • Gannets and Cormorants • Waders • Vultures • Osprey, Kites, Hawks, and Eagles • Owls and Kingfishers • Woodpeckers • Falcons and Parrots • Flycatchers • Shrikes and Vireos • Jays, Crows, and Ravens • Larks, Martins, and Swallows • Chickadees, Titmice, Nuthatches, and Creepers • Wrens, Gnatcatchers, and Kinglets • Thrushes • Mimids and Starlings • Waxwings, House Sparrows, and Pipits • Finches and Crossbills • Longspurs and Snow Buntings • Sparrows and Relatives • Chats and Blackbirds • Warblers • Tanagers, Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Relatives • Appendix: Rarities, Vagrants, and Extinct Species • References • Index