Birdability Week, October 19–25, highlights accessible birding opportunities and invites people to explore the birds and habitats around them. This year’s theme, “Bird Where You Are,” is especially fitting for New York, where state parks, greenway trails, and public lands offer hundreds of places for bird watching.

The New York State Birding Trail includes more than 400 locations across the state, and accessibility is considered when sites are evaluated for inclusion. Not every location is accessible, and conditions can change seasonally, but the trail is a great starting point.

Here are a few sites with accessible trails, viewing platforms, boardwalks, or other features that make birding easier to enjoy:

Point Au Roche State Park

Plattsburgh, Clinton County

Point Au Roche is one of the stronger examples of what accessible birding can look like in a State Park. New York State Parks has offered an Accessible Birding program here using paved trails and seating areas, giving visitors the opportunity to watch birds without having to navigate more difficult terrain.

The park sits on Lake Champlain and includes forests, wetlands, shoreline, and open areas that provide habitat for a variety of birds. It is also part of the New York State Birding Trail.

Genesee Valley Greenway State Park

Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming, and Allegany counties

The Genesee Valley Greenway has a variety of habitats along its roughly 90-mile corridor. The trail follows the former Genesee Valley Canal and Pennsylvania Railroad and passes through wetlands, woodlands, river valleys, farmland, and other open areas. Much of the former railroad bed is relatively straight and level, although conditions vary along the route. 

Birds commonly found along the Greenway include Yellow Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, Baltimore Orioles, and Ospreys. New York State Parks has also held Birdability Week programs here, including a “Big Sit” that allowed participants to take part in a bird count without walking the trail.

Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area

Clinton County

Ausable Marsh is part of the Lake Champlain Marshes Bird Conservation Area and provides habitat for birds including Great Blue Herons, Wood Ducks, Ospreys, Bald Eagles, and Eastern Bluebirds. There is an accessible boardwalk leading about 100 feet from the parking area to a viewing platform overlooking the marsh. That makes it possible to view the wetland habitat without having to travel a long trail.

Bashakill Wildlife Management Area

Sullivan County

Bashakill is one of the larger wetland birding destinations in southeastern New York, with more than 200 species of birds documented. The 1,920-acre wetland is a state-designated Bird Conservation Area and sees tons of activity during spring and fall migration. The site has an accessible route to a wildlife viewing platform as well as an accessible fishing and viewing platform. 

Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area

Cayuga and Wayne counties

The Montezuma area is one of New York’s major wetland complexes. Northern Montezuma includes marshes, wetlands, old fields, meadows, farmland, and woodlands, supporting large spring and fall movements of shorebirds, raptors, waterfowl, and songbirds. 

There are several accessible features, including a short accessible trail at the Montezuma Audubon Center, accessible viewing platforms at Teal Pond and Deep Muck Pond, and a restroom. The Woodland Trail at the Audubon Center is a 0.2-mile route with a firm, compacted-stone surface.

Lakeview Wildlife Management Area

Jefferson County

Lakeview offers a couple of different options for accessible wildlife viewing. An accessible eagle viewing blind is about 260 feet from the Rio Reservoir parking area. There is also a 0.7-mile accessible loop with a firm, compacted-stone surface and a maximum grade of 5 percent, as well as an accessible fishing and viewing platform.

Start Close to Home

You don’t have to travel across the state to take part in Birdability Week. New York’s Birding Trail includes hundreds of locations, from state parks and wildlife management areas to municipal parks and other public and private lands.

Pick a site that fits the kind of outing you want to have, check the current trail and accessibility information, and give yourself time to look around. Bird where you are, and choose a place that works for you.