Saturday, May 24: South Mountain Reservation

Meet at 7:30 am in the main parking lot on Crest Drive (2nd on right; you'll see a wooden sign reading Bramhall Terrace, entrance to Summit Field).

South Mountain Reservation is a 2,100-acre nature reserve in southern Essex county. Nestled between the first and second ridges of the Watchung Mountains and overlooking the urban sprawl of the greater Newark area, it can be a tremendous migrant trap in the heat of spring migration. We will walk several trails, hoping to see good numbers of thrushes, warblers, sparrows, and others as they pass through our area.

Many of the trails are paved, but it is recommended to wear sturdy hiking boots, as some trails are a little rocky and uneven.

There are no bathrooms at this location, but there are at a later stop.

For more information, email mbcoutings@gmail.com.

Directions: From I-280, take Exit 7, Pleasant Valley Way, south for 3.5 miles, then turn left onto South Orange Avenue. Take this road for 1 mile and turn right onto Crest Drive, marked with a sign for the dog park (you will encounter Crest Drive just after you've reached the crest of the hill). Stay straight on Crest Drive, and within a half mile there will be a very long parking lot on the right, in an open space with a vista to your left. We will meet at the far end of this parking lot.

Sunday, June 1: Sterling Forest State Park

Meet promptly at 8:00 am at 299 Ironwood Drive, Tuxedo Park, New York, where the road dead-ends at the loop.

The path along the powerline cut at the end of Ironwood Drive is the single best place in our area to find breeding Golden-winged Warblers. Other notable species we have a chance at seeing include Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, Red-shouldered Hawk, Alder and Olive-sided Flycatchers, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, and Cerulean, Blue-winged, and Prairie Warblers.

There are very many ticks here, so please come prepared. There are no bathrooms at this location.

Call Evan Cutler at 917 583-4294 if you get lost or are running late. 

Sunday, June 8: Sunday, June 8: Halifax Road, Mahwah, NJ

Meet at 8:00 am at Continental Soldiers Park, 550 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah.  

Halifax Road is a birding hotspot in Bergen County. We will hike an easy forested trail along the Ramapo River that loops around a lake. We might see wood ducks, snowy egrets and green herons, yellow-billed cuckoos, a variety of warblers and vireos, and flycatchers including great crested flycatchers, eastern kingbirds, and eastern wood-pewees. If time permits, we may also hike another easy trail that cuts through a meadow where we could see indigo buntings, blue-gray gnatcatchers, eastern bluebirds, and orioles; there may be ticks here, so please come prepared to do battle.

Bring binoculars, sunscreen, insect repellent, a sun hat, water and a snack. There are restroom facilities at Continental Soldiers Park.

Call Michael Yellin at 908 380-2719 if you need more information.