Tuesday, May 26, 2026: Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, NJ

Ovenbird. Photo by Beni Fishbein.

Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Culver’s Gap Parking Lot which is the first parking lot on Sunrise Mountain Road.

Northern NJ is known for its’ pristine forests and significant amount of public open space. Stokes State Forest in Sussex County is one of those areas that feature a great diversity of breeding birds. This trip will be a driving route with numerous stops to listen and look for the local breeders including cerulean, blackburnian, black-throated green and black-throated blue warblers, ovenbird, a variety of vireos, thrushes, both black-billed and yellow-billed cuckoos, scarlet tanager and many other species.

There is a porta-potty in the parking lot and several other rest-stops along the route. There will be limited walking - mainly along the road. Please be mindful of ticks and dress accordingly. We will bird until early afternoon or whenever the birds quiet down or the birders tire. Bring binoculars, a sunhat, bug repellant, sunscreen, lunch and beverages - there are nice areas to picnic.

Directions:

From State Highway 206, go past Culvers Lake and take the right turn marked Culvers Lake Upper North Shore Road/Sunrise Mountain Road. You will go about 1/2 a mile and the turn for Sunrise Mountain Road will be a left turn (easy to miss). The parking lot is immediately on your left.