Date: 10/19/25 12:39 pm From: Naomi Lloyd via groups.io <naomi_kestrel...> Subject: [hmbirds] Upcoming field trip 10/25, and heads-up for 2026 trips
Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail
When: 25 Oct 2025
8:00 AM
Location: Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, Niskayuna
Coordinator: Naomi Lloyd <naomi_kestrel...>
On this trip along the Mohawk River and its backwaters in Niskayuna, we will look for waterfowl, gulls, and sparrows. Our walk will take us east past farm fields and Niska Isle, usually the most productive stretch. We will retrace our path and check for waterfowl at Lock 7. This is approximately 3.5 miles total. The meeting place has been changed in an effort to avoid the crowds of runners and bikers. Instead of turning in at the Lions Park lot, continue east about 1.7 mi. turning right onto Lock 7 Rd and continuing .4mi to the parking area. We will be walking downriver for a change!
Meet at 8:00 a.m. at the parking area where the Trail crosses Lock 7 Road. Bring a spotting scope if you wish to scan the waterfowl groups.
The Field Trip Committee (me) is working on the 2026 schedule. Do you have a favorite hot spot that needs attention? Would you like to try leading a trip? Email me at <naomi_kestrel...>
As the climate changes, some of our traditional trips aren't productive any more. For instance, we dropped early-spring waterfowl trips on the Hudson several years ago because the ducks just aren't there these days. Other trips may need to have their dates shifted to allow for earlier leaf-out or changing arrival dates, or increased development. Nobody see these changes more clearly than local birders do. I hope we can work together to keep up our remarkable trip schedule even as the environment changes around us..
In addition, I have been doing the schedule alone for several years. I'd like to recruit a volunteer or two to work with me in 2027 and onward.
