Week of May 24, 2026 – May 30, 2026
by Anna Stunkel, Environmental Educator
I still remember when I really got the birding bug back in second grade. I was lucky enough to tag along with some hardcore but fun birding mentors who worked and volunteered with Mass Audubon, where I grew up in eastern Massachusetts. One of my favorite activities was the 24 hour Birdathon each May. This fundraiser for bird conservation and education involved trying to see and hear as many birds as possible. I have many fond memories of joining Birdathons with my dad and other birders, like watching my first Northern Goshawk zoom through the trees and listening for Whip-poor-wills at 4 am.
Since 2022 (and also back in 2017 and 2018 while working at Derby Hill), I have enjoyed joining the Birdathon here in Central New York. This birdathon raises money for Onondaga Audubon, where I also volunteer as a Board member. Funds go towards research, conservation, and education. The weather was perfect for most of the day on May 16, sunny with a southwesterly breeze to move migrating birds along. Our Baltimore Woods team, “Towhee or not Towhee,” started at 4:30 am at Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area, where there was a busy dawn chorus of birds in the misty marsh. I joined Camp Director & Program Manager Tom Meier and former Camp Counselor Jason a little bit later, but found a couple birds along the drive to meet them like a Northern Mockingbird and Carolina Wren. Earlier in the morning, they found a Golden-winged Warbler, which is a rather uncommon and very snazzy species!
Once I met up with the team, we walked along the edge of a swampy canal, where we heard a Brown Creeper whistling and watched a Hairy Woodpecker go into a nest cavity. A nearby bird blind overlooking a pond brought more surprises, like a Lincoln’s Sparrow skulking in the bushes and a Great Egret swooping just above the treetops.
We headed north to Sunset Bay Park, where a bright blue Indigo Bunting was catching insects in the grass. Slightly further into the woods, a Swainson’s Thrush was hopping secretively along the forest floor. We came across a mixed flock of warblers high in the treetops, some of which were challenging to spot due to the thickly growing maple leaves. We noticed an Orange-crowned Warbler (a less common species), Blackburnian Warbler, and Bay-breasted Warbler among others.
At Derby Hill, we added some raptors to the count like Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Kestrel, and Merlin, and we found Red-breasted Mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks among many Double-crested Cormorants on Lake Ontario. The Red-headed Woodpecker who has been hanging around gave us a great view, too! It began to rain heavily, so we headed back to Baltimore Woods to walk around a bit and found Field Sparrows singing. On our way back, Tom also spotted a Trumpeter Swan in Volney Swamp from the car.
Another member of our recreational team (meaning it is all right for the team to split up), Jonathan, birded around an OCRRA site and St. Mary’s Cemetery. Some of his new finds included Least Sandpiper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Brown Thrasher.
In total, we saw and heard 128 species– a pretty good count for the day! This kind of whirlwind birding is not my usual style, but I enjoy it for a day. For many people, competitive birding is how they first develop an interest in this hobby, and they slow down to appreciate the beauty of each bird as time goes on. This year, we had a slightly more relaxed itinerary for Birdathon, but still found a great variety of species. If you would like to look up more information and photos of the birds in this report, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds website. We hope you have had a chance to go birding this past month as so many migrants have been moving through!