June 2022 Outdoor Discovery

Celebrate Get Outdoors & Get Together Day – June 11

On Saturday, June 11, Join DEC, State Parks, the Office for People with Development Disabilities, and Veterans’ Services at free events across the state to try a new skill and enjoy the outdoors at Get Outdoors & Get Together Day, a day of inclusion for all people at New York’s accessible Parks and DEC lands. Locations will offer a selection of accessible activities and include a range of guided programming from fishing to nature walks, birding, archery, and more. New York's Get Outdoors & Get Together Day coincides with National Get Outdoors Day, an annual event to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun.

All locations offer wheelchair accessible features and activities including restrooms and select recreation opportunities. Please contact the event coordinator directly with accommodation requests and to find out about the adaptive equipment and activities offered at each site.

Hudson Valley, Central/Finger Lakes, and Capital District Regions of the NYS Birding Trail Are Now Open

The Hudson Valley segment of the NYS Birding Trail is now open and is the fourth region to be completed. The region includes 39 locations on a mix of public and private lands throughout six counties. Visit Bird Conservation Areas like Hudson Highlands Park and Rockefeller State Park Preserve to observe songbirds and bald eagles, or the tidal swamps and marshes at Tivoli Bays Wildlife Management Area to experience wetland-dependent bird species. Additionally, enjoy raptors at the Mount Peter Hawk Watch, along with the many unique landscapes and birding habitats.

The Central-Finger Lakes segment of the trail is the fifth region to be completed and includes 54 locations throughout 15 counties, providing a wide variety of quality birding experiences. From bald eagles and migratory waterfowl at the Montezuma Wetlands Complex to birds of prey at the Derby Hill and Braddock Bay Bird Observatories, the Central-Finger Lakes portion of the NYS Birding Trail has something for every birder.

The Capital Region segment is the sixth region to be completed and includes 29 sites on a mix of public and private lands throughout five counties. Visit Peebles Island State Park for its multiple spectacular bald eagle observations, or the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, a nationally significant forest community where many bird species can be observed. A top birding hotspot in Albany County, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center is a great location to observe the New York State bird, the eastern bluebird, while nearby at the Tivoli Lake Preserve, visitors can observe woodpeckers, turkeys, red-winged blackbirds, and red-tailed hawks. Further north, check out Washington County Grasslands, an Important Bird Area that plays host to many grassland bird species, which are in sharp decline. Birders here will observe snowy owls, threatened northern harriers and upland sandpipers, and snow buntings during the winter months.

With more than half of the trail now announced, we invite you to enjoy birding along the New York State Birding Trail and across New York’s pristine lands. Learn more and start planning your adventure!

Photos: Observation platform at the Montezuma Audubon Center; Birders at Five Rivers.

Kick-off the Camping Season Right and Earn NY Camping Rewards

Do more of what you love and earn rewards while doing it! Sign up for the NY Camping Rewards program and earn 10 points for every dollar that you spend on overnight accommodations at all New York State Campgrounds. Start earning points on your upcoming reservations as soon as you are enrolled in the program. This is an online program, so there is no physical card to keep track of.

Enroll and start earning today!

Safety & Education

Summer is almost here. Whether you’re going for a hike, a bike, a paddle, or fishing, Hike Smart NY can help you prepare with a list of 10 essentials, guidance on what to wear, and tips for planning your trip with safety and sustainability in mind.

Enjoy the Sun Without the Burn

Risk from sun exposure is a year-round concern, but as temperatures warm we tend to expose more skin, increasing our risk. Sunburns can be painful and irritating, but they can also be a serious health risk. In the long term, repeated sunburns and excessive sun exposure can increase your risk of skin cancers. In the short term, sunburns can increase your risk of dehydration and be a symptom of heat-related illnesses. Avoid sunburns by wearing sunscreen, hats that cover your head, face, and neck, and light, loose layers that cover your skin. Protect your eyes by wearing hats or polarized sunglasses. Last but not least, remember that you can still get a sunburn on a cloudy day.

Clean. Drain. Dry. Every Time!

You can help Protect Your Waters. One of the most effective ways we can all help stop the spread of aquatic invasive species is by following proper procedures for cleaning, draining, and drying watercraft and equipment every time you leave the water. Want to see the simple steps for yourself? Check out our Facebook Live videos on clean, drain, dry – Part 1 and Part 2.

New York’s boat stewards are here to help you out too. Beginning Memorial Day weekend, you’ll find them staffing launches and boat washing stations across the state. If you’re near a boat washing station, they offer a free and convenient way to make sure your watercraft is free of invasive species.

Aquatic invasive species can prevent us from enjoying our lakes and rivers and can even harm native fish populations. This summer and always, help us make sure they don’t stand a chance in New York. Can we count on you to Clean, Drain, and Dry every time? Learn more about aquatic invasive species and what else you can do to help prevent their spread on our website.

Photo: Boat stewards check watercraft to ensure invasive species are not transported to new waterbodies. Photo by Adirondack Watershed Institute, Flickr

Nature Notes

Did you Know…

Hummingbirds can travel 30 miles an hour when flying horizontally, but when they dive vertically they can reach up to 60 miles an hour. Their wings move in figure eight patterns giving them the ability to fly backwards, forwards, suspend themselves in mid-air, and fly upside down. Their feet are so small they are unable to walk on them, but they can move from side to side on a perch.

Upcoming Events

Be sure to check out DEC's wide selection of outdoor activities on our events calendar. View activities for the upcoming month or all the planned events currently scheduled, including public hearings and meetings.

For specific information about upcoming events at DEC’s Environmental Education Centers, see the following links:

Five Rivers Environmental Education Center (Albany County)

Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve & Environmental Education Center (Erie County)

Rogers Environmental Education Center (Chenango County)

Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center (Dutchess County)

Check Out Our Facebook Live Events

As always, be sure to visit our Facebook page for updates and to view our Facebook Live offerings. From adventures at fish hatcheries and nighttime hiking to Q&As about black bears, there is always something to see and learn.

Conservationist

With the warm weather welcoming people to get outside, we encourage everyone to take advantage of the great outdoor opportunities New York has to offer. The upcoming June/July Conservationist highlights some of the amazing sites and activities that are easily accessible in all regions of the State. Whether you want to view whales in ocean waters or bluebirds nesting along a dedicated birding trail, you can do it here in New York. And you can read about New York’s search and rescue efforts, camping, and even jumping worms, all in the upcoming edition of the Conservationist.

Subscribe today to receive a copy when it is printed by visiting DEC's website or calling 1-800-678-6399.