Birds of SUNY Adirondack

For identification tips, photos, songs, range maps, equipment, much more, start with All About Birds, from Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y. 

Download the Merlin bird ID app from Cornell to use on your smartphone.

• Merlin's Sound ID feature helps you narrow down the birdsong you may be hearing. It's not infallible, but very helpful. 

The right binoculars are essential for birding. These links offer good advice on buying binoculars:

Cornell birders Jessie Barry and Chris Wood offer birding basics:

Cornell University and other organizations offer webcams of birds on their nests. You can also Google terms like "osprey cam," "peregrine cam", "puffin cam" or "owl cam." Many may be active only during bird breeding season.  

A bird species checklist helps you record what you've seen. Use eBird (ebird.org) to contribute to citizen science!

Also see the tab above with local birding organizations.

Domestic cats kill millions of native birds each year. 

See these sites for bird box plans, placement, and more. Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and many other insect-eating birds use nest boxes.