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Rochester NY, late April


Birding Boy

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Hi all,

Well it looks I'm going to be visiting family in Rochester NY for 3ish days in the 4th week of April, and while its not likely that I'll find any lifers or anything given the bird population is similar to that of Michigan, I'm curious if anyone has any local knowledge of the area. I think I'll be fairly close to lake Ontario, about 10 minutes away from Braddock Bay which seems like a good place to go. It'll be a bit early for warblers and stuff, so I'll probably focus on waterfowl, hawks, and perhaps watching migration from the hawkwatch they have there. Anyways, it'll be good to color in my eBird map a little bit more ?

Thanks in advance for any info/suggestions!

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Rochester is my neck of the woods - tons of places to go along the lake in April. Braddock Bay can be incredible or dead, obviously depends on the winds. The adjacent owl woods can be pretty fun and it's a nice walk. Lots of public piers to check for shorebirds and waterfowl. If you're up for a 1.5-hour drive east, Montezuma NWR is the best place to be. There is also Iroquois NWR the other direction, about the same distance. It is also a really great spot but concentrates on hiking more than a driving tour. 

 

I can go on forever, feel free to PM me if you have questions about specific spots

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7 hours ago, Skull Guy said:

Rochester is my neck of the woods - tons of places to go along the lake in April. Braddock Bay can be incredible or dead, obviously depends on the winds. The adjacent owl woods can be pretty fun and it's a nice walk. Lots of public piers to check for shorebirds and waterfowl. If you're up for a 1.5-hour drive east, Montezuma NWR is the best place to be. There is also Iroquois NWR the other direction, about the same distance. It is also a really great spot but concentrates on hiking more than a driving tour. 

 

I can go on forever, feel free to PM me if you have questions about specific spots

This is great, thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely look into Iroquois and Montezuma, but given its a family trip I'm unsure of how much time I'll have access to a vehicle or in general ? I'll definitely PM you if something comes up, as I'm sure it will. Thanks again!

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19 hours ago, Birding Boy said:

This is great, thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely look into Iroquois and Montezuma, but given its a family trip I'm unsure of how much time I'll have access to a vehicle or in general ? I'll definitely PM you if something comes up, as I'm sure it will. Thanks again!

I will second the awesomeness of Montezuma… I really want to visit there in the spring…

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  • 3 weeks later...

Not sure how long you are here but keep your eye on Sunday. If the weather pattern holds true, Sunday morning could be a realllllllly good flight at Braddock Bay. The broad-wing hawks are jammed up to our south because of poor flight conditions for the past week. The morning looks like there will be an 8-10 mph southward wind, which is ideal. Winds will shift to a lake breeze from the north later which will slow down the flight. Also, it will be warm Sunday. Nothing better than a warm Sunday in Rochester in April:)

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13 hours ago, Skull Guy said:

Not sure how long you are here but keep your eye on Sunday. If the weather pattern holds true, Sunday morning could be a realllllllly good flight at Braddock Bay. The broad-wing hawks are jammed up to our south because of poor flight conditions for the past week. The morning looks like there will be an 8-10 mph southward wind, which is ideal. Winds will shift to a lake breeze from the north later which will slow down the flight. Also, it will be warm Sunday. Nothing better than a warm Sunday in Rochester in April:)

Sounds great, I’m leaving Sunday afternoon but should be able to spend a good amount of the morning at the hawkwatch! Looking forward to some migration! 

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