Some of this is based upon personal experience but, the some is based upon reports from knowledgable birders and hotline reports of birders in the Buffalo area. Surely, this is not all-encompassing, but is meant to give the reader a general impression of where local birders bird at certain times of the year.
This is a driving tour starting from the mouth of the Niagara River heading east. To reach the starting point, from the I-190 near Lewiston, take the Robert Moses Parkway north to the edge of the lake. Follow the signs to Fort Niagara State Park.Or, drive north to Lake Ontario and take NYS Route 18 west to Fort Niagara State Park.
The park has many tall oaks, which are the home to (often year-round) Red-headed Woodpeckers, and ornamental fruit trees near the entrance toll gate (no toll in November and December) and along the seaway trail, which may hold Bohemian Waxwing (nearly annual in November or December) or Pine Grosbeaks (as recent as 2001). Check the fruiting trees before the toll booth for waxwings and grosbeaks. Winter finches move along the Lake Ontario shoreline and might be heard passing overhead or stopping briefly in the park. All the late fall passerines are hit-or-miss. During the spring season, the east end of the state park can offer some interesting birding. Public restrooms are available within the park (I believe available year-round).
Four Mile Creek State Park
After spending time at Fort Niagara State Park, head east along Route 18F/Robert Moses Parkway. Watch for Rough-legged Hawks, shrikes or waxwing flocks as you drive. Within 3 miles, exit at Four Mile Creek State Park . View the map (38KB). Turn left towards the park entrance (note: entrance fee during warmer months).
During the spring, birding Four Mile Creek State Park can rewarding for migrant passerines. During the colder months, the park entrance is closed. Still, one should bird the entrance area and on-ramp area (park at the gate) for "winter finches". After birding the Four Mile Creek (or entrance area), return the way you came, to Lake Road / NYS Route 18.
If it is the winter months, turn left onto NYS Route 18 and left again immediately into the Oakland Rural Cemetery (opposite Cothran Road). Park here and watch and listen for birds (Pine Grosbeak has been sighted in recent years).
After visiting the cemetery, to bird the western boundary of the park, turn right (west) onto Lake Road / NYS Route 18. Pass the Four Mile Creek State Park entrance and turn right (north) onto Lake Road (NYS Route 18F). Take the first right (north) onto Woodcliff Drive (which is the westernmost of Four Mile Creek State Park). Pine Grosbeaks might be found in winter behind the caretaker's house at the entrance.
After birding the western border, return to NYS Route 18F to NYS Route 18. Turn left (east) onto Lake Road (Route 18). Pass the Four Mile park entrance, the Oakland Cemetery and pass the Robert Moses Parkway. A few hundred yards, turn left on Dietz Road (which is the eastern border of Four Mile Creek State Park). It is a seasonal road with plenty of food and cover. Walk the length of the road. White-throated Sparrow is a regular wintering bird here. Hermit Thrush has been found in winter as well. Spring may hold migrant warbler flocks. Lake Ontario can be seen from the turnaround at the end; King Eider was seen here in the winter of 2002.
After birding Dietz Road, wander any of the roads (such as Dickersonville Road or Ransomville Road ) south for a few miles. This area is this vicinity may hold species similar to those found on the West Lakeshore . Youngstown-Wilson Road, Dickersonville Road or Ransomville Road may be good for wintering raptors or field birds (like longspurs) andShort-eared Owls. Both are north-south roads between NYS Route 18 and Braley Road a few miles east of the parkway entrance.
After birding the Four Mile Creek State Park area, continue east on NYS Route 18 towards Wilson.
After birding Wilson, head back to Route 18 and head east for 6 miles into Olcott.
The Olcott Pier and Olcott Beach offer lake views. Check the pier (especially the "island" pier) for perched shorebirds and terns, and waterfowl rafts. An alcid was seen in Dec 2000. A Northern Gannet on 3 Dec 2000 and 3 Dec 2001. Mute Swan has been semi-regular in the creek bottom and might be seen from the NYS Route 18 bridge, or maybe even in the lake.
On the east side of the creek, just south of NYS Route 18 is a small cemetery overlooking the river. Mute Swan might be visible from here. In May 2000, a pair of Pine Warblers may have nested in this cemetery.
Continuing east, Krull Park is located adjacent to NYS Route 18 and may offer some interesting birds in the tall conifers, such as the confirmed nesting Pine Warblers (2001). It might be recorded here in early spring, perhaps overwintering.
After birding Olcott, continue east on NYS Route 18. After 6 miles, turn left onto Hartland Road. Check for raptors and shrikes, or sparrows. An old landfill is on the west. The road bends to the right and becomes Lower Lake Road. Clay-colored Sparrow (two in May 2000) have been found along this road. Within a half mile is Somerset Water Treatment Plant.
A Great Gray Owl was seen near here on May 5-6, 1996, after a winter incursion of them in NYS. Later one was found in Kuckville May 18-19, 1996.
(Description of the Treatment Plant is courtesy of several observer's postings on GeneseeBirds-L.)
Unexplored (birding-wise) is the Hartland Swamp .
This area of 385 acres of publicly accessible upland and wetlands is located in the Town of Hartland. The secondary growth looks opportunistic for Northern Waterthrush, Cerulean Warbler, and other wet woods species.
Directions:
From the east-west Town Line Road (County Road 135), travel south on Hartland Road. The parking lot is situated on the west side of Hartland Road. If you reach Ditch Road, you have traveled too far.
Plenty of good birding is offered in the neighboring area, such as Route 18 in Yates and Niagara-Orleans Countyline Road .
Marshall Road should be checked for wintering raptors and Short-eared Owls. This is a north-south road which is located WNW of Medina heading north off NYS Route 31 and NYS Route 104.
Millers Road should be checked in breeding season for regional oddities such as: Acadian Flycatcher, Cerulean, Mourning and Hooded Warblers. I am not sure about public access, other than roadside birding.
Directions: Millers Road is an East-West Road runing between NYS Route 269 (Niagara-Orleans Countyline Road) and NYS Route 63 (Lyndonville Road). It can be seen on this map (24KB).
After birding Golden Hill State Park, try birding Shadigee.
The hamlet of Shadigee is at the end of NYS Route 63. A parking area next to a guard rail is marked by a historic "Yates Pier" sign. View Lake Ontario from here for offshore passerby's. Presumably, anything that can be recorded on the lake at Hamlin Beach State Park can be found here.
Continue east along Lake Shore Road, or NYS Route 18.
Observe the lake here for waterfowl, loons, grebes, gulls, jaegers. Check the piers for perched birds, including shorebirds. Snowy Owl and phalaropes have been found here on more than one occasion. Pacific Loon and California Gull are recent rarities.
Links from any one of the following sites may describe the above public locations.
This page was last updated on 02 May 2002. Comments or questions regarding this page should be sent to Webmaster. Somerset Water Treatment Plant
Shorebirds are the targets here, such as Red-necked
Phalarope in Aug 2000. Access from inside the fence is restricted (but permission to enter might be granted). To watch inside the
fence please obtain permission. After hours, one
might be able to see the ponds by looking either from outside the fence
on the west end of the lagoons or the east end (the latter accessed by
walking around the east side of the buildings). However, it is very
difficult to see into the ponds as they are somewhat elevated.
Barker Bi-centennial Park / Quaker Road
After the treatment plant, turn left (north) onto Quaker Road. Take it to the end, which is Barker Bi-centennial Park . This is a good vantage point to watch the lake. Observe Lake Ontario here for waterfowl, loons, grebes, gulls, jaegers. In the late fall, Brant may be driven near the shore by northwest winds. A feeder to the west of this park held Pine Siskins and WW Crossbills in Nov 2001. Lovers Lane
After birding the lake, continue east on Lower Lake Road. Within a mile of Quaker Road is Lovers Lane Road . Drive onto Lovers Lane Road from Lower Lake Road. One can also walk about 100 yards south on Lover's Lane from Lower Lake Road, then along the edge
of the field on the right. Be sure to View the map (22KB) west of Golden Hill SP.
Yates Township
Carlton Township
Point Breeze
After birding Lakeside Beach, continue east on the Lake Ontario Parkway. Exit at NYS Route 98. Take NYS Route 98 north to the end. The road veers left. About 100 yards or so, a fisherman's parking lot exists. Park here and scan and walk the pier to view the lake. The Black North Inn, which can be seen from the parking area, offers dining facilities. Beyond Point Breeze
Other minor birding sites can checked in Carlton. Lake Alice (Oak Orchard River at Waterport) may hold waterbirds. A flooded field on Stillwater Road near Oak Orchard River may hold shorebirds. However, the field looks as if it has been tiled and may no longer be flooded in the spring. A Loggerhead Shrike was here in May 2000.
State Resources Online
The descriptions/maps to the Four Mile, Lakeside Beach and Golden Hill State Parks are sponsored by NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation .
Copyright, © Kurt Fox, 1999-2002.
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