Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club

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Delmar, NY
Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club

Building the birding community in the eleven counties of New York's greater Capital Region since 1939. The Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club is a charter member of NYSOA.

Our club is devoted to field birding and the appreciation of wild birds. We have more than 300 members and cover the greater capital region of New York State. This includes the 11-county area surrounding Albany, which is Region 8 of the New York State Ornithological Association (NYSOA). We actively support the work of conservation organizations and other birding groups. The Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club

got its start as the Schenectady Bird Club in 1939. The organization served birders not only in Schenectady and Scotia, but Albany and Troy as well. As time passed, the Club claimed the surrounding Capital District as its territory. In 1969, the name was changed to reflect the broader geographical interest of the club. Centered at the confluence of the state's two largest rivers, HMBC stands ready to serve those who have an interest in the appreciation of wildlife. Field Trips
The Club sponsors numerous field trips, both local and out of the area. The public is welcome on all local trips, but out-of-area and some special trips are for members only. The Field Trip Schedule is on the Club's Calendar. For further information click here . Programs
Monthly programs are open to the public. HMBC programs are now held at the William K. Sanford (Colonie Public) Library except the December Holiday party which is at the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar. Programs at Colonie Library, 629 Albany-Shaker Road, Loudonville, begin at 7PM. Up-coming programs are listed on the Club's Calendar. Publications
We publish Feathers a bi-monthly newsletter for members, and we have developed a regional field checklist. . Birdline
HMBC runs a birding hotline Birdline of Eastern New York. You can submit reports by e-mail to [email protected] . Summaries are posted on this site and broadcast weekly on HMBirds, NYSBIRDS-L, and BIRDEAST. The Birdline answering machine has been discontinued. HMBirds
The Club sponsors the Yahoo! Group HMBirds which provides a forum to report recent sightings and discuss timely issues important to birders. The group currently has about 500 members. This website's feed from HMBirds (see right side of the page) is updated once per hour. Reist Sanctuary
HMBC owns and operates the 100+ acre Henry Ge**er Reist Sanctuary off St. David's Lane in Niskayuna, New York.

02/14/2026

Three Tuesdays in a row, almost down to the minute, this Cooper’s Hawk has dropped into the same tall conifer. The first two weeks it chose the exact same branch; this week it shifted just one tree over a few feet away. The pattern is predictable enough now that checking the perch at the right time reveals the bird already in place.

All three sightings have been made during weekly counts for through , just as squirrel numbers surge into double digits. No strike observed yet, but something is clearly drawing this bird back with near perfect seven day precision.

02/13/2026

The Great Backyard Bird Count is the perfect way to get outside and grab some fresh air and birds! All you have to do this long weekend is watch birds for 15 minutes, create a simple checklist in the eBird app, and submit it. The sightings go directly to the Cornell Lab and researchers around the world - Contributing to real on the ground conservation work. Easy, fun, free and meaningful. Don’t you want to help contribute?

02/06/2026

Today’s moment of zen

02/04/2026

*BOOK REVIEW* A thoughtful and deeply personal book, though different from what I thought I was picking up. The sections in the field are where it really shines, the dedication to the goshawk is intense, and the scenes of flying the bird across open landscapes, waiting and hoping it will return, are vivid and suspenseful. You can genuinely feel the unpredictability of working with a wild raptor, and it’s refreshing to see a goshawk, a less typical and more demanding falconry bird, at the center of the story. At times, the heavy self-reflection and grief narrative became emotionally dense, and the strong focus on T. H. White occasionally pulled me away from the hawk and from what I’d hoped would be a broader look at falconry, especially European traditions. Beautifully written and clearly heartfelt, just not always the bird-focused experience I imagined. Still a worthwhile read for birders, maybe with slightly adjusted expectations. Around a 7 out of 10 for me.

02/03/2026

Five Eastern Bluebirds riding out 3° temperatures during Winter Storm Fern while below them a Cooper’s Hawk worked on a frozen meal. What looks like static in the background isn’t blur at all, it’s straight sheets of snow dumping at nearly an inch or two per hour as the storm intensified late that morning. Watch the Bluebirds repeatedly rouse, shaking off accumulating snow every few seconds, conserving heat and resetting their feathers before finally lifting off together to seek a more sheltered perch. 📸 by David Massa ()

01/30/2026

*PROGRAM ALERT* Join us Feb 2 at 6:30 p.m. for HMBC’s February program, held via Zoom ONLY. Curt Morgan will present a virtual tour of Costa Rica’s birds and the remarkable locations that make the country one of the world’s premier birding destinations.

Last year, from March 16–25, Curt toured with Costa Rica Focus and, together with fellow adventurers, recorded an impressive 278 species of birds. This program will highlight the diversity and intensity of Costa Rican birdlife — including vibrant species like the Green Jay, a true tropical chaos gremlin in neon green.

Curt earned his undergraduate degree in biology and has been birding throughout the U.S. and around the world since 1978. Since 2007, he has volunteered with DEC monitoring Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles. His decades of field experience and dedication to conservation promise an engaging and visually rich evening.

Please check your email from HMBC for instructions on how to attend this Zoom ONLY presentation.
📸 by
Full details: https://www.hmbc.net/event-6421398

01/29/2026

January 25, Cooper’s Hawk feeding during Snowmageddon at Lock 7. Visibility was a wall of snow and the morning felt almost inactive, just a few crows and pigeons moving through the storm. I was close to calling it when I caught a low shadow shifting in the brush below the overlook. This hawk had been there the entire time, feeding on a sizable kill, roughly pigeon sized or larger, while I stood above unknowingly sharing the same space for nearly half an hour.

In 3 degree temperatures, with snow starting to collect on its back and a group of pigeons circling overhead, it worked steadily at what looked like a partially frozen meal. Whether it made the kill or found it, the prey seemed difficult to manage in those conditions. Watching it persist in that kind of cold was a reminder that survival does not pause for weather. Winter raptors operate on a different level. Another strong behavioral encounter with a species that has really defined this winter for me.

01/28/2026

This is the kind of film people don’t talk about enough. The American Arctic: Teshekpuk Wetlands is a 20-minute film that takes you into one of the highest-density breeding centers in the Arctic Circle. Produced by and and narrated by Betsy Wi******er, with cinematography by Vyn and other filmmakers including Neil Rettig, it offers a clear look at this critical landscape. Seeing Greater White-fronted Geese on their breeding grounds brought to mind our Taiga Bean Goose here in New York. And watching Semipalmated Sandpipers in Arctic territory adds perspective when we see them move through places around here like Vischer Ferry. This film shows why so many of the world’s birds begin their lives in Alaska and remain tied to this landscape. Worth your time this winter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCHlyd0nZJ0

01/25/2026

Winter Eagles Part II. Wide frame full wind on the river. Watch this one widescreen if possible with volume up and take in the rush of the falls, the open air, and that massive rock wall draped in ice adding real magnitude to the scene. Enjoy the subtle water movement through the blurred background, providing constant motion behind several perched Bald Eagles, mostly juveniles. Shot about three weeks ago from Overlook Park in Cohoes on a bitter cold, mostly gray afternoon amongst a good sized group of bundled up birders, you could really feel the breeze moving across the cavern below the falls. This one’s about atmosphere as much as it’s about Eagles. 🎥

01/24/2026

Three juvenile Bald Eagles along the Mohawk, just downstream of Cohoes Falls. Shot about three weeks ago - mostly gray afternoon with brief breaks of sun. At the overlook in Cohoes, folks were lining the rail as five or six eagles at a time packed into single trees, with American Herring Gulls swirling through and Common Mergansers working the current below. Mixed in were a few Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, maybe even a Greater Black-backed or two. Hard to beat moments like this, shooting alongside , before the river really started to lock up. Even now, with the deep Arctic cold setting in, these birds are still out there and active. 🎥 by

01/17/2026

A perfect day for Winterfest! Come see us at today from 1130am-3pm

01/15/2026

Come out and join us for Winterfest at Grafton Lakes State Park this Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be food trucks and the Polar Plunge at 11:30. HMBC will have a table set up—stop by to say hello and check in to see if any bird walks are heading out, weather and interest permitting

Address

56 Game Farm Rd
Delmar, NY
12054

Website

http://hmbc.net/

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