Friends of Moreau Lake State Park

02/10/2026

02/10/2026

Birding for All

Join an educator for a welcoming and accessible birding program at Moreau Lake State Park. This program is open to all ages and abilities, with a focus on creating an inclusive outdoor experience for individuals living with chronic and invisible illnesses.
This program will take place along the beach area near the Nature Center, with a paved path leading to park benches for bird observation, as well as access to a pavilion if we choose to move locations. Designed to be relaxed and flexible, this experience encourages participants to enjoy the outdoors in a way that feels comfortable for them. For all ages. This is a free program. Please register in advance by calling (518) 793-0511. Limit 25 participants.

02/10/2026

Eight tracks you might find in the mud after a rain.

Raccoon — a tiny human hand. Five long fingers.
White-tailed deer — a split heart. The pointed end shows which way it went.
Red fox — small and neat, four toes, prints in a nearly straight line.
Dog — bigger, claws usually showing, a trail that wanders.
House cat — round, four toes, usually no claw marks.
Gray squirrel — back feet land ahead of the front ones, often near a tree.
Cottontail — two long back prints ahead of two small front ones.
Wild turkey — a big three-toed bird print.

Soft mud holds the clearest prints. Check along puddles, garden edges and the gap under the fence where animals slip through.

02/10/2026

A lot of fall cleanup is undoing work the yard already did.

Four chores in particular. Each one has a lighter version that takes less time.

1. Cut stems high, not to the ground

Many native bees nest inside hollow or pithy stems, and last year's stubs may still have bees sealed in them.

Trim to somewhere between knee and hip height, at mixed lengths, in late winter. Leave the stubs standing.

The birds get the seed heads first. The bees get the stems next summer.

2. Keep the dead tree if it can't hit anything

Woodpeckers do the carving. Chickadees, bluebirds, nuthatches, and screech-owls move in behind them, and loose bark shelters creepers and bats on winter nights.

A snag that can't reach a house, path, or power line is habitat.

If it can reach one, ask an arborist whether it can be shortened instead of removed.

3. Skip the fall till

Squash bees build their nests a hand's depth down, right under the plants they pollinated, and the next generation stays sealed there most of the year.

Turning the soil breaks them open.

Pull the spent plants, spread compost or shredded leaves on top, and let the beds sit until spring.

4. Leave the nest box up

Fall is the window to clean out old nests, make repairs, and hang new boxes before the ground freezes.

Then leave them. Birds scout boxes in autumn as winter roosts.

Clean again in late winter if something moved in. An active nest of a native bird stays where it is — it's protected.

The garden isn't done for the year. It's just gone quiet. 🌿

02/10/2026

Every Monday, Birding at Big Bend 8:15am

Every Monday in October you can bring your binoculars if you have them and we will check out what birds are around this time of year at Big Bend. This will be a short start-and-stop hike for about an hour and a half. Big Bend is a great place to bird from beginners to experts. This is free and geared toward ages 13+. We will meet at the park office and caravan to Big Bend. If Big Bend is closed for prescribed burning, we will still have the walk at the lake. Please register in advance by calling the office at 518-793-0511.

01/10/2026

An early frost damages the fruit, and the sugar inside starts turning to alcohol. Robins, thrushes, and waxwings keep eating.

A waxwing can pack its crop full. Enough old berries, and it flies like it's had a few.

It isn't always funny. A tipsy bird flies into things, and the thing it usually flies into is a window.

01/10/2026

Big Bend Preserve today. Every day the foliage is changing.

30/09/2026

An awesome and easy hike is Big Bend Preserve. Every day the foliage is changing .