Please note: that birding the farm formally known as the Warren Sod Farm (now known as the Sunflower Valley Farm) hasbeen *RESTRICTED* since last year and is not accessible to birders. I have had conversations with the owner and he wanted me to pass along this information.To my knowledge there hasn't been any updates since then.
Felipe and Bob: Warren Sod Farm/Sunflower Valley Farm is the farm that the entrance is on Rt 12 between the silos. This road leads to the "bridge: that Bob mentioned. The other side of the bridge is Skinner's Lane. This is private property and the farmer has stated that it is off-limits to birders. They allow access by invitation only. Pine Turf Nursery: Please stop and ask for permission at the office first. The farmer have stated that they do not want cars on their road after a heavy rain.Please keep this in mind. Skinner's Lane: Still open, but occasionally a worker will harass birders. THIS IS NOT A THROUGH ROAD. Please trun around before the bridge,as the farm across from the Skinner's Lane farm is the farm that is restricted to birders. Please exit through the same entrance you entered off Pulasky Highway. Please be birding ambassadors in the Black Dirt. Many Black Dirt farmers are seeing their requests disregarded. Linda -----Original Message----- From: Peter <pwp...@nyc.rr.com> To: Felipe Pimentel <fpime...@hunter.cuny.edu> Cc: Robert Lewis <rfer...@yahoo.com>; nys birds <NYSbirds-L@cornell.edu> Sent: Mon, Sep 23, 2019 3:22 pm Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Birding the Black Dirt Region, Orange County One should never enter the fields on Indiana Road. The last time I was there there were birders from a number of states trampling all of the fields, much to the dismay (right fully so) of the local farmers. So much so that there was talk of putting up a locked entrance gate. Peter Post Sent from my iPhone On Sep 23, 2019, at 2:18 PM, Felipe Pimentel <fpime...@hunter.cuny.edu> wrote: There a several private roads but you can enter through Skinner’s lane and drive in the direction of Route 12 and look around for migrating shorebirds (now in early fall). You will pass several sad farms and now there a few “protected” medical cannabis farms too, and the area is under surveillance. https://ebird.org/hotspots?hs=L1276465&yr=all&m= The other road that is private but birders use is Indiana rd that is good for migrating hawks in Fall. https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1041928 Avoid to enter the crop fields when you see workers and stay on the main dirt roads. The other place to go is Pine Island Turf Nursery. I suggest NOT to visit that farm during the week since they are working and preparing the fields for winter. I generally go there ONLY during the weekends, when the place is more quiet. https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1041928 Good luck! Felipe On Sep 23, 2019, at 2:07 PM, Robert Lewis <rfer...@yahoo.com> wrote: A few weeks ago I asked here for directions about where to actually go in the Black Dirt region. One can find many references to birding there online, and there are some ebird spots, but there are many dirt or gravel roads and many seem to be on private property, and many are obviously not driveable once you see them. So what is an out-of-the-area birder supposed to do? I thank Felipe Pimentel who provided directions to the Pine Island Turf farm. Yesterday I went exploring. The attached map is the result. Enter the area at Skinner Lane,41.320541, -74.435339. My route is the narrow black line. I went up Skinner Lane to the northwest until it meets Iris Road, which is called Celery Avenue on my Iphone map app. Then I turned left and follow Iris a long time. It is all an excellent gravel road. I was surprised to see a bridge over the Wallkill River at 41.325083, -74.466914. It is certainly driveable. The maps are wrong in that there is no connection between Iris andTransport at 41.300798, -74.472080. As for birds, there were very few. But in a few months -- let's hope. Bob LewisSleepy Hollow NY --NYSbirds-L List Info:Welcome and BasicsRules and InformationSubscribe, Configuration and LeaveArchives:The Mail ArchiveSurfbirdsABAPlease submit your observations toeBird!--<black dirt area.png> -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds ABA Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds ABA Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
