NYSOA conducts field trips to great birding hotspots around New York State. Watch our home page for announcements. In most cases we offer a workshop on Saturday followed by a field trip on Sunday. Workshops are open to the public. The number of participants for each field trip is limited and individual/family members of NYSOA are given priority. Be sure to register early - most field trips fill up quickly!
Bicknell's Thrush,
Whiteface Mountain -
July 8, 2012 photo by
Tommy Kirby, age 15
Our field trips have included the following, each Sunday outing preceded by a Saturday workshop focusing on the trip's target species:
Note:
Many member clubs/organizations around the state offer exciting
field trips regularly.
For information on additional trips in the areas that interest
you, take a look at our Member Clubs/Organizations page,
where you will find a map of New York State and a list of bird
clubs/organizations in each region, along with contact information
and links to individual club/organization websites.
NYSOA Annual Meeting
NYSOA's annual business meeting is held during a weekend conference that is open to the public and hosted by a NYSOA member club. This annual event brings
together birders from across the state and beyond who come to develop new birding friendships, renew old ones, hear excellent speakers, and explore birding opportunities away from their home turf. The weekend offers attendees a variety
of social, educational, and birding activities. The business meeting segment of the weekend is attended by delegates of member
clubs/organizations and includes elections and new club/organization membership approvals, as well as committee reports and
other matters.
Looking ahead
Check back to watch plans for our next three Annual Meetings unfold:
80th
Annual Meeting (2027): NEW 10/9/26
The 2027 NYSOA Annual Meeting will be hosted by Rochester Birding Association. This will be the ninth Annual Meeting hosted by RBA; the first of these every-ten-years RBA events was our organization's first Annual Meeting in 1948.
81st
Annual Meeting (2028): NEW 10/9/26
The 2028 NYSOA Annual Meeting will be hosted by Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club. Hudson-Mohawk has hosted the meeting every ten years starting in 1976.
82nd
Annual Meeting (2029): NEW 10/9/26
The 2029 NYSOA Annual Meeting will be hosted by Buffalo Ornithological Society -- which will also be celebrating its own 100th anniversary! BOS has previously hosted five Annual Meetings, plus the third of the initial meetings way back in 1946 that resulted in the establishment of FNYSBC (the Federation of NYS Bird Clubs, as NYSOA was called until it changed its name in 2003).
Past Annual Meetings
79th
Annual Meeting (2026): The 2026 NYSOA Annual Meeting was held via Zoom on September 27, 2026. In addition to the business agenda, Sophie Osborn, author of Feather Trails - A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds, made a fascinating and inspiring presentation.
78th
Annual Meeting (2025): The conference was hosted in Ithaca by Cayuga Bird Club September 19-21, 2025. Attendees enjoyed many varied activities, including a banquet featuring keynote speaker Peter Kaestner, the first person to achieve a life list of 10,000 species. Peter regaled and inspired the audience with fascinating tales of his worldwide quest to reach this milestone.
Minutes of the 2025 Annual Meeting
Approved by member clubs/organizations at the 2026 Annual Meeting.
The draft minutes of the 2026 Annual Meeting will be posted here soon.
Taking Flight: Birding In The Catskills 2018 - Friday-Sunday, May 25-27, 2018 Location: The unique and luxurious Emerson Resort in Mount Tremper, New York.
Scott Whittle and Tom Stephenson, authors of The Warbler Guide, have made this a Warbler Weekend, from Scott’s Friday afternoon What the Hell’s A Warbler? workshop and photography field walk, through their Saturday night Keynote presentation, to their Sunday pre-breakfast Birdsong walk.
Tod Winston from National Audubon and the New York City Audubon Society presents Friday night’s Keynote.
On Saturday, the topic of conservation will be front and center with Tod's Planting For Birds workshop, and NYSOA’s Greg Lawrence will host a bird conservation workshop.
The ever-popular 4:30 am Bicknell’s Thrush hike with BITH guide Steve Chorvas will be offered again, this time up Hunter Mountain instead of Slide. And for the first time, we will also offer an 8 am trip on the Hunter Mountain SkyRide to see what birds we find at the highest elevations of the Catskills.
As always, the Cornell Lab of O will provide assistance with eBird and Merlin apps. There will be a Beginning Birder workshop, a presentation on Peregrine Falcons, Richard Guthrie will make an appearance, and and more!
For the full schedule and registration, check out the Catskill Center's website or call the Catskill Center at 845-586-2611.
NYSOA conducts field trips to great birding hotspots around New York State. Watch our 
