Spring is here, which means birds-lots of them! Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca is the ideal (and free!) place to spend time with your feathered friends from dawn to dusk in their natural habitat.

A visit to Sapsucker is your chance to truly be present. You can do this while strolling the four miles of trails or sitting on one of the wooden benches placed strategically on the land or over the water. Listen to the birds and try to identify their different sounds. I heard trills, calls, chirps, warbles, tweets, squawks, twitters, and honks! Watch the bees buzz busily about and the iridescent dragonflies and bright orange goldfish dart here and there. Search for frogs and painted turtles hiding in the rushes, sunbathing on logs, or submerged under the murky water.

Don’t fret if the weather is bad; there’s plenty of places in the Visitor’s Center to view, hear, and learn about birds, along with spectacular artwork to peruse.

I learn something new every time I visit. Today’s topic was the passenger pigeon; a bird I hadn’t thought about in years! And, I discovered a lovely library on the second floor, which would be perfect to read or write in!