I have received a few questions about the hours/accessibility of

Noblewood Park in Willsboro, NY for Labor Day weekend and beyond.  I

realize that the web site was not clear about these two things, and I

apologize for this.  A clearer explanation of off-season accessibility is

now available on the Noblewood web

site:  www.albany.net/~cardinal/Noblewood/Noblewood.htm

      Noblewood Park will be open for full use through Labor Day, Monday,

September 6.  By "full use," I mean that the main gate will be open, so

visitors can drive into the park, swim at the town beach, camp at one of

the camp sites, and drive down to the canoe launch site to put a canoe or

kayak in the Boquet River.

      After Labor Day, the main gate to Noblewood will be closed until next

summer, *but* the park is in fact open year-round to pedestrian

visitors.  For birdwatchers, this change in operating status should have

very little effect on your visit to the park.  It essentially means an

extra three to five minutes of walking to reach the river mouth.  It also

means that there is no fee (for any visitors) to enter the park.

      I was at Noblewood this evening, and while the birding was quite

slow, the views from the river mouth were just gorgeous in the waning light

of the late summer/early fall day.  I imagine that the views are even more

spectacular with the arrival of fall colors, and I bet the fall birding

there is going to be great too!  If you have any questions about Noblewood,

feel free to e-mail me.



Good birding,

Matt Medler