The Chestnut-sided Warbler can be sighted in second-growth woods, grasslands, clearings, and thickets. Chenango County Bird Club invites the community to join their walk at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 10, at the Leland Preserve, located at 1725 Preston Hill Road, off NY 12B, south of the Colgate University Campus in Hamilton. Anyone interested in carpooling can meet at the main parking lot of the Rogers Environmental Education Center in Sherburne, at 5:25 p.m., with departure time from Rogers at 5:30 p.m. (Photo by Rick Bunting)

CHENANGO COUNTY — The Chenango County Bird Club invites the community to join their walk at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 10, at the Leland Preserve, located at 1725 Preston Hill Road, off NY 12B, south of the Colgate University Campus in Hamilton.

Anyone interested in carpooling can meet at the main parking lot of the Rogers Environmental Education Center in Sherburne, at 5:25 p.m., with departure time from Rogers at 5:30 p.m.

The walk is open to anyone interested in birds, whether a beginner or experienced.

Chenango Bird Club Communications Chair Dan Pfeifer said they will have a short business meeting followed by the bird walk led by Richard and Marjorie Cohen, long-time members of the club.

"Mid-June is peak nesting season, so we are likely to see adults building nests, feeding young, or attending to recent fledglings," said Pfeifer.

Leland Reserve is an eighteen-acre parcel located at the crest of Preston Hill Road and is owned by the Southern Madison Heritage Trust (SMHT). The land was donated to SMHT by Ann Leland in 2003.

Pfeifer noted the property has a nice mix of habitat including an old field, shrub land, hardwood forest and riparian corridor and said, “The trails have a modest incline with some sections possibly being wet and muddy, depending on the weather.”

"Be sure to bring binoculars, hiking shoes, bug repellent, a water bottle and a raincoat if sprinkles are in the forecast," he said.

If steady rain is in the forecast, Pfeifer said they will cancel the walk and instead meet at the newly renovated Bird Cabin at the Rogers Center, adjacent to the main parking lot along NY80.

According to Audobon.org, the Chestnut-sided Warbler can be found in leafy second-growth woods, grasslands, clearings, and thickets and is often sighted hopping through saplings with its tail up at a perky angle.

Their call pattern is flat, undulating with a call type of chirp/chip, high whistle.

The bird sexes are similar with a length of four to five inches and wingspan of seven to eight inches. They weigh between 0.3 to 0.4 ounces and have a yellow cap, black face stripe around white cheeks, and a ragged chestnut stripe on sides.

In the fall, the Chestnut-sided Warbler shows different colors with lime green above, white below, with eye-ring on pale gray face, two yellow wing-bars and may or may not show some chestnut on sides.

They are more numerous today than historically, with a population of 18,000,000.

Questions can be emailed to Club President Loretta Brady at lorettajbrady@gmail.com.