A great time of year With winter in full swing across the North Country, it is not only time to step into skis and to strap on snowshoes, it is also time to head to the Champlain Valley in search of birds. While the valley offers good birding all year round, winter can be excellent for a number of sought-after species, making winter trips a must. And so we birders head out questing for raptors like Rough-legged Hawks, waterfowl like Tufted...

Submitted by guest blogger Troy Thomas Champlain Area Trails, or CATS, clearly states their mission on the website, which is simple and beautiful — saving land, making trails. Here, in Elizabethtown, a scenic, 30-minute drive from the Lake Champlain to the east or Lake Placid to the north, you'll find the the Blueberry Hill Trail system. This is a lovely wooded network of interconnected trails, for every...

In the photos it looks like they’re gliding across the water’s surface, the clouds reflected in an enormous, aqueous mirror. The Nordic skates on their feet look a little too big, a little too cumbersome, striking an odd juxtaposition with the skater’s elegant movements. “On a good day, visually, your senses are on overload,” said Nordic skater Kevin Boyle. “There’s this amazing color spectrum. With the jet black ice, if you catch it when it’...

It’s that time of year again Like everything else during the holiday season, Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) sneak up on me before I am ready. There are emails a few months before the date, followed by more emails, and then the day arrives and I’m somehow mystified as to how that happened. Chalk it up to busyness and far too much to do. A great start to the winter season In the weeks preceding the counts, many folks head out to prep...

Written by guest blogger Lily Katherine, Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce When I was growing up my mother always planned ahead when it came to getting presents for us kids, that way she could begin with the classic family torture of “I know something you don’t know” in August. I openly admit that I have adopted that family tradition; nothing thrills me more than bouncing into a room, wiggling my husband while ...

Since its beginning in 2009, the Champlain Area Trails' (CATS) ever-growing trail network has featured relatively short, easy-to-moderate hikes with big payoffs in outstanding views. CATS trails showcase a rich tapestry of scenic woodlands, wildlife habitats, pastoral farmland, historic villages and wetlands, ponds, rivers, and streams including the Boquet River and Lake Champlain. CATS publishes a beautiful free map of the...