Onondaga Audubon's 90-acre Richard A. Noyes Sanctuary is perched on the shore of Lake Ontario, in the Town of Scriba, Oswego County, New York State.
To locate Noyes Sanctuary in the DeLorme Atlas (see Glossary), see page 82, coordinates D-4, and look for a road shown as "Nine Mile Point Road." The following article is drawn from the now out-of-print book, City Cemeteries to Boreal Bogs (see Glossary)There is no direct route to Noyes Sanctuary from Syracuse. You can take I-81 north to the Mexico exit, Route 104. Drive west on 104 through Mexico for a total of approximately 12 miles to Route 29. Turn right, or north on 29 for 3 miles, where it "Ts" into Lake Road. Turn right on Lake Road for 1.25 miles to a "T" with Nine Mile Point Road. Turn left, or north and Noyes Sanctuary is 0.2 miles north on the right (east) side of the road. You can also take I-481 to Oswego. Turn right at the 2nd traffic light in Oswego, which is 104. Drive east 9 miles to 29 and follow the same instructions. An Oswego County map will actually give you more direct routes by using local roads. These are hard to describe because of the many forks and turns.
Donated by Mr. Noyes in 1975, the sanctuary is managed by a board of directors that maintains trails, cuts brush and whatever else is necessary to keep this beautiful spot of land on Lake Ontario accessible for hiking, birdwatching and cross-country skiing.
A visit to Noyes Sanctuary can be enjoyable at any time of the year, but spring is usually the best time. In early April, migrating owls may roost during the day in any of the pine plantations, and persistent birders may find Long-eared, Northern Saw-whet and possibly Boreal Owls. Great Horned, Eastern Screech and Barred Owls are residents of the area and may be found year round with a bit of luck. By late April, sparrows, juncos, kinglets and creepers are migrating back and birders should check hedgerows and thickets along the sanctuary boundary with Nine Mile Point Road, around the parking lot and steel storage building and under the powerline right-of-way. Fox, Field, Song, White-throated, White-crowned and Chipping are a few of the species of sparrows found. House Wrens and Winter Wrens may also be located in these thickets.
For the first-time visitor, a walk through the sanctuary on the green trail traverses a variety of habitats and hence gives opportunity for viewing a variety of species. The green trail covers pine plantations, deciduous woods, wet areas, lakeshore bluffs and brushy field habitats in an approximate 1-mile loop. In the spring, as you walk eastward from the parking lot through the wooded areas and the plantations, be on the lookout for kinglets, creepers and a variety of thrushes, including the elusive Gray-cheeked or Bicknell's Thrush. Veery and Wood Thrush nest in Noyes and are enjoyed throughout the nesting season. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers visit in migration and most of the other woodpecker species are resident, including Pileated. Red-breasted Nuthatches are also resident. As the green trail progresses, the wooded areas eventually give way to the Lake Ontario bluffs, and scanning from several spots along the trail, you may find Caspian Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, Common Loons, Horned and Red-necked Grebes as well as a variety of waterfowl. In winter, scanning the lake, one may also find scoters, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and, in all seasons, 3 to 4 species of gulls. But perhaps one of the most unique sights at Noyes is the Barn Swallow colony which nests on the bluff's rocky ledges. This is one of the few places in New York State where Barn Swallows use a natural location for their mud nests.
The Barn Swallows are often joined by three or four other species of swallows as they fly out over the lake surface gathering insects. While walking westward along the lake edge, be alert for migrating warblers, vireos and flycatchers which forage overhead in the treetops. As the green trail turns inland (south) from the lakeshore, there is a cleared field. Brush piles around the field edge provide food and cover for sparrows, juncos, towhees and wrens while the saplings and vines attract a variety of warblers and other migrants. The field may also yield Blue or Golden-winged warblers or their hybrids. Returning to the trail, and continuing south, there are several deciduous areas along the green trail. Near the junction with the orange trail, Hooded Warblers nest and can be heard more often than seen. The patient birder may be rewarded with a glimpse of these beautiful warblers. The trail briefly turns northward, then southward and finally westward, returning to the parking area.
In the spring the trails at Noyes, whether green, red, orange, blue or yellow also provide the visitor with a variety of wildflowers, and birders should occasionally look down and enjoy the blooming spring beauties, hepatica, jack-in-the-pulpits, trillium, trout lily and coltsfoot growing along the way.
In the summer, the sanctuary is home to many resident species and a visit is always rewarding if one can tolerate the insects. Bug repellent is a requirement from early May to first frost as first blackflies, then mosquitoes, make their home at Noyes too!
In winter, the sanctuary provides the cross-county skier, or snowshoer, with peaceful solitude and, if you are lucky, a chance to see deer, snowshoe hare, coyote, or squirrels and to study their tracks. The resident Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse enliven even the quietest winter days!
Most of the year, trails at Noyes are wet in areas and appropriate foot gear is necessary. At all times, care should be taken when walking near the bluffs as they are severely undercut by wave action and are dangerous!
— Written by Mary Alice Koeneke