This is a great experience for everyone in the family. The barked trails around the lab make for easy and enjoyable walks through a variety of habitats. The gallery has wonderful drawings and exhibits. If you are into bird calls, check out the sound lab to hear the unique calls of many popular birds. My favorite part was the film room where you can select a wide variety of videos to watch. The discovery videos are amazing. Check out the white board in the lobby with a list of recent bird sightings.

Sapsucker woods is one of our favorite places to visit when we are in Ithaca. The walks are easy and peaceful and mellow. One often sees different variety of birds, plus the occasional chipmunk and small brown squirrel. today there were two small yellow birds in the tops of trees that were very nice to watch but difficult to photograph.

This review is for my visit on May 8-9, 2018.Whether youre a bird enthusiast or not, this is a wonderful place to visit. I had been viewing the Cornell feeder cam for a number of years so I decided that 2018 would be the year to take a road trip to Ithaca and see everything firsthand. The Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity is pretty amazing. And the various hiking trails through Sapsucker Woods provided very interesting birding. Ill definitely be making a trip back there in the near future.

Always an enjoyable time here.

I absolutely love this place. I wish I took more pictures. This is an amazing FREE bird exhibit with in depth education. There are trails as well you can walk.

Try to find the bird feeder, seen it on Youtube, no luck. A great place for bird watching.

Beautiful, well maintained and easy trails. Perfect for a stroll to immerse yourself in nature.

Excellent place to go for walks or sit and enjoy nature. Very serene and well preserved. If youre lucky you can see a crane!

The golden-crowned sparrows were amazing!

Beautiful area for walks

It’s quite a peaceful experience to watch the birds and hear all the sounds of nature out in the open.

A fantastic place for learning about the field of ornithology, along with a beautiful landscape all through out.

Please give to this wonderful organization. They have a heart for all the birds.

Well to be one that works here and have the honor to have the trails whenever dusk til dawn its great. Come down we have lots of birds in our pond and I promise peace of mind is something you will leave with

Absolutely brilliant institute ebird.org

Really enjoyed walking through and seeing all the different species of birds. We were lucky enough to see a bunch of canadian geese land, loudly, on the pond.

Every time I come here I appreciate the awe of nature. The hike is amazing and seems new each time. I enjoy sitting inside and watching the birds after a long hike. The mural is amazing. The workers a d students are always so passionate about things! So nice to be around people doing what they love and teaching others. I bring my kids here about once a month and they all love it, ages 5-11.

I love walking here off season even though I don’t see many birds or other critters.Seeing what nature does when it’s resting is so peaceful and catching its subtle changes on camera is what I love to do. Exploring its various trails at different times of the year at my own pace at different vantage points is when I discover its beauty.

What a wonderful location for learning about birds and watching them. The viewing area was great, I could have spent a lot more time just observing. The trails were well kept, there were just some very talkative other guests on the trails that seemed to keep the birds at bay. Looking forward to going again.

Beautiful, well-maintained yet wild, and frequented by friendly nature-lovers that care. Great place to walk and see local wildlife. Tons of portals.

We love this place. Stunning trails. They have fantastic events. My kids loved going here when they were younger. Lots of room to run and play. They have a cute little theater with self-selected narrated films. The gift shop is really well curated.

If you are a birder, this is a pilgrimage stop. It is in a wooded area, well away from the main Cornell campus. Volunteers give indoor tours where you can go into some of the labs. Our tour guide spent over an hour in the bird skin lab showing us some demo bird skins. There is also an acoustic lab and library you can see. A beautiful lagoon is visible from the lobby of the building, floor to ceiling windows and nice chairs allow you to enjoy the view. There are also bird watching tours available on the trails outside the lab building and they will loan binoculars.

Great place to explore with kids or alone. The interior has giant windows for prime indoor birding or take a lovely walk around the sapsucker woods trails that all lead back to the lab. They have great migration events for families and what appears to be great tours as well. Everytime we come we are greeted with friendly and approachable staff. Excellent resource for bird explorers.

Use to be a member great information about birds

Great place for walk and bird watching

BEAUTIFUL even though they dont let dogs in.

The hiking is amazing. The main building has a gorgeous set up to just sit and bird watch for as long as you wish. They have several top of the line telescopes to watch birds. Easy to spend an entire day there or only a few hours.

Ive been twice. Its a neat little place but its lacking in things to do. Theres one big building with some observation windows and binoculars for viewing wildlife outside, along with some paintings, a small cinema which plays short clips about wildlife in Ithaca, and a gift store. I guess I was expecting there to be more exhibits like a museum. The outside trails are picturesque, but we didnt see many birds.

Amazing! The guided tour is great and the trails are beautiful, easy to walk. You can observe birds from inside and outside and also learn how to indentify them.

Beautifully maintained walkways. Great spot for a stroll or birding.

I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. I didnt even know I had a bird-nerd inside me until I visited and walked the grounds and saw a huge variety of bird, including a Baltimore Oriole, a Blue Heron, and a woodpecker that was big enough to carry away a small animal if it were so inclined. They provide you with binoculars, and you can roam around as long as you like (while theyre open). The staff is friendly and helpful.There are spaces where people who arent inclined to walk around can sit in front of huge plate-glass windows and watch the world of birds (and amphibians, and insects, and flora) just a few feet away. There are also educational tours, and a gorgeous facility to explore as well.Take the time to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology if you are visiting the Ithaca area!

Nice park with lots of hiking trails and plenty of benches. Wonderful museum and very interesting. Best of all its free.

Great trails, low impact and well kept. Also worth going inside to tour the building. Make sure you bring your binoculars and bird books. My son even enjoyed the trip, which i was skeptical of.

Wonderful place, with beautiful walks and pond. It really should be renamed, since it deals with all vertebrates, not just birds. Went on the tour, which was interesting and showed the variety of projects sponsored, including recordings of bird calls and efforts to protect marine life from audio disruption.

SERENITY. Took my 13yr son and his friend for a homeschool field trip and we were all just blown away at the beauty of the hiking trails. They didnt see too much of birds but they investigated every puddle for bull from tadpoles! We did discover a nest of chicks at one of the observation pads and the children were ecstatic. The museum was beautiful but there was a special group convention going on so it was a bit too crowded. Loved the mural and the antique hummingbird display was interesting. Will definitely be going back very soon!

Its a beautiful, pristine place to walk, bird watch, and enjoy creation.

We showed up early in the morning for the guided trail tour at 8:30a but a tour guide never showed up. I was very disappointed due to the fact that while I enjoy birds, Im not the most adept at locating them in a forest-like environment, and was looking forward to getting the help. As a result, I was only able to locate and identify a handful of birds. Then, on the behind the scenes tour later at 11am, I was looking forward to getting a tour from someone with actual knowledge of current research being conducted by Cornell Lab as opposed to just someone who takes you through the hallways and tells you whats in each room but cant even let you go into the rooms for a closer view. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with my entire experience, made worse by the fact that this was the main thing I was looking forward to on my trip to Ithaca. If you are intent on visiting, I strongly recommend calling ahead to verify that a tour guide will actually show up and also that the behind-the-scenes tour guide is actually knowledgeable of the subject matter.

Great place for bird nerds. Plenty of free parking. Can observe from inside the air conditioned building or walk outside on about 3 miles of trails throughout the woods. Staff is friendly and helpful. There is a small store inside as well as a library.In addition to seeing many birds, also very likely to see turtles, frogs, squirrels, chipmunks, maybe snakes.

Beautiful and super interesting! There were wonderful guides and tours with interesting information to kids and adults at the very same time- impressive! despite the rain we saw loads of birds.

Great place for birdwatchers and naturalists alike, lots to see, well-kept shaded trails around a beautiful pond, nice education/welcome center with clean facilities and cute gift shop.

It was so incredibly lovely and peaceful. I had an impromptu visit and it was worth the stop!

We sat on a bench and gazed on the pond. We saw geese and turtles and lily pad flowers were in bloom

Fantastic museum with interactive displays and activities. Beautiful walks around the territory

Wonderful place to take a walk. The trails are all bark-chip reinforced (though some areas can get a little soggy at the wet times of the year). You can spend a quarter mile, or two miles walking around, looking at the wild life (youll see deer and turtles in addition to the birds!).

Amazing trails and views. A must see for the casual and serious birder.

I see everyone elses experience was good, mine probably would have been if we hadnt taken a tour with the lady with long gray hair. The tour guides group had cancelled and she snatched us up right away, the moment we walked in the door. We were there for 3 hours and that was only the first half of the tour! Never even got a chance to look in the museum, the tour we took was all behind the scenes. I guess it was the case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time!

The Lab is world famous, and the trails around the beautiful pond keep me coming back often. No two trips to this place are the same. If youre serious about birding, go at first light, or last light. The gift shop is great, and guided tours are also wonderful. Everyone here is knowledgable and loves nature, not just birds.

For birders, this is a mandatory stop. They have an indoor viewing area, a store that sells high end binoculars, and a path around a pond that is a magnet for all sorts of birds. I love going here.

An incredible place to see birds, learn about them in the visitor center, or just walk around a nice peaceful bit of nature (if you can ignore the occasional plane from the airport across the road). So many great memories

Beautiful. Serene, loved the walk.

Beautiful, well-kept, and minimalist trails in woods with tons of different birds. Best to go here in the morning—youll see the most birds. Staff inside the lab are super helpful.

Amazing place. Gotta visit if you love birds

Beautiful facility, nice trails. This is worthwhile stop for any bird lover. Admission is free.

I approve of your philosophy and activities for educating the public about birds, birds, birds; I also approve of your marketing practices. Having contributed this year, I did not receive pounds of paper, photos, cards, mailing stamps nor did I receive a calendar! I did receive the simple thank you email generated letter with the option to click on a box if I wished to receive a calendar. Thank you!

Gorgeous facility. It offers a first rate experience to observe birds and learn more about conservation and bird habitats.

Great place to spot fauna and to watch fireflies

A great place to visit if you love birds. the trails are beautiful and the staff is very friendly and helpful!

Excellent, but you still dont have a Limpkin on your Merlin app. Also when you ask for money in a mailbox, let a person know it is tax deductible. I sent money without knowing but it would have been nice to know so I could put it on my list of charitable deductions.

Great place for a quick hike around the trails. Friendly staff. Fun place to bring visitors, especially those with children!

Very interesting place at no cost! Great for family outings if you like bird watching

Not really an entertainment place for the public, some paintings and some bird viewing, no visible lab work being done. Beautiful building and walking trails.

Very beautiful but the welcome center has pretty boring exhibits. The views and the nature trails are amazing though. I think I missed the part where you get binoculars so you can actually see the birds, I never found it and it seems logical to have that.

Very interesting with some beautiful trails. I use the app quite often and happened to be in the area while visiting the Finger Lakes.

Amazing place to stay for both birders and non-birders

Excellent trails for family walk year round. In the center, try the sound room -- many interesting exhibits and medial.

Really nice scenery! Enjoyed my visit a lot.

Ever changing fauna and Flora. Beautiful birds.

Stone work beautiful didnt go inside

Peaceful and refreshing!! Great walked in the woods and inside viewing overlooking the pond and all the birds!!! Very interactive.

Love this place. Excellent for a day trip, so peaceful. Ask for binoculars at the desk.

A quiet beautiful place to walk and listen to Mother Nature.

Love the nature hikes that are free here. Great views.

Only stopped for a short visit, but really enjoyed the walk

Macaulay Library is AMAZING, I learned a lot from the movie theaters, and the mural is so capturing.

Love it here! Very helpful. And great scenic views!

Great place to go sit inside and watch wildlife on their pond or walk their trails. If you trail walk bring insect repellant.😀

Loved it! Secret heaven.

This place has been the best resource since I started working with birds of prey and moved on to endangered species surveys. Thanks

It’s ok. Not my cup of tea and pretty boring to be honest.

Very nice walk in the wood at this world leading bird research center

Bad weather day. Probably would have enjoyed it more if we were able to take trails.

Anyone, a child or an experienced birder, can learn a lot about birds and ecology and have fun doing it.

Beautiful, elegant, friendly, and art inside, birds outside! Free! Binoculars & scopes available.

Great place to go walking

A peaceful and wonderous place!

Human show for the birds to enjoy once in a while beautiful

This place is like a trip to the zoo, but for adults. Beautiful location, so many projects happening.

Terrific day spent in the facilities inside and outside. Also got to see raptor program

Simply great. Kind and helpful people.

My goodness was this an amazing find for me, as a photographer getting to spend an afternoon here with a 1DX Mark II and 400 2.8 IS II was one of my favorite shoots of my 2016. The snow covered scenery was incredible, bring a wide lens with you because the landscape is beautiful. I was so happy I packed my mammut jacket and northface hiking boots in my luggage because you need it here. Highly recommend to any photog.

Everything for a birder or if you want to get away! Love it!!!!

Educational, nice place to walk around

The weekend bird walks arent part of the lab but they make the visit. Behind the scenes afterwards is a must.

A great place to visit for a hike or to learn about birds.

Extremely expanded from when I was at Cornell. World ornithological star.

The place is mesmerizing, and one of its kind in the world.

Excellent attention, I mean, as good as it can get

A nice peaceful place

I found the trail most interesting.

EXCELLENT, Im a native Florida naturalist/conservation biology student and FLDEP applicant(dream job!)-I saw a bird Ive not seen before, or at least knowing it, the Limpkin (Amarus guarauna). Two were off a busy road ~1200 Gandy Blvd. St Petersburg Fl US, they had the coolest call that WAS faintly familiar(I grew up here and Odessa& Sarasota FL)It sounded like rubbing together squeaky clean rubber pc.s, a few clucksmixed with a Sandhill Crane! I noted a few empty, one wet, Apple Snail shells (Pomaceae) only to find that is a large part of their diet here. I took a few pics, recorded the sound Wed 23 Apr 2014 and compared it to the library-CONFIRMED! ....now to see if FFWCC is tracking sightings....; }-< Love FLORIDA! sick of the human pop though-->got birth limits YET???