Important Bird Areas

Montezuma Wetlands Complex is an Important Bird Area

50,000 acres of vital habitat within the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region.
Important Bird Areas

Montezuma Wetlands Complex is an Important Bird Area

50,000 acres of vital habitat within the heart of New York's Finger Lakes region.

Montezuma Wetlands Complex lies within the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes region. Covering 50,000 acres, the complex includes a host of diverse habitats important to many migratory and resident wildlife species, including one of the largest migratory concentrations of waterfowl in the Northeast.

Nearly 1,000,000 of more than 25 different waterfowl species pass through the Complex during migration, including hundreds of thousands of Snow Geese, Mallards and Black Ducks. In the summer, it offers breeding habitat for hundreds of Cerulean Warblers, and it’s considered one of the most significant stopover and foraging locations for migrating shorebirds in upstate New York.

Also found here is the Montezuma Audubon Center (MAC) – a partnership with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation – which hosts thousands of visitors annually. Through a variety of programs, including For the Birds!, Youth Sportsman Summer Camp, and MARSH! (Montezuma Alliance for the Restoration of Species & Habitat), adults and children are connected to nature and learn how their actions can influence habitat health.