Over the weekend, I visited Cumberland Bay State Park in Plattsburgh, New York. It’s located across the lake from Burlington on the western shore of Lake Champlain and has a large natural sand beach. Since the park is situated next to the same lake as Burlington, it is very similar to Burlington in its natural history and general ecology. The glacial retreat ~13,000 years ago and the subsequent formation of Lake Vermont and then the Champlain Sea have shaped the landscape in this area.

When I visited the park, it was around 45 degrees and just about to rain. There were still large patches of snow in some spots and a decent amount of ice in the lake, but it was clear that they were in the process of melting away. The trees were still barren of leaves, creating a mostly brown landscape. However, there was some green peeking through to signal the approach of spring. We came across some small sand dunes where I found quite a bit of moss as well as some new grass starting to grow under the dead grass. I even saw bugs jumping around on the sand, which were the first bugs I’ve seen outside this year!

In addition to the plants and bugs, I saw many birds that reminded me the seasons were changing. I saw two flocks of birds migrating in groups across the park while I was there. One group I could tell was geese, but the other group I could not make out as well. I also saw several seagulls flying over the water as well as smaller songbirds dwelling in the trees.

Although Cumberland Bay State Park wasn’t too different ecologically from the waterfront in Burlington, it was still neat to see the other side of Lake Champlain. I visit Plattsburgh almost every weekend, but I had never visited this park before so it was really fun to explore and look for signs of nature. I will definitely be going back when it gets even warmer and maybe I’ll make another update in the future!