Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Attraction in Town of Lansing

I went here on a date with my girlfriend and had a lovely time. There is no charge to walk the trails or to enter the visitor center, it is completely donation based. There are telescopes (or whatever they're called) that are free to use from a very nice observation point inside of the center. There is a large pond with many birds and animals to observe from the comfort of inside the visitor center. We saw a Heron fishing. There is not a whole lot to do inside the center other than observing birds but there is a nice cozy library that has great material if you want to do research and there is bathrooms and a small giftshop. It's kid-friendly but young kids might get bored after a short time. The lady at the front desk was very kind and knowledgeable. She offered us binoculars to borrow for free as we walked around the trails. There are many great photo opportunities and the trails are in great condition. Great for running or for pushing a stroller. We saw a bunch of beaver teeth marks on felled trees and also their beaver house. It's a really nice way to spend...

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, I'm 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 what's in each room but can't 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...

Rating as an institution, not just as a place to visit. The CLO is a wonderful place for birdwatching, with comfortable trails and wide species diversity. It's also the home of some of the most important and cutting-edge ornithology research anywhere. "Backstage" at the CLO is the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates (CUMV), which includes literally millions of specimens. The bird and fish collections are especially impressive, and even include extinct species. These collections are used for research, and not open to the general public, but the staff are very friendly and it's easy to line up a backstage visit if you know somebody. The CLO also houses the Macaulay Library of bird sounds, which is the biggest repository of its kind in the world. From eggs to feathers to vocalization, everything bird-related is under study here. And for the casual visitor, it's a great place for a peaceful walk with...