Birds are a big deal in Ithaca, and it's not because of the number of Canadian geese choosing to winter here. Ithaca is home to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a world leader dedicated to the study and conservation of birds. The organization boasts 90,000 friends and members and engages 400,000 participants in their citizen-science programs. From building the world’s most comprehensive online archive of audio and video recordings of animal biodiversity to creating bird identifying apps – the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is an Ithaca and global treasure. The striking visitors' center sits firmly in the middle of a 230-acre sanctuary - stop in to collect a map of the 4+ miles of trails, to borrow binoculars, and to see the recently completed "Wall of Birds" mural, painted by artist Jane Kim. Each of the 271 birds featured is life-sized and painted in brilliant color; she’s ambitiously been painting a bird a day since 2014. The observatory overlooking Sapsucker Woods pond is the perfect place to meet a friend - bring coffee and watch the bird feeding garden. Admission is free, public educational events are frequent and terrific – and don’t skip taking a second to browse the gift shop – it’s hard to resist all that great Charley Harper merch!