When I was at the orientation on Sunday at Platte Clove we took a hike down to the waterfall...We had a few people from the Catskill Center with us that day and one was a conservationist who knew a lot about the forest. I had assumed that the woods that were found around scenic waterfalls in the North East were usually left uncut as they were a source of revenue for the landowner who had visitors pay a toll to see the falls. And that the surrounding forest looked very untouched to my eyes. But this man said I was wrong, and that this was more likely a "mature" forest, getting closer to a "old growth" forest since it is hitting about 150 years since it was last clear cut. He said this land was probably cleared for pasture and for forested for hemlock, which was used in the tanning industry and grows in abundance in that area. He also could identify birds by their song, which he said is the easiest way to know which birds are in the area than trying to see them in dense upper story of the canopy. I looked up a  few websites with birdsongs and of course there are Apps now you can download to your Blackberry or Iphone. A bird singing nearby he identified as the Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Check out the song at Whatbird.com
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Whatbird.com