I moved to central NY in December 2013 and honed in on Cicero Swamp from the get-go. I have seen a lot of wildlife on the property (fisher, turkey, squirrel, mink, deer, coyote). I initially hunted near parking lots and easily accessible areas, but not surprisingly, so did everyone else! I would consistently have other hunters walk under my tree stand. On at least two occasions there were people who were target shooting on the property (in the middle of bow season!). I soon realized I needed to push out deeper into the woods. I scouted on google earth and found a spot that required wearing waders to access. The spot is fantastic! Lots of wildlife and I've got it all to myself. It's not that far from the road either. The water barrier seems to be enough to keep most hunters away. I haven't found a single flag (other than my own), whereas in the other spot there were lots of flags of nearly every color. Moral of the story, if you're looking for a nice spot to hunt at Cicero Swamp, I would recommend buying waders and exploring some areas with standing water. It is definitely a workout (especially carrying in a tree stand), but it is pretty awesome to have what feels like a private spot.
