Birdwatching in New York City and on Long Island

by Deborah Rivel, Kellye Rosenheim

Overview

This easy-to-use guide gives seasonal information for both popular birding sites and those off the beaten path. Precise directions to the best viewing locations within the region’s diverse habitats enable birdwatchers to efficiently explore urban and wild birding hotspots. Over 500 species of birds can be seen in New York City’s five boroughs and on Long Island, one of the most densely populated and urbanized regions in North America, which also happens to be situated directly on the Atlantic Flyway. In this fragmented environment of scarce resources, birds concentrate on what’s available. This means that high numbers of birds are found in small spaces. In fact, Central Park alone attracts over 225 species of birds, which birders from around the world flock to see during spring and fall migration. Beyond Central Park, the five boroughs and Long Island have numerous wildlife refuges of extraordinary scenic beauty where resident and migratory birds inhabit forests, wetlands, grasslands, and beaches. These special places present an opportunity to see a wide array of songbirds, endangered nesting shorebirds, raptors, and an unprecedented number and variety of waterfowl. Including the latest information on the seasonal status and distribution of more than 400 species, with 39 maps and over 50 photographs, this full-color guide features information essential to planning a birding visit. It will become the go-to book for both the region’s longtime birders and those exploring the area for the first time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611686784
Publisher:	University Press of New England
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	474,267
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

DEBORAH RIVEL is an award-winning wildlife film producer/director and owner of WildTones.com, and serves on the board of Audubon New York. She lives in New York City and near birding hotspot Cape May, New Jersey, and has traveled to six continents in search of birds. KELLYE ROSENHEIM is a popular leader of bird walks in Central Park and Jamaica Bay and works for the New York City Audubon Society.

Table of Contents

Contents • Acknowledgments • Introduction • MANHATTAN • Key Sites • Central Park • Inwood Hill Park • Fort Tryon Park • Sherman Creek and Swindler Cove • Randall’s Island • Governors Island • Hudson River Greenway Biking • The Battery • Other Places to Find Birds in Manhattan • Bryant Park • Madison Square Park • Union Square Park • Washington Square Park • Morningside Park • Riverside Park and “the Drip” • Carl Schurz Park and the East River • Peter Detmold Park • Uniquely Manhattan Birding • BROOKLYN • Key Sites • Prospect Park • Brooklyn Botanic Garden • Green-Wood Cemetery • Floyd Bennett Field • Dead Horse Bay and Dead Horse Point • Coastal Brooklyn Winter Waterfowl Viewing • Brooklyn Bridge Park • Bush Terminal Piers Park • Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4 • Owls Head Park and American Veterans Memorial Pier • Gravesend Bay • Calvert Vaux Park • Coney Island Creek • Coney Island Creek Park • Coney Island Pier • Plumb Beach • Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park • Dead Horse Bay and Dead Horse Point • Canarsie Pier • Canarsie Park • Fresh Creek Park • Hendrix Creek and Betts Creek • Spring Creek Park • Other Places to Find Birds in Brooklyn • Brooklyn Bridge Park • Bush Terminal Piers Park • Owls Head Park and American Veterans Memorial Pier • Calvert Vaux Park • Plumb Beach • Four Sparrow Marsh • QUEENS • Key Sites • Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge • Big Egg Marsh, aka Broad Channel American Park • Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden • Breezy Point • Edgemere Landfill • Forest Park • Queens Botanical Garden • Alley Pond Park and Oakland Lake • Other Places to Find Birds in Queens • Baisley Pond Park • Rockaway Beach Endangered Species Nesting Area • Kissena Park and Corridor • Flushing Meadows Corona Park • Willow Lake • World’s Fair Marina • Highland Park and Ridgewood Reservoir • Cemetery of the Evergreens • THE BRONX • Key Sites • Pelham Bay Park • New York Botanical Garden and Bronx Zoo • Van Cortlandt Park • Other Places to Find Birds in the Bronx • Woodlawn Cemetery • Wave Hill • Riverdale Park / Raoul Wallenberg Forest Preserve • Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront Park • North Brother and South Brother Islands • STATEN ISLAND • Key Sites • Clove Lakes Park • Great Kills Park • Blue Heron Park Preserve • Wolfe’s Pond Park and Acme Pond • Lemon Creek Park • Mount Loretto Unique Area and North Mount Loretto State Forest • Long Pond Park • Conference House Park • Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve • High Rock Park and Conservation Center and Moses Mountain • Mariner’s Marsh Park • Goethals Pond Complex, Including Bridge Creek, Old Place Creek Park, and Goethals Pond • Snug Harbor and Allison Pond Park • Willowbrook Park • Miller Field, Midland Beach, and South Beach • Other Places to Find Birds on Staten Island • King Fisher Park • Oakwood Beach • Moses Mountain • Fort Wadsworth • Silver Lake Park • Tottenville Train Station • Other Greenbelt Parks • Reed’s Basket Willow Swamp • LaTourette Park • In Case You Were Wondering • Freshkills Park • Harbor Herons Complex—Shooters and Prall’s Islands • Staten Island Ferry • NASSAU COUNTY • Key Sites • Jones Beach State Park • Point Lookout • Nickerson Beach • Cow Meadow Park and Preserve • Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area • Hempstead Lake State Park • Massapequa Preserve and Tackapausha Museum and Preserve • John F. Kennedy Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Tobay Beach • South Shore Winter Freshwater Birding • Grant Park Pond and Willow Pond • Lofts Pond Park • Milburn Pond • Cow Meadow Park and Preserve • Camman’s Pond Park • Mill Pond Park and Twin Lakes Preserve, Including Wantagh Pond and Seaman Pond • Massapequa Preserve and Tackapausha Preserve • The North Shore • Muttontown Preserve • Leeds Pond Preserve • Sands Point Preserve • Whitney Pond Park • William Cullen Bryant Preserve • Garvies Point Preserve • Welwyn Preserve • Stehli Beach Preserve and Charles E. Ransom Beach • Centre Island Town Park • Bailey Arboretum • Shu Swamp (Charles T. Church Nature Sanctuary) • Upper and Lower Francis Ponds • Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park • Mill Pond in Oyster Bay • Sagamore Hill • St. John’s Pond Preserve • Uplands Farm Sanctuary • SUFFOLK COUNTY • Western Suffolk • Robert Moses State Park • Sunken Forest at Sailors Haven, and Watch Hill • Smith Point County Park • Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge • Captree State Park and Gilgo Beach • Caumsett State Historic Park • Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge • Tung Ting Pond and Mill Pond • Sunken Meadow State Park • Blydenburgh Park • David Weld Sanctuary • Connetquot River State Park • Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park • Heckscher State Park • Central Suffolk County, Including the Grasslands • Wading River Marsh Preserve • Wildwood State Park • Hulse Landing Road • EPCAL • Calverton Ponds Preserve, Preston’s Pond, and Swan Pond • “The Buffalo Farm” • Golden Triangle Sod Farms • The South Fork and Shelter Island • Shinnecock Bay and Inlet • Dune Road • Cupsogue Beach County Park • Mecox Bay • Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island • The North Fork • Orient Point County Park • Plum Island • Orient Beach State Park • Ruth Oliva Preserve at Dam Pond • Inlet Pond County Park • Moore’s Woods • Arshamomaque Preserve • Arshamomaque Pond Preserve • Cedar Beach County Park • Goldsmith’s Inlet Park • Nassau Point of Little Hog Neck • Downs Farm Preserve • Marratooka Lake Park (Marratooka Pond) • Husing Pond Preserve • Laurel Lake • Montauk Peninsula • Montauk Point State Park and Camp Hero State Park • Shadmoor State Park and Ditch Plains • Hither Hills State Park • Hook Pond • SPECIES ACCOUNTS • Rarities • Accidentals • Bibliography • Index

What People are Saying About This

Kenn Kaufman

“Phenomenally well done, beautifully organized, and packed with useful information. From now on, I'll be using this book every time I visit New York.”

Victor Emanuel

“A practical guide to finding birds, full of insider info. All my favorite NYC birding haunts and some soon-to-be-discovered ones described in glorious detail. A must for every NYC-area birder—local and visitor alike.”

Scott Weidensaul

“Chatty, informative, precise, enthusiastic, and the soul of practicality—in other words, this is exactly what you want in a wise and experienced birding companion. Deborah Rivel and Kellye Rosenheim share not only the best hotspots but the best vantage points, times of day for photography, whether a scope will help or get you cussed at by joggers, where to eat, where to find a bathroom, how to navigate public transportation, and even suggestions for what else to do when you're finally done birding. Easily one of the best—maybe the best—regional birding guides anywhere.”

David Yarnold

“This terrific guide is all you need to go birding in New York. From the ‘best of’ tips about where to go and what you’ll see—to the historical context—the authors set you up for great birding experiences. All you need to do is grab a copy of this book, your binoculars, and your friends or family and head out to see the birdy boroughs of New York.”

Editorial Reviews

“Into birding? Know 400 species populate NYC. Wait. There’s even cedar waxwings and great crested flycatchers. Plus we got us chestnut-sided warblers and merlins. See an American redstart. A black skimmer. A Wilson’s warbler. Visit my terrace and mix with my nesting mourning dove family. Better yet, read Birdwatching in New York City and on Long Island by Deborah Rivel and Kellye Rosenheim.”
—Page Six, New York Post

From the Publisher