SEASONAL SPOTS FOR SPRING-TIME BIRDING
Connetquot River State Park Preserve...
for information call (631) 581-1005
"Connetquot River State Park Preserve covers 3,400 acres of woodlands, and wetlands with the Connetquot River flowing through park. The park has fifty miles of trails and several ponds that make for great bird watching, Some of the birds that can be seen here are Common Bobwhites, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Blue Jays, Great Crested Flycatcher, Woodcocks, Blue-Winged, Prairie, Chestnut-Sided, and Canada Warbler. Wood Duck, Hermit Thrushes, Veeries, White-eyed Vireos, and Ring-necked Pheasants add to the wonder of this location. Look for hunting & nesting Ospreys”
Stony Brook Harbor -
great place!!!
The harbor has extensive mud flats, and when these flats are exposed the birds come out. Look for Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Yellow and Black-crowned Night Herons, Common Tern, Laughing Gulls, Least Tern, Belted Kingfisher, Killdeer, Least and Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Yellowlegs and spotted Sandpiper.
Woodlands, ponds, lakes and frehswater wet-lands border Massapequa Creek. A large variety of woodland and water birds visit this lovely preserve with great pathways to explore.
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
One of my favorite behavior watching spots, especially in spring! Migrants going through and nesters re-claiming territory. Bird watching during the spring migrations allows you to view a variety of birds including raptors, waterfowl and songbirds.
Located off Montauk Highway in Shirley.
WHAT A GEM!! Located on the South Shore and run by the Town of Islip, this nature center has wonderful and varied habitats for birdwatching. Established in 1977, the trails are composed of a system of boardwalks that extend through wetlands consisting of both fresh water and salt water habitats, as well as an upland trail.
The center is open weekdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm all year long, and 7 days a week from April until October. For more information call 631-224-5436
Go here for more Spring Birding Spots
Recommended by John Turner,
naturalist and author of
"Exploring the Other Island"
OTHER GREAT PLACES
(click on each for info)
Sweetbriar Nature Center, Smithtown
Hunters' Garden in Eastport
Hard place to find, but well worth the effort. Great place for warblers, tanagers, thrushes! Dirt road leading in, but recently kept in fairly good order (may not be good after rains). Fairly isolated, so as much as I hate to say it...women should probably not go alone.
Directions: Sunrise Highway to Route 51 north toward Riverhead/Eastport. Go exactly 3.0 miles and look for dirt road leading into woods on west side of Route 51. (There is a median cross-over directly at that point. If you reach Suffolk Community College you have gone too far.) If you are going north on Route 51, the dirt road is directly past the sign that says "Town of Brookhaven/ Eastport".
Open all year, 7 days, sunrise to sunset.
Visitor's Center: 8:30 to 5:00, call for info: 718-318-4340.
A wide variety of habitats that allow for excellent viewing of wading birds, shorebirds, rails, warblers, flycatchers, vireos. Well maintained paths and viewing areas. And don't forget the feeders near the Visitor's Center.
Although not on Long Island, a MUST for the spring for every birder. One of the best places for migrating warblers on the eastern seaboard.
Forest Park, 538 acres of trees and fields, is a jewel of a park in Queens, New York, bordering the neighborhoods of Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Glendale, and Woodhaven. Check out “the waterhole” area for migrating birds during spring time.
Located along the Atlantic Flyway for North American bird migration, Prospect Park has been designated as an Important Birding Area in New York State by the National Audubon Society. Around 200 species of birds can be spotted in the Park seasonally. The Park’s significant native and migratory bird population contributed to it being selected as the site for the nation’s first urban Audubon Center, opened in April 2002.
Located on Shelter Island, the preserve takes up about one third of the Island. The preserve is over 2100 acres in size and has over 10 miles of coastline. The habitats are diverse with salt marshes, tidal creeks, fields & woodlands, and attracts a wide range of birds. Piping Plovers nest there and Mashomack is home to numerous pairs of nesting Osprey. Herons, egrets, plovers are common sights as well as woodland birds of all kinds. Due to the varied habitat and the location of Shelter Island, Mashomack hosts a wide variety of migrating warblers in the spring. Since the area is concentrated, it is a premium spot for warbler-watching and deserves at least one visit from late April to the end of May. There is a visitor's center located at Mashomack, and guided "Warbler Walks" are given through-out the month of May.
In order to get to Shelter Island, you will need to take the ferry. Also, the ticks on the Island are abundant, so remember to wear your insect repellant and dress accordingly.
For more information and directions
Over 2,000 acres containing salt marshes, tidal shallows and waterways. Large variety of marine & wildlife...and lots of birds! Over 250 species have been sighted, with over 25 nesting species, including an Osprey platform that is easy to view and has been productive for the past few years. The MNSA is unique in that it has boardwalks that extend over the marsh and tidal waters making bird viewing easy and productive. These boardwalks make it one of the best places in Suffolk and Nassau Counties to walk through these habitats. Since the birds are fairly comfortable with human visitors, you can get "up close and personal" with many herons, night herons, egrets, rails, bittern, dowitchers, plovers and other shorebirds. Many species of hawks and falcons are commonly seen there, as well as migrating warblers, flycatchers, vireos and more.
