Birding In New York City

Birds love New York City even though 7 million humans live there. It’s a famous migrant trap. When birds fly over the metropolitan area, there’s a lot of concrete. The relatively compact green spaces are important stopovers for migrants, and they appear in large numbers and numerous species for such small areas. New York City has many keen-eyed birders, few species have escaped notice. The last rarity that caused a huge stir was a Kirtland’s Warbler, rarely seen outside Michigan, but resident in Central Park for 2 months. Many species also breed in NYC or are resident year round.

Below, some of our favorite places. Each one has an eBird hotspot where you can find species seen and when; directions too. Telephone numbers and web sites listed, if available.

Pelham Bay Park

Middletown Road & Stadium Avenue, NY 10465
Pelham Bay Park with its mixture of woods, pine groves, shoreline, marshes, and capped landfill make this the top place to bird in the Bronx. In winter look for hawks and owls. The woods can hold many half hardies and Long Island Sound may have loons and ducks. A hawk watch can be conducted right outside your car in the main huge parking lot in the fall. The nearby stadium area has breeding Monk Parakeets. Look for their huge stick nests on the light poles or just listen for their boisterous squawks. The fields south of the landfill holds a variety of sparrows in fall and winter.
eBird hotspot / web site

Central Park

Manhattan, NYC
A visit here in May can yield hordes of migrants. There’s too many places within the park to list here. We suggest Audubon's Insider's Guide to Central Park. The Ramble is the most well-known area for migrants and rarities. In 2020, a Snowy Owl came to be admired. Central Park birders and Red-tail Hawks on Fifth Ave have starred in films.
eBird hotspot

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

175-10 Cross Bay Blvd, Queens, NY 11693
One of the top places to bird in NYC and it is a great location year-round. August is a great time to walk the East Pond for thousands of shorebirds. Spring and fall yield migrants, go late fall to see hundreds of Snow Geese and huge numbers of other waterfowl. Winter holds ducks and many half-hardies, a great place to start your New Year list off right. Here’s map of the East Pond (thanks to Andrew Baksh).
eBird hotspot / web site

Prospect Park

101 East Dr, Brooklyn, NY 11225
Address above takes you to the Audubon Center, but there are numerous entrances. A premier birding place. It's a large, sprawling park, one of NYC's best. A good way to start exploring would be to sign up for a bird walk conducted by the Brooklyn Bird Club. They conduct walks during spring and fall migration.
eBird hotspot / web site / (646) 393-9031 (Audubon Center)

Alley Pond Park Environmental Center

224-65 76th Ave, Bayside, NY 11364
Alley Pond is transected by the Cross Island Parkway and LI Expressway, cutting the park up into separate pieces. We suggest you start at the Environmental Center, address given above.
eBird hotspot / web site / (718) 229-4000