Upcoming Birding and Nature Trips

Below is a list of upcoming nature trips by local birding/conservation groups for Saturday, July 14, 2018 to Sunday, July 15, 2018:

Gateway National Recreation Area
Saturday, July 14, 2018, 10:00am to 11:00am
Birding by the Bay
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: Free
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Saturday, July 14, 2018, 10:00am to 5:00pm
Jamaica Bay Festival
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Join guides from Gateway NRA, Littoral Society, NYC Audubon, and Jamaica Bay/Rockaway Parks Conservancy for tours and programs celebrating the wildlife and diversity of Jamaica Bay.
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Sunday, July 15, 2018, 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Nature- Birding Hiking Series
Location: Great Kills Park - Ranger Station Parking Lot
Join us for a hike along the trails and beach.
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Sunday, July 15, 2018, 10:00am to 11:30am
Osprey Watch Guided Walk
Location: Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Fees: free
Learn all about the amazing osprey on this guided walk of the West Pond Trail.
View Details

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Green-Wood Cemetery
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Birding in Peace
Summer Birding Sundays
Except for some lingering individuals, by the end of the first week in June nearly all the northbound migrants will have disappeared from the city. Locally nesting birds will be incubating eggs or busily raising their first broods. In July we should see the offspring of our resident Red-tailed Hawks bravely preparing to leave the nest. Warbler songs will be replaced by chirring Cicadas and the tweets of fledgling birds. Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant. By late-July, expect the arrival of the first southbound migrants.

Before our gates open to the general public, birding expert Rob Jett leads these peaceful Saturday/Sunday morning walking tours to discover the many birds that call Green-Wood home. Green-Wood’s official birding checklist is available to pick up from the security guard at the main entrance on 25th Street or to print here. Comfortable footwear is recommended.

$10 for members of Green-Wood and BHS / $15 for non-members

Click here for our inclement weather policy.

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New York Botanical Garden (Bronx)
Saturdays -- 11:00 a.m.
Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from 11am to 12:30pm beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Meet at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Included in All-Garden Pass
Get Tickets

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New York City Audubon Society
Saturday, July 14, 2018
City of Water Day Ecocruise
Guide: Gabriel Willow with the Waterfront Alliance
Boat launches TBA. As part of City of Water Day, a celebration of the waterways and harbors of New York City, NYC Audubon is offering a special ecocruise past Hoffman and Swinburne Islands exploring the natural history of the area. The tour leaves from Governors Island. Find more info about City of Water Day and ferries to Governors Island at www.nycaudubon.org. Registration required. Limited to 150. Free

Saturday, July 14, 2018, 6:30am – 1:00pm
Breeding Birds of Nickerson Beach and Marine Study Area
Guide: Tod Winston
Explore two popular birding spots with Tod Winston that are a little hard to get to for car-less New Yorkers. Departing early to beat the heat, we’ll first seek out breeding Common and Least Terns, American Oystercatchers, Piping Plovers, and Black Skimmers at Nickerson Beach. Then we’ll walk the boardwalks of the nearby Marine Nature Study Area in search of nesting Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows, as well as Osprey, herons, egrets, and shorebirds. Transport by passenger van included. Limited to 12. $98 (69)
Click here to register

Saturday, July 14, 2018, 9:00am – 10:30am
Van Cortlandt Bird Walks
Guide: NYC Audubon with the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy
Meet at Van Cortlandt Nature Center. The history of birding and Van Cortlandt Park are inseparable. Influential birders such as Roger Tory Peterson and Allan D. Cruickshank got their starts on Van Cortlandt’s ecologically diverse grounds. These walks celebrate the tradition set by these great ornithologists. Participants will look for various species of residents and migrants and discuss a wide range of avian topics. For more information, call 212-691-7483. No registration necessary. No limit. Free

Saturday, July 14, 2018, 10am – 4pm
Jamaica Bay Festival
With Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, American Littoral Society
As part of City of Water Day, join us at Beach 108th Street in Rockaway Park, NY, for a fun family day celebrating Jamaica Bay with activities for all ages including nature walks, an art show, a fishing clinic, arts and crafts, games, and more. Explore the wild side of New York City with walking tours of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Dead Horse Bay. Transportation from Beach 108th Street to activities will be provided. For more information, contact Elizabeth Stoehr at 347-690-0931 or elizabeth@jbrpc.org. No registration required. No Limit. Free

Saturday, July 14, 2018, 12pm – 3pm
It's Your Tern Festival
In case of rain, the festival will move indoors to Nolan Park House 17
With Trust for Governors Island, Friends of Governors Island, National Park Service, New York Harbor School, Earth Matter NY
Come celebrate Governors Island’s treasures: Common Terns and oysters! Common Terns, listed as a threatened species in New York State, have nested for several years on decommissioned piers on Governors Island’s waterfront. The colony has expanded over time and benefited recently from the introduction of oyster shells as a nesting material. Free activities at this year’s festival will include bird walks and talks, and hands-on activities for the whole family. Get to the festival by taking a ferry to Governors Island. For more information and directions to the Tern Festival, visit www.nycaudubon.org/tern-festival. No limit. Free

Sunday, July 15, 2018, 8am – 11am
Prospect Park Birdwalk
Guide: Gabriel Willow
Join Gabriel Willow for a leisurely walk to see late arriving migrants and breeding bird residents of “Brooklyn's backyard.” Beautiful Prospect Park has a wide variety of habitats that attract a large number of migrants and breeding bird species—significantly more than Central Park, in fact. We will explore the park's meadows, forests, and waterways in search of waterfowl, warblers, tanagers, and some of the other species that call the park home. Limited to 15. $36 (25) per walk
Click here to register


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NYCH2O
Saturday, July 14, 2018, 10am
Ridgewood Reservoir ​​​Community Tour
The Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park is a 50+ acre natural oasis that straddles the border of Brooklyn and Queens. Built in 1859 to supply the once independent City of Brooklyn with high quality water, it became obsolete with the addition of new reservoirs in the Catskills in the 1950’s and was decommissioned in the 1980’s. Since then, nature took its course in a perfect case study of ecological succession. A lush and dense forest has grown in its two outside basins while a freshwater pond with waterfowl sits in the middle basin.

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Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Saturday, July 14, 2018, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Bloomingdale Park
Fifty years ago the area now known as the Bloomingdale Woods was a sandy, pine-oak woodland littered with everything imaginable; burnt cars, discarded housewares and un-recycled cans and bottles. A hike through the woodlands of Bloomingdale Park will reveal the effects of a half century of time and human intervention. Protectors of Pine Oak Woods fought a protracted fight to keep the woods a natural area. Participants will meet at the corner of McGuire Avenue and Ramona Avenue. For more information call Clay Wollney at 718-869-6327.
Read More

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Urban Park Rangers
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Bird Walks at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
9:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Join NYC Audubon on a walk through the park to observe the many species of birds in Van Cortlandt Park.
Free!

Ridgewood Reservoir Community Tour at Ridgewood Reservoir, Queens
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Join us to explore this incredible natural resource in the heart of NYC.
Free!

Birding: Osprey Watch at Salt Marsh Nature Center (in Marine Park), Brooklyn
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
New York City is home to an amazing abundance of wildlife. Our Urban Park Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle.
Free!

The New York City Naturalist Club: Evening Hawk Watch at Saint Marks Place and Avenue A (in Tompkins Square Park), Manhattan
5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
New York City is home to an amazing abundance of wildlife. Our Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in the urban jungle.
Free!