Things to do / Travel Guide
With its grasslands and shrub lands, salt marshes and creeks, pine barrens, and sand dunes, Long Island's wildlife is nothing short of fascinating. Because Long Island is strategically situated on the Atlantic Flyway, hundreds of bird species choose the region for nesting, wintering, and migratory stopovers. Even frequent visitors to Long Island are unaware that the region shelters some of the only populations of several endangered flora and fauna on the planet: Long Island has one of the largest pine barren forests (including the rare dwarfed pines and scrub oaks) found only in two other places in the world; Long Island harbors one of the two largest colonies of roseate tern, an endangered shorebird, in the Western Hemisphere; and Long Island protects the world's only population of sea beach amaranth, an endangered plant. So spend a day or an afternoon observing, photographing, painting, learning about, or communing with Long Island's wildlife. In Long Island's well-protected areas, you'll likely see white-tailed deer, foxes, weasels, muskrats, and even seals and sea turtles. Rare and majestic birds frequent Long Island's shores - it isn't unusual to spot an osprey, red-tailed hawk, piping plover, or even a bald eagle.
Pine Barrens and Calverton Ponds on Long Island, New York
Pine Barrens and Calverton Ponds, which is located roughly between Brookhaven and Riverhead, occupy 53,000 acres in the center of Long Island and are home to a wide variety of pine woodlands, coastal plain ponds, marshes and bogs, and pine-oak forests. At Pine Barrens you'll see the some of the world's only Dwarf Pine Plains, and more than 50 species of rare plants including bladderworts, huckleberry, and sheep laurel.
Mashomack Nature Preserve on Shelter Island, New York
A birder and botanists' paradise, Mashomack Nature Preserve is located on Shelter Island, and is home to one of the richest ecosystems in the northeast. At Mashomack Preserve you'll see a floating mat of sphagnum moss (3,900 years old), water willows, two state-protected orchids, and swamp azalea. More than 60 breeding bird species make Mashomack Preserve their permanent home. Mashomack boasts one of the East Coast's largest populations of nesting osprey, and from mid-March through September they can be easily spotted near the bays and salt marshes. Owls and red-tailed hawks hover near grassy meadows, and ruby-throated hummingbirds prefer Mashomack's marshy areas. Muskrats, diamondback terrapins, and harbor seals are just a few of the mammals that live in Mashomack.
Fire Island, New York
Fire Island, is just a thin wisp of land located off Long Island's South Shore. It's home to some of Long Island's richest wildlife, and is arguably one of the best bird watching places in New York, with more than 300 different species of birds including bald eagles, a wide variety of hawks, peregrine falcons, and ospreys. Fire Island also shelters white-tailed deer and red foxes.
Sand Points Preserve on Long Island, New York
A 216-acre oasis, Sand Points Preserve, includes a mature oak forest comprised of 80-foot tall 175-year-old trees and aromatic spicebush. Wildlflowers such as Solomon's Seal, jack-in-the-pulpit, and Canada Mayflower abound. Near the pond you'll likely spot a variety of birds including northern waterthrush, song sparrows, and catbirds. Sand Points Preserve also includes three-quarters of a mile of shoreline leading up to the Long Island Sound, where egrets and herons stand at the water's edge looking for a meal.
Wildlife Refuges on Long Island, New York
Seven wildlife refuges comprise the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Amagansett NWR, Oyster Bay NWR, Morton NWR, Target Rock NWR, Seatuck NWR, and Conscience Point NWR. While each wildlife refuge is wonderful in its own right, here are several you'll enjoy:
- Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge in Sag Harbor is a 180-acre refuge that shelters migratory and endangered birds including the piping plover, osprey, goldeneye, and oldsquaw.
- Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley is a beautiful 2,400-acre preserve that encompasses pine and hardwood forests, salt marsh, red maple swamps, and freshwater marshes. Here you'll spot songbirds, raptors, deer, weasels, foxes, and muskrats.
- There are far more than oysters at Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which includes nearly 3000 acres of wetlands: shoreline, swamp, and marsh. Frost, Oak Neck, and Mill Neck Creeks are the best places to spot migratory waterfowl, harbor seals, and sea turtles.
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