Guided Birding tour at Governors Island Park

Governors Island in winter can be an exciting spot for birding, with a focus on different habitats than during spring or fall migration. We will explore the edges of the island, where we hope to find a variety of wintering waterfowl, including scaups, scoters, and Long-tailed Ducks, as well as grebes, loons, and possibly uncommon gulls such as Bonaparte's and Lesser Black-backed. The rocky east and south shores of the island are a good habitat for Purple Sandpipers, which we saw here in the spring but often overwinter as well. We will also check the Fort Jay field and other open habitats for grassland songbirds like Eastern Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, American Pipits, and Snow Buntings; the resident American Kestrels here may be joined by Northern Harriers and other migrant raptors. Late fall and winter are also the most likely season for western birds to accidentally show up on the East Coast - anything is possible!

Meet outside the LMCC’s Art Center on Dec. 6 at 10:00 am. Try catching the boat ride from 9:30am or earlier. Bring binoculars if you have them, we will have a limited amount of binoculars to share.