I’m going to NYC in January and would like some tips on good iNat-ing spots (in and around Manhattan especially). I’ve gone through my usual pre-travel routine of looking for what species to expect and where on ebird and iNat, but I’d appreciate some recommendations from actual human beings as well!
These are the spots that are already top of our list:
Central Park
Prospect Park
Greenwood Cemetery
(Jamaica Bay is a “maybe”; depends on everyone’s schedules and the weather conditions)
And these are some of the species I’m hoping to see:
Brant
American Herring Gull
Greater Black-backed Gull
Monk Parakeet
American Black Duck
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Atlantic Harbor Seal
Brown Rat
And whatever additional seabird species I don’t already have on my life list, but idk what the odds are of seeing them without a scope
I’d also really be interested in seeing what sorts of aquatic/marine life lives on the local docks or washes ashore, but I’m having a harder time finding information on good spots for that stuff—is tidepooling/beachcombing a thing there like it is in the PNW?
I’ve often seen Great Black-backed Gulls around the George Washington Bridge (Fort Washington Park) in winter.
Also, just a little bit north of there is Inwood Hill Park, the northern tip of Manhattan. There is a bit of a wetland at the Inwood Hill Nature Center.
Sorry for the essay! I don’t know Manhattan birding well, but I can give some strats for the species you mentioned:
Brant like lawns or beaches near the ocean/rivers. I used to see them going to school in Battery Park ( 40°43’06.1"N 74°00’59.4"W) but basically any lawn near the ocean may have some on it or just off shore. Anywhere you can see brant, you can probably get your gulls, and potentially the American black duck.
The place to see monk parakeets in Greenwood is the main entrance ( 40°39’32.8"N 73°59’44.8"W) which has a brownstone gateway that has a large nest of them. In the winter, they sometimes won’t be visibly out-and-about, but you will hear a strange undulating call and see the flock suddenly fly up to a nearby tree. There is also an immature red-headed woodpecker trying to overwinter in the cemetery, if that is on the life list.
It’s quite out of the way, and blisteringly cold in the winter, but the shore of Gravesend Bay near the pedestrian overpass/middle parking lot is the best place for purple sandpiper I know of (40°36’09.5"N 74°01’08.5"W). Hopefully, if you are interested in that species, a Manhattanite can chime in, because this area is very out-of-the-way from the usual “tourist” stuff. It looks like Pier 26 in Manhattan ( 40°43’17.4"N 74°00’57.5"W) may get them. They are a good species without a scope, because they scurry along the rocks abutting walkways and seawalls, so you can get within 15 feet of them, easy. Sometimes you can spot them at low tide pecking at the seaweed on rocks along the shore. Otherwise, keep your ears open for a faint “squeaking” sound coming from the rocks -they will be somewhere nearby.
The only places I know to reliably have Atlantic harbor seal in the city are secluded areas that are best viewed with a scope, to my knowledge.
The places where I know you can access the shoreline itself are all outside of Manhattan.
