Wild New York: Hawks, Warblers and Jamaica Bay

The natural side of New York City, from the red-tailed hawks and migrating songbirds of Central Park and the Ramble to the wood ducks and raccoons of the park and the ospreys and shorebirds of Jamaica Bay, with a directory of the parks in our guide.

New York is the most built-up city in America, and that is exactly why its wildlife is so concentrated. Central Park sits on the Atlantic Flyway, the great migration route along the East Coast, and for birds flying over at night, its woods are an island of green in a sea of stone: in spring and autumn they drop in to rest and feed.

This is a short, honest guide to New York's natural side: the park, its hawks and its migrants, and the wild shore of Jamaica Bay. Bring binoculars, go early, and walk slowly.

In spring, Central Park is one of the great stopovers of the Atlantic Flyway.

Hawks over Fifth Avenue

Red-tailed hawks have made New York their own. The NYC Bird Alliance, the city's Audubon society, says dozens of pairs now nest each spring in parks, on building ledges, in sports-field lights and on monuments, and in the spring of 2026 four pairs were nesting in Central Park itself, all with young. The most famous of them, Pale Male, nested for years on a Fifth Avenue building overlooking the park.

Migrants in the Ramble

The Central Park Conservancy describes the park as a key stop on the Atlantic Flyway. Some birds, such as the northern cardinal, live there all year; others, like the grey catbird, are seen mostly on migration. The Ramble, the wooded heart of the park, is where birders gather on spring and autumn mornings for the warblers; the Conservancy runs birding tours there.

On the park's ponds, wood ducks are among the most beautiful residents, and at dusk raccoons come out along the paths.

Feature: Jamaica Bay

In the south-east of the city, beside JFK, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is part of Gateway National Recreation Area, run by the National Park Service, and one of the best places in the north-east to watch birds. Gateway counts more than 325 species of birds, most of them passing through on the Atlantic Flyway; ospreys return to nest in summer, and piping plovers and American oystercatchers nest on the beaches.

Did you know? Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes Jamaica Bay, has recorded more than 325 species of birds.

Our advice

Our advice: come to the Ramble on a May or late-September morning, when the migration peaks, and join one of the Conservancy's birding tours; for Jamaica Bay, take the subway to Broad Channel and walk the refuge's trails. Never feed the wildlife, keep to the paths, and give nesting hawks and ospreys plenty of room.