Highlights: 

• Freshkills Park is home to a number of raptors throughout the year
• New York State threatened and endangered species such as Northern Harriers, Short-eared Owls, and Bald Eagles are found regularly at Freshkills Park

Raptors are birds of prey, made up of hawks, owls, vultures, eagles, Osprey, falcons, kites and Caracaras. 

Highlights 

• Osprey populations have rebounded since the 1970s when DDT and other agricultural pesticides were attributed to nest failure 
• Ospreys build large nests, and pairs of Osprey will return to the same nests year after year
• At Freshkills Park we had seven successful nests in 2021, with 13 young about to fledge as of July 29th!

By early April, ospreys had arrived at Freshkills Park after spending the winter in warmer places. Nicknamed “fish hawks,” these large raptors like being close to shallow water for easy access to food. The birds quickly got to work building their summer homes on tall platforms close to the creeks.

Summer is a great season for birdwatching! As the weather warms up, migrating species return from their wintering grounds. Birds can be seen foraging for food, building nests, displaying for mates, and defending their territories. Sometimes you can hear them calling to mates and declaring their territories to potential rivals.

In 2016, NYC Parks created a Wildlife Unit in response to the city’s rising wildlife population and the challenges they present—more than 600 native wildlife species currently call our city home. The unit serves as an informed resource for citizens and policymakers, and aims to create a future where urban animals are an understood and appreciated part of the city.

Researchers found a rare Swainson’s hawk at Freshkills Park’s East Mound on Tuesday morning. Dr. Richard Veit of The College of Staten Island described the hawk as a western North American grasslands specialist bird.