Audubon New York

19/10/2026

211 native coastal plants are officially in the ground at Sunken Meadow State Park's salt marsh upland border, thanks to this year's cohort of Saltmarsh Stewards from Farmingdale State College and NY State Parks & Historic Sites - these include 72 dune bluestems, 72 seabeach sedges, 54 northern sea oats, 5 northern bayberry, and more. These plants will provide important habitat for insects and birds like the Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, and Prairie Warbler.

This effort is part of a greater project to restore 70-80 total acres of salt marsh at this popular park.

📸 Alexandra Feit/Audubon

16/10/2026

Similar to our Piping Plovers, Snowy Plovers are ground-nesting birds whose nesting areas overlap with heavily used recreational areas. In this incredible short film, watch scientists do their best to monitor these birds, band and tag them, and figure out how to protect them. Everything you see is work we do here in New York to help Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, and Least Terns.

Thankfully, we don't have to worry about quicksand...

15/10/2026

Two adult Barn Owls successfully nested in the hole of a water tower on NYC's Upper West Side, perhaps the city's first ever family of this kind! While this is incredibly exciting, the owls are highly susceptible because their prey (rats and mice especially) are often poisoned by rodenticides. Here are a few more tips to keep these incredible owls safe:

📸 Use long lenses/zoom to photograph owls - closer is not better!
🤫 Stay quiet and still; silence helps them hunt, and your presence can stress the bird and prevent them from acting naturally.
🔅 Avoid flash, as it may temporarily limit their ability to hunt for food or avoid obstacles.
📍 Ideally, don't share the owl's location, especially if it could lead to crowds. The photo in this post is not of the NYC owls.

07/10/2026

Audubon and our partners have been working towards an ambitious goal: restoring up to 80 acres of salt marsh within Long Island’s Sunken Meadow State Park. Now, a new $1.6 million grant will help move this exciting project from planning into action! 🎉

This important funding, awarded through the EPA Long Island Sound Partnership Supplemental Grant Program, will support construction costs and construction management as part of Phase 1 of the project, which is expected to begin the winter of 2027-2028.

Phase 1 will focus on elevation enhancement, which will make Sunken Meadow’s marshes more resilient against sea level rise and increased coastal flooding. These elevated areas will also provide essential nesting habitat for birds like the Saltmarsh Sparrow, whose steep decline reflects the challenges facing coastal marshes across the Northeast!

⬇️ Read more about this major milestone and what it means for one of the region's most important coastal ecosystems in the comments!

01/10/2026

Unlike many warblers that stay hidden high in the treetops, Black-throated Blue Warblers are often spotted right at eye level. They nest and forage in the dense understory of northeastern forests, especially among hobblebush and young saplings. Now, these striking little songbirds are on the move, beginning their long migration to wintering grounds in the Caribbean.

25/09/2026

The countdown to peak fall foliage has begun, and maple trees help make the landscape look magnificent. Quite a few of those trees (well, their landowners) are enrolled producers in our Bird-Friendly Maple program - now up to 150 businesses across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions.

As Audubon's Bird-Friendly Maple program expands, syrup makers in the Northeast and Great Lakes are tending their sugarbushes to foster forest species.

23/09/2026

What’s likely the largest hummingbird on Earth has landed in Times Square! This week, we’re sharing its beauty with millions of people, along with Audubon’s message that what's good for birds is also good for people and the climate.

Why now? Because it’s Climate Week NYC and the UN General Assembly. Audubon's scientists and conservation experts are joining thousands of others for Climate Week to lift up solutions for our warming planet. We're proud to play our part and hope birds can help inspire all.

Times Square billboard bird videos, from left: Nancy Morrison/Audubon Photography Awards; Anand Varma/WonderLab.

22/09/2026

Today might be the first day of autumn, but fall migration is already well on its way! Which birds have you been most excited to see so far? 🍁

📸 Northern Parula. Photo: Kaylyn Stein/Audubon Photography Awards

17/09/2026

This summer, a Saltmarsh Sparrow nest was discovered at Crab Meadow marsh, the first spotted in years. This is great news for our restoration project which aims to improve approximately 250 acres of marsh habitat. It means our work could directly impact nesting birds, in addition to attracting more to the restored area.

A licensed ornithologist with the USFWS Coastal Program banded the nestlings pictured below with unique identification numbers, and we hope to see them return next year. Read more about our work at Crab Meadow this summer in the comments.

📸 Sam Apgar/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service