Fire Island National Seashore is an excellent location for watching wildlife. Though only one-half mile wide at its widest point, the island includes a great diversity of habitats--ocean, beach, dunes, swale, thicket, maritime forest, freshwater wetlands, saltmarsh, and bay. In each of these habitats one can find a variety of plant and animal life. Fire Island's birdlife, in particular, is quite diverse, but there are many interesting mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects as well.

Winter on Fire Island

Winter is a wonderful time to explore Fire Island National Seashore. You can often have the beach to yourself, and there are many types of wildlife around that you won't find in the warmer months.

From December through March, large numbers of waterfowl overwinter in the Great South Bay and the marshes of Fire Island. In particular, look for Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Oldsquaw, Black Duck and Mallard. A spotting scope is useful to locate the various sea ducks, such as scoters, which bob in the ocean waves offshore.

Keep an eye out for seals on the ocean beach. Harbor seals are most common, but other species have been showing up more and more frequently in recent years. Seals are most frequently found around the inlets at the east and west ends of Fire Island.

Another interesting animal to look for is the snowy owl. These large white owls spend most of their lives in the far north of Canada and Alaska, but every few years, when the population of their main prey--small mammals--is low, they head south looking for food. They often end up on barrier beaches like Fire Island, which in some senses are similar to the open tundra they are used to.

Interesting 2000 Christmas Bird Count Sightings at the William Floyd Estate:

Eastern Phoebe

Northern Waterthrush

Common Egret

American Bittern

Return to Fire Island National Seashore Home Page