More than 330 species of birds have been recorded on Fire Island, more than 1/3 of all species found in North America. Fire Island is without a doubt one of the best birding locations in the New York area, particularly during the spring and fall migrations.

Located along the Atlantic migratory flyway, Fire Island plays host to a wide variety of both migratory and resident bird species. The island's rich mosaic of forest, dune, and marsh habitats offers feeding and nesting opportunities for a wide array of shorebirds, songbirds, raptors, waterfowl, and waders.

Fire Island National Seashore is one of more than 40 National Park Service sites that are recognized as "Globally Important Bird Areas" by conservation organizations. The Seashore's Atlantic coastline is a part of the American Bird Conservancy's designated Long Island Piping Plover Nesting Beaches.

 

Learn More

• Birds of Fire Island  Checklist (1999)
  
  For the most recent classification and nomenclature of bird species, see American Ornithologists' Union
  Check-list of North American Birds
  
  
• • Bird Checklists of the United States, Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Wertheim
    
  • Bird Checklists of the United States, Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Sayville
    
  • Bird Checklists of the United States, Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Seatuck
    
• Migratory Birds in National Parks
  
• • Migration of Birds (USGS publication)

• Threatened and Endangered Species

• T & E Species at Fire Island National Seashore

• Birdwatching in the National Parks
  
• • Birdwatching at Fire Island National Seashore
    

• Park Flight Program
  
• • Partners in Flight
    
    

You can watch the fall migration of raptors (hawks, etc.), viewed from the raptor-viewing platform (just east of Robert Moses State Park, Field 5). The Fire Island Raptor Enumerators (FIRE) is a group of dedicated individuals who collect data and keep records on the numbers of raptors and their flight patterns in this region. Raptors tend to fly in a pattern across the island near the raptor-viewing platform.

Raptors, crows and jays are among the birds that are monitored each year for the presence of West Nile virus. These birds, if infected, may transmit the virus to certain mosquitoes that bite—and infect—humans.  

For More Information

Recent studies and inventories of birds on Fire Island include:

Final Avian Survey Summary Report, May 2002 – May 2003
for the Reformulation of the Shore Protection and Storm Damage Reduction Project South Shore of Long Island, New York - Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point
October 2003
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers