Founded in 2000 and operated by Marine Park Alliance in partnership with the Urban Park Rangers, the Salt Marsh Nature Center is a great place to begin your visit to Marine Park Preserve. (Free parking is available in the park lot directly across Avenue U.) Marine Park Preserve’s grasslands and wetlands are accessible via main hiking and birding trails, one on each side of Gerritsen Creek. (See map at left, or view a larger version.) The Nature Center itself includes natural history displays and offers educational programming run by the Urban Park Rangers. A groomed grassy area in the Center’s back courtyard is a lovely spot to look out over the park, or to have lunch. 

 

Directly behind the Nature Center you’ll find the entrance to the trail that leads along the eastern edge of Gerritsen creek. At the trail’s start, there are several trees that attract migrating warblers, tanagers, and other songbirds, while a bridge overlooking Gerritsen Creek provides a great vantage for viewing feeding waterfowl, waders, and shorebirds. The trail continues to form a couple of loops that provide access to several vantage points (including a viewing platform) that look out over the salt marsh and creek, a good view of an Osprey nesting platform, and paths through upland grassy areas and along a line of tall Cottonwood trees.

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In spring and summer, breeding waterbird species such as Willet, Killdeer, and more secretive Clapper Rail maybe be seen along the trail, as well as hard-to-spot marsh-nesting songbirds such as Marsh Wren, Saltmarsh Sparrow, and even Seaside Sparrow. You may also hear the songs and calls of nesting passerines such as Willow Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Boat-tailed Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, and Cedar Waxwing. 

 

The salt marsh and shallow-water areas attract foraging American Oystercatchers, as well as wading birds including both night-heron species and Snowy and Great Egrets, which nest on nearby islands in Jamaica Bay. Either swooping over the water or resting on pilons, you may find various species of gulls, Black Skimmers, Common, Forster’s and Least Terns, and Barn Swallows. In addition to Osprey, which stay just for the breeding season, other raptors that nest nearby include Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, and Peregrine Falcon—all of which are seen year-round.

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During migration, shorebirds such as Greater Yellowlegs and Spotted and Least Sandpipers are frequently observed in the marshes, while the upland grassy habitat has recently attracted grassland species such as American Pipit, Eastern Meadowlark, and Bobolink. Like any site along the Long Island coast, Marine Park is a good spot to see migrating raptors in the fall, such as Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, which also stay during the colder months. In the winter, the upland and marsh areas are good spots for hunting Northern Harrier. 

 

The sheltered but substantial waters of Gerritsen and Mill Creeks (which surround White Island, a preserved grassy island smack dab in the middle of the park) host wintering waterfowl including dabblers like Northern Shoveler and American Wigeon (joined on occasion by a visiting Eurasian Wigeon), and diving birds including both Scaup species, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Pie-billed Grebe, and Bufflehead. 

A second, considerably longer hiking trail is accessible at the western side of Gerritsen Creek, departing just south of Avenue U and following along the western creek edge before splitting into several trails, some of which go down to the water and are marked with NYC Parks signage. It’s best to explore this area at low tide. Also, beware of ATV and motorbike users on this side of the park, particularly in the warmer months. 

 

This large southeastern area of Marine Park offers many of the same species mentioned in the section above. The main trail offers good opportunities to find birds, and the park’s ballfields, when not in use, are good areas to look for sparrows, and in winter, occasionally Horned Larks and American Pipits. Also during winter, the waterside trails can provide opportunities to see grebes, loons, mergansers, and assorted waterfowl on the water and along the edge of White Island, across the way. If you’re lucky, you may even find a Snowy Owl. 

 

Another option is to walk along the “street side” or outside edge of the park, along Gerritsen Avenue, and bird along the edges of the vegetation. These areas are popular with sparrows, particularly in the winter, and warblers are often found in the trees during migration.

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Though birding in the early a.m. is good birding practice in general, it is particularly helpful if you aim to see secretive marsh birds such as Clapper Rails and Salt Marsh Sparrows. Also, if you are looking for waterbirds and shorebirds, it is generally best to go at low tide at any time of year. View online tide information. (Under the bold heading “Long Island South Shore, Shinnecock Inlet to Mill Basin,” select “Plumb Beach Channel,” choose the month and day you are birding, and click “Get Tides.”)

To see birding highlights at Marine Park Preserve by the season, see the top of this page. 

To learn about bird migration times and get other timing tips, see the When to Bird in NYC guide on our Birding 101 page. 

For Marine Park and Salt Marsh Nature Center operating hours, see the “Directions and Visiting Info” section, below.

 

View eBird hotspot records for the Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park to explore recent bird sightings, species bar charts, and more.

 

It is best to bird with at least one other person in Marine Park, as some areas are quite remote. After leaving the trails, check yourself and your clothing for dog ticks.

NYC Bird Alliance partners with Marine Park Alliance in offering frequent "Intro to Birding" outings in Marine Park Preserve; visit our Local Outings and Classes page for more information and to register.

The Brooklyn Bird Club, a private nonprofit organization founded in 1909, offers frequent bird outings in Brooklyn and beyond. The club provides a number of other resources for birders as well, including a checklist and map for birdwatchers of Prospect Park, The Clapper Rail newsletter, and an active blog with the latest news and bird reports.

The Marine Park Alliance visitor information page includes a park map as well as helpful facility, accessibility, and contact information. Marine Park Alliance assists NYC Parks with a mission to provide cultural, environmental, and volunteer programming in Marine Park for the health and well-being of all New Yorkers. To carry out this mission the group envisions elevating this regional park as a southern Brooklyn cultural gem—horticulturally, programmatically, and ecologically—free to the public.

Free parking is available in Marine park, directly across Avenue U from the Salt Marsh Nature Center.

 

See NYC Parks directions and facilities information for both Marine Park and the Salt Marsh Nature Center. 

The Salt Marsh Alliance, formed in 2002 to support the Salt Marsh Nature Center, also provides information on educational programming, events, and more.