Van Cortlandt Park

Enter the Northeast Forest just south of the Van Cortlandt Park’s northeast corner, via the John Muir Trail. (You can park your car near the trail head; there is also a bus stop right at the park’s corner.) The trail begins at the intersection of Van Cortlandt Park East and Oneida Avenue, near a small stand of Eastern Red Cedar. These trees encircle the Stockbridge Indian Monument, commemorating a Native American battle. If you are there in late April or May, before you enter the trail, check the oaks lining the street for a variety of warbler species.

 

The rustic, 1.5-mile John Muir Trail meanders east to west through prime birding habitat in the Northeast Forest, Croton Woods, and the Northwest Forest, passing through a rare, mature oak and sweetgum forest. During spring migration, look for woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, wrens, thrushes, warblers, tanagers, and grosbeaks. During the nesting season, you may find Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Wood Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Great Crested Flycatcher, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Baltimore Oriole. 

 

Bird the trail from its start until you spy a Phragmites reed marsh off in the distance to your left. (In fall and winter, there’s a chance of flushing Wilson’s Snipe or American Woodcock from the perimeter of the marsh.) Walk through a tunnel under the Major Deegan Expressway into Croton Woods. (Refer to the Croton Woods section below for the continuation of the John Muir Trail.)

Croton Woods contains an uncommon oak/Tulip Popular forest, with some Sugar Maple, covering 158 acres. This forest hosts the same nesting species as the Northeast Woods. Indigo Bunting has been found nesting near the gas station on the Major Deegan Expressway. Ruby-throated Hummingbird has also been seen here late in the nesting season. 

 

The trail soon crosses a wide flat trail, the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, which runs north-south. Great Horned Owl is found in this area in winter, and close to the Croton Woods, along the Mosholu Parkway, a pair of owls has used an old Red-tailed Hawk nest as their own. Note: Please be quiet near roosting and nesting owls. Not all owls survive the winter, and added stress may be harmful. Stay as far away as possible using a field telescope or binoculars. (If an owl is staring at you, you are probably too close.) Make all visits short. Do not linger to get better photographs. Visit our Birding Law & Ethics page to learn more about how to avoid disturbing owls and other birds.

You may wish to explore the mile-long Aqueduct trail before continuing on the John Muir Trail. If you take a left (walk south) on the Aqueduct Trail, you’ll pass an old gatehouse. During spring migration, check the gatehouse area for Prothonotary Warbler. These moist woods provide prime habitat for upland birds. 

West of the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, continue on the John Muir Trail (and refer to your trail map!) as it zigs and zags past a stream, down steps, along the Van Cortlandt Golf Course fence, and through another tunnel, under the Mosholu Parkway Extension. Continuing west, stay on the trail that is closest to the parkway and you will eventually reach an intersection with a bridge on your right. At this point, if you turn left (south) uphill you are on Vault Hill. If you continue west, you will enter the Parade Ground. To continue on the John Muir Trail to the Northwest Forest, turn right (north) and cross the bridge spanning the Henry Hudson Parkway. (Refer to the Northwest Forest section below to continue on the final stretch of the John Muir Nature Trail.)

The Northwest Forest is a dramatic 188-acre woodland atop a north-south ridge with rocky outcroppings. The forest can be entered directly at its western edge from Broadway and Mosholu Avenue (near both a parking lot and a bus stop at the riding stables). 

 

If continuing on the John Muir Trail from Croton Woods, you can enter the Northwest Forest by crossing the bridge spanning the Henry Hudson Parkway. Once over the bridge, follow the trail past the bathrooms on your left. At this point you are near the end of the John Muir Trail. To exit the park, you continue past the stables to a parking lot and then follow Mosholu Avenue to leave the park at Broadway, where you can pick up public transportation.

From the end of the John Muir Trail, you can also head north on a network of trails to explore the Northwest Forest. The Cass Gallagher Nature Trail, named in memory of a Bronx resident devoted to protecting the park, passes through this over 100-year-old oak forest with an understory of Sassafras, Northern Spicebush, and Mapleleaf Viburnum, with White Wood Aster in the ground layer. Other trails include the Bridle Path and Putnam Trail. Many of the same breeding species seen in the Northeast Forest and Croton Woods can be found here. Some of the permanent residents of the northern forests include Hairy Woodpecker and Carolina Wren. Eastern Screech-Owl has nested in these woods. If you arrive as the setting sun filters through the trees, this forest can be most impressive.

From the Van Cortlandt Golf House (there are municipal parking lots nearby where both paid and free parking are available year round), there is a good view of Van Cortlandt Lake. The Golf House (with restrooms) is open during the warm months. You can buy a snack here and eat it on a deck overlooking the lake where you can watch Northern Rough-winged, Tree, and Barn Swallows hawking for insects. 

 

Barn Swallows nest under the old railroad bridge and Tree Swallows nest on the golf course. Double-crested Cormorants can be seen drying their outstretched wings. In warm weather, you can view basking Eastern Painted Turtles and Red-eared Sliders. In winter, Gadwall and Hooded Merganser are seen on the lake. An American White Pelican once wound up on the lake for a day.

Walk up the west side of the lake following the John Kieran Nature Trail (named in honor of the author of A Natural History of New York City, 1959) as it goes through the lake area and freshwater wetlands and loops around to the eastern edge of the Parade Ground. 

 

When you reach the concrete bridge over Tibbetts Brook at the north end of Van Cortlandt Lake, look for foraging Great Blue Heron and Great Egret along the shore of the northern portion of the lake. North of the concrete bridge, American Redstarts may nest. Large numbers of Rusty Blackbirds, as many as over 500, once overwintered regularly in the swamp here, but have declined in numbers in recent years. Belted Kingfisher may be seen or heard most of the year outside the nesting season. Eastern Kingbird and Baltimore Oriole may be seen as they feed young.

Go north along the wetlands and take the first path on the left. The wooden footbridge is the best vantage for Warbling Vireo and Wood Duck occasionally over-winter. (Nesting Wood Duck and young may be seen from mid-May to mid-June.) Cedar Waxwing sometimes nests in the area. In winter look for Green-winged Teal; Eurasian Green-winged Teal also has spent time here. In any season, Tibbetts Brook and its associated wetlands are prime areas for birdwatching. In September, Jewelweed growing in this area makes it a good habitat for migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. 

After crossing Tibbetts Brook, continue on the trail to the Parade Ground (where Teddy Roosevelt reviewed his troops), now a large stretch of playing fields and cricket pitches. American Pipits are a possibility here during migration. Wintering Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, and Lapland Longspurs have been found here, as have a variety of unusual goose species that come to graze, including Cackling, Barnacle, and Greater White-fronted Geese. 

If you wish to continue birding to the north, trails begin on the east side of the Parade Ground. One starts at the base of Vault Hill (former burial plot of the Van Cortlandts; also in 1776, a hiding place for city records) and goes north along the base (next to the golf course). Another takes a sharp left uphill and then right following the ridge. (Both eventually cross over the Henry Hudson Parkway to the Northwest Forest.) 

Vault Hill rises 169 feet above sea level and offers a lovely view of the Parade Ground, and on a clear day, the Manhattan skyline. This is an excellent spot to look for migrating hawks, particularly inland migrants such as Sharp-shinned, Cooper’s, Broad-winged, and Red-tailed Hawks, and American Kestrels. (Here, as in any wooded section of the park in any season, if you come across a flock of noisy, nervous American Crows, chances are they have encountered a hawk and are in the process of mobbing it. The crows tend to get even more excited at the sight of a Great Horned Owl, which you may be lucky enough to see, too.)

 

In the Vault Hill area, watch for Chimney Swift, which nests nearby, flying overhead. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers have also regularly nested here. From May to July, the hill is also a prime butterfly spot: Lepidopteran fauna such as the Hoary Edge Skipper are attracted by two fertile acres of meadow with Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem, Switchgrass, and wildflowers such as Showy Tick-trefoil and Round-headed Bush Clover. 

The Van Cortlandt Nature Center (with restrooms) is located on the south end of the Parade Ground, to the east of Broadway at West 246th Street. Run by the Urban Park Rangers, it is the only city nature center addressing the protection and preservation of urban forests.

 

The nationally landmarked Van Cortlandt House, built in 1748 by Frederick Van Cortlandt, is next door to the Van Cortlandt Nature Center. The house is an exceptional example of Georgian architecture. 

Woodlawn Cemetery is just south of the Northeast Forest area and offers good birding in winter and during migration. The cemetery’s impressive collection of mature trees attracts songbirds during migration, and woodpeckers, including frequent Hairy Woodpecker, year-round. Great Horned Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, and Wild Turkey have all bred in recent years on the cemetery grounds. The Cemetery’s lake is frequented by Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Belted Kingfisher; Merlin is also often seen in this area. 

 

NYC Bird Alliance leads spring and fall walks in partnership with the Woodlawn Conservancy. Visit our Local Trips page for information on upcoming walks.