Governors Island Activities
NYC Bird Alliance Bird Guide Annie Barry leads a bird outing on Governors Island. Photo: NYC Bird Alliance
NYC Bird Alliance has a seasonal island home, just a few minutes by ferry from lower Manhattan! Governors Island, a 172-acre island in New York Harbor, is now open to the public year-round. Excellent habitat and a diverse variety of birdlife make it a birding hotspot, with over 220 species listed on eBird.
Visit Us on Governors Island
Starting May 18, 2024, NYC Bird Alliance will begin occupying a new historic house on Governors Island: Colonels Row House 405B. Visitors can talk birds with us out on the house porch, make bird art, check out our exhibitions, and come bird with us. Stay tuned for details on next year's season!
Visiting the Island on your own? Learn about the birds and birding spots of Governors Island in our helpful online guide.
Visitors to Governors Island from lower Manhattan or Brooklyn must reserve their ferry tickets in advance. View Governors Island ferry information and make a reservation. NYC Ferry also offers service to Governors Island.
Note on Accessibility:
The ferry from the Governors Island Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan to Governors Island is wheelchair-accessible, as are most paths on the Island. However, the path directly to NYC Bird Alliance's seasonal nature center is a brick path with a very uneven surface. Colonels Row House 405B is itself unfortunately not wheelchair-accessible; several steps lead to the first floor gallery space. View more detailed accessibility information for Governors Island.
Note on Accessibility:
The ferry from the Governors Island Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan to Governors Island is wheelchair-accessible, as are most paths on the Island. However, the path directly to NYC Bird Alliance's seasonal nature center is a brick path with a very uneven surface. Colonels Row House 405B is itself unfortunately not wheelchair-accessible; several steps lead to the first floor gallery space. View more detailed accessibility information for Governors Island.
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A stylized, dark blue graphic featuring the silhouette of a person engaging with an art piece by Gal Nissim and Leslie Ruckman. A green illustration of a hawk overlays the dark graphic.
Artist in Residence Program
NYC Bird Alliance's unique and innovative Artist in Residence program offers two local artists space, resources, and transdisciplinary exchange opportunities to investigate birds and wildlife conservation in the context of urban natural space and public engagement.
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An image of two windows of NYC Bird Alliance's former seasonal nature center in Governors Island's Nolan Park treated by window film.
Bird-Friendly Glass on Governors Island
As part of our residence on Governors Island, we made our former seasonal home in Nolan Park a model for bird-friendly building design. We created a crucial, real-world display of bird-friendly retrofit options using temporary, external window films, tapes, paints, and more.
