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| Pelham Bay Park's Southern Zone: a great NYC birding destination |
The Southern Zone is actually the most accessible part of Pelham Bay Park’s 2,700+ acres. Multiple buses, including the BX12, and the 6 train allow visitors to exit transit and walk over the street via pedestrian bridge to enter the park. Although the bus to Orchard Beach runs only in the summer, the Southern Zone is accessible by all transit year round.
I have birded the Southern Zone many times and have surveyed it for the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for the past four years. It’s eBird hotspot “Southern Meadow and environs” list has 183 species. Still, it is an underbirded area, and has produced many uncommon and some rare birds in recent years (Red Phalarope, White-winged Dove). A couple of birders unfamiliar with the area recently expressed that they didn’t know how to access it after seeing some tweets about exciting birds. Just the land included in the Sourhern Zone in about 375 acres. Using our CBC arrangement to divide the water of Eastchester Bay in the middle (from another crew in the central area), the water adds another 160 acres to the space. With over 500 acres, that is a lot of space to search!
I created a map that is by no means definitive; other great Bronx birders could probably add to it or section it in different ways. However, I hope it helps guide you and enjoy the many birds that can be observed in the Southern Zone.
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| Triangle = Memorial Arrow path = landfill trail Circle = Granny Oak location Rectangle = dog run Star = Restrooms |
I divided the Southern Zone into six sections for reference, but know that they bleed into each other. For instance, unless you have special permission and a park ranger accompanying you, birding the landfill (zone 2) is actually only possible from a trail on the edge of the landfill, which could really just be called the edge of zone 3. Our purpose here is the lay of the land.
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| Marsh northwest of the landfill, seen from the landfill |
Zone 1 includes some woods but mostly a tidal marsh/wetland. This area is difficult to access because you have to cross Bronx and Pelham Parkway, which has no stoplights or traffic lights and people driving very fast. I do not recommend birding in zone 1, except with extreme caution, and I only bird there during the CBC. This area hosts various duck species and geese in fall, winter, and spring. I have also found herons, egrets, Belted Kingfisher, and several sparrow species.
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| Past the landfill, along the coast, in fall-spring, is a good place to check for ducks and other water birds. Also, scan the landfill and air for raptors |
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| Past the landfill, along the coast can be a very productive birding area especially in fall and spring |
Zone 2 includes the landfill and the outer paths along the landfill and the coast just off the landfill. The hill you see is a former landfill closed officially to waste in 1979. It simulates a grassland, and even has native grasses hanging on against invasive, non-native plants that want to take over (the whole Southern Zone is heavily affected by invasive plants. The infamous Kudzu even grew in the Southern Zone, although it did not grow like it does in the southern United States. Multiflora rose and porcelain berry are much more prevalent). Unless you are going on a guided tour with a park ranger, there is no accessing most of the landfill. On the landfill, itself, which I have birded five times, I have never had much luck. Four of those times were on CBCs and the other was in September. No doubt there could be lots to be found on the landfill (I know this because you can see them from the landfill trail), but unless you have lots of time to bird on the landfill with a scope, especially early in the morning, I have found it less productive than just birding from the trail outside.
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| Grassland habitat on the landfill |
A trail along the southwestern edge of the landfill between the woodland (zone 3) and the landfill fence is a prime birding spot and allow views of the western and southern sides of the landfill hill. This trail is marked on the map with blue arrows. During migration, this is a particularly good birding spot for Savanna Sparrows; in winter, for American Tree Sparrow. I have observed uncommon species such as Eastern Bluebird, Cattle Egret, and Dickcissel along this trail. Part of the reason this trail is so productive is that there is grassland on the landfill, a retention pond (I didn’t even know it was there until going up higher on the landfill), and then woodland on the other side. Once you pass the landfill, continuing along the path gives views of the water and the coast. Ducks, geese, loons, and other species can be observed here. I have also seen Northern Gannets from this very spot (amazing… but just once!).
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| The landfill trail |
This grassland environment is an excellent spot to find birds of prey, especially during the fall and early winter. Bald Eagle, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-Tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and American Kestrels (which also breed at the landfill) are all possible; I have seen other migrating raptors including Red-shouldered Hawk.
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| Cedars along the landfill and pedestrian/bicycle path |
If you take the paved bike/pedestrian pathway along Bronx and Pelham Parkway, there is a long row of cedars lining the landfill. Be careful for cyclists. This row of cedars can host birds, including migrants.
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| A CBC participant walking in front of the Granny Oak, 2014 |
Zone 3 is mostly wooded. Zone 3 and 6 could be combined, but I divided them to distinguish between the forest-like habitat of most of zone 3 and the more open savanna-like habitat of zone 6. Both zones contain some large and old trees. Zone 3 had a centuries-old tree nicknamed Granny Oak, a white oak, that unfortunately fell in the storms of March 2018; this location is marked with a blue circle on the map. There are some open meadow areas, too. This area is heavily affected by non-native, invasive species and can be difficult to wade through in summer or early fall due to large quantities of poison ivy and thick porcelain berry. Nonetheless, it is a good place to find birds, and even a Pileated Woodpecker was found here in spring of 2018.
Zone 6 contains open grassy areas with large, scattered trees. You basically enter this area as soon as you walk in from the pedestrian bridge from the subway. The blue star on the map notes the location of the bathrooms and nature center. Used for picnics in the summer, it can be especially good in fall, winter, and spring for sparrows, warblers, flycatchers, and other birds. The WWI Victory Memorial is marked with a blue triangle on the map and the area between the statue and the woods (zone 3) can be very birdy. The hedges along the base of the memorial can also hold sparrows in fall. The medians north of the road and even around the I-95 entrance/exit circles hold similar conditions but require dangerous pedestrian crossings.
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| The brick wall separating Huntington Woods from the rest of the Southern Zone |
Zone 4 is heavily wooded and is called Huntington Woods. There is a fence and old brick wall that separates it from Zone 3. Note the dog run, marked on the map with a blue triangle, that is on the edge of zone 3 and near the edge of zone 6. I have not spent a huge amount of time birding this section outside of CBCs, but I have almost found similar birds here to the rest of zone 3. Sometimes we found birds here on CBCs that we were missing in the other forested sections. It is another area heavily affected by invasive, non-native species.
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| Dark-eyed Juncos feeding on the ground near the recreation complex |
Finally, zone 5 is the recreational complex. It is one of the more human-populated sections of the Southern Zone. I have not birded here often, but you can see flyover raptors or get sparrows on the lawns during migration when people are not around. In summers at least, a food truck is usually the only place in the southern zone to get a snack. To maybe 2015, Monk Parakeets nested in the large sport lamps but I have not noted their nests since the lamps were redone.
If you are visiting this area for the first time or still getting used to it, I recommend skipping zones 1, 4, and 5. I generally spend a few hours birding around the Victory Memorial (zone 6), the landfill trail, including along the shore (zone 2) and the woodland (zone 3). This mix of habitats provides for a nice mix of species and may even yield something unexpected. Enjoy!
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