Fort Tryon Park
From Birding Wiki
Contents |
General Information
Fort Tryon Park lies on a ridge line at the north end of Manhattan. Like so many other city parks this one was in severe disrepair into the 1990's when salvation came in the form of the New York Restoration Project. It boasts an excellent view of the Hudson and of the Palisades to the north of the George Washington Bridge. The Park also hosts The Cloisters which is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the man who designed Central and Prospect Parks.
- Friends of Fort Tryon
- Fort Tryon images
- Wikipedia for Fort Tryon Park
- Parks dept site for Fort Tryon
- City website for Fort Tryon Park
Maps
- PDF map from the Parks Dept
- Fort Tryon map (if this fails, click on the map link on the page)
- Google map
Locations Within the Park
- list of locations with descriptions
Best Locations for Birding
Seasons
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Directions
Subway: take the A to 190th Street and make sure you take the elevator to the upper entrance or you'll have to hike up the ridge. Alternatively you can take the A to Dyckman Street, but 190th is the better choice.
Bus: the M4 bus terminates at the southern end of the park at 190th Street.
There's a modest sized parking lot at the New Leaf Cafe off Margaret Corbin Drive. Entrance to the park is at the south end, at the end of Fort Washington Ave at the circle. To get to Fort Washington Ave, take the Riverside Drive to 165th St, turn onto 165th and go one block to Fort Washington Ave. From Westchester, take the Hendy Hudson Parkway into Manhattan, exit for Riverside Drive, then 165th should be the second light. From the Cross Bronx Expressway (from CT, Long Island) or George Washington Bridge (NJ) look for Henry Hudson Parkway South then the Riverside Drive exit. From downtown Manhattan take the GWBridge/Amsterdam Ave exit off the FDR Drive, stay left for Amsterdam Ave, then go north on Amsterdam until 180th, left on 180th and west to Fort Washington Ave, then right onto Fort Washington.
Expected Species
Using this abundance classification: Common , Uncommon, very uncommon/rare which reflects the number of birds in the park rather than the ease of finding them (i.e. you'll find it easier to find the two Mute Swans than two Winter Wrens).
| Purple Finch | uncommon migrant, irruptive |
| House Finch | common resident, breeds |
| Common Redpoll | rare irruptive migrant/winter visitor, irruptive |
| Pine Siskin | rare irruptive migrant/winter visitor, irruptive |
| American Goldfinch | common to abundant winter visitor |
| House Sparrow | abundant resident, breeds |
Unexpected Species
| Calliope Hummingbird | two (!) immature males in Nov/Dec 2001 |
