Community Corner

Where To Spot Wild Animals In NYC: Awesome New Seasonal Map Tracks Urban Wildlife

Where and when to stalk the city's hawks, eagles, bullfrogs, turtles, deer, coyotes, salamanders, foxes, owls, possums, crabs and more.

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NEW YORK, NY — Need a break from your fellow man? Look no further than this awesome new interactive map and calendar, created by the NYC Parks Department, which tells you what species hang out in which parts of the city at what times of year. (We've also compiled the info below.)

“There’s no need to leave New York City to see wildlife," NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchel Silver said in a statement Thursday announcing the city's new online critter-stalking tool.

“With more than 600 species living in our city," Silver said, "there are plentiful opportunities to witness these magnificent animals in their element."

Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

You can play with the map and calendar here, or scroll down for our month-by-month breakdown of the NYC Parks data.

But first, a reminder from city park officials: "Most of NYC’s wildlife are not dangerous; however, maintaining a safe distance is the best way to protect your safety and the safety of our wild neighbors. If you see an injured animal, leave the animal where it is, give it some distance, and call 311. If there's any immediate danger, please call 911."

Find out what's happening in New York Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

JANUARY

Coyotes

  • How to find them: "You are most likely to see or hear coyotes during mating season, which occurs from January through March. Coyotes look a bit like domestic dogs, although with a flatter forehead, more pointed snout, and longer legs. If you see a coyote — they can be observed during the day — don’t panic."

Northern Saw-Whet Owls

  • How to find them: "Because the trees are bare, winter is the best time of year to spot owls that live high up in our trees. Owls can be seen perched in their nests starting as early as January or February. They are mostly active at night, but sometimes also hunt during the day."

Barred Owls

  • How to find them: See above

Great-Horned Owls

  • How to find them: See above

Eastern Screech Owls

  • How to find them: See above

FEBRUARY

Bald Eagles

  • How to find them: "As you walk through densely wooded areas in New York City, like Inwood Hill Park, look up into the trees — you might spot a bald eagle roosting or scoping out its prey. Like red-tailed hawks, bald eagles perform aerial displays during courtship that involve locking talons and spinning through the air. Their breeding season begins in the late fall and generally ends around February."

Seals

  • How to find them: "Seals will migrate south to our ice-free waters during winter's coldest months for easier fishing. This makes February an amazing time of year to see harbor seals in New York Harbor. Seals can be tricky to spot though — you may be surprised to find that what looks like a rock or bottle floating on the water in the distance is actually a healthy seal. The best places to spot a seal are on remote shores or on sand banks during the day."

Virginia Opossums

  • How to find them: "Opossums can be found across the city, but are rarely spotted because they live pretty solitary lives except during breeding season. You are most likely to encounter opossums during their breeding season, which begins in February and lasts through July."

MARCH

Eastern Gray Squirrels

  • How to find them: "Eastern gray squirrels are seen in our parks year-round, but they are especially active during the spring, when they will come out of their nests — called 'dreys' — to dig up nuts."

Ospreys

  • How to find them: "These fish-loving hawks spend most of their time near bodies of water, and generally build their nests along coastlines for easy access to their favorite food. They return to the same nest every year in the springtime to mate and nest, and if you walk through our large shorefront parks at the right time of year, you can usually see osprey pairs nesting in very tall trees and on utility poles."

Peregrine Falcons

  • How to find them: "Nesting begins in late March, when falcons begin creating scrapes in the ground or taking over other species' nests. In NYC, peregrine falcons prefer nesting on tall structures like bridges and buildings."

Piping Plovers

  • How to find them: "Each spring and summer, piping plovers use the beaches in the Rockaways as a breeding and nesting ground. In NYC, they breed at Rockaway Beach, Breezy Point, and Fort Tilden. Plovers arrive at their breeding grounds in early and mid-March and begin laying their eggs at the beginning of NYC's beach season, in May and June."

Red-Tailed Hawks

  • How to find them: "You can see red-tailed hawks in NYC year-round: in the forest, on the window ledges of tall buildings, and even sitting by your bus stop. In early March, red-tailed hawks mate and their courtship involves elaborate aerial displays in which the male and female will occasionally lock talons in mid-air and spiral downwards, then pull away."

Woodcocks

  • How to find them: "Woodcocks stay close to the ground, and are slightly camouflaged, but if you look closely you can sometimes see them walking around the forest floor and poking their long bills in the soil in search of earthworms to eat. In the springtime, woodcocks perform aerial displays of courtship — males will fly upward in wide spirals, then zig-zag down to land near the females."

APRIL

Spring bird migration

  • Where to spot them: The North Woods of Central Park in Mid-Manhattan; the southeast area of Prospect Park in central Brooklyn, including The Ravine, The Pools, Lullwater, Prospect Park Lake and Lookout Hill; the Ridgewood Reservoir of Highland Park in Queens; the John Kieran Nature Trail in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx; Clove Lake (or Brooks Lake and Martling Pond for smaller birds) at Clove Lakes Park on Staten Island
  • How to find them: "As they follow the coast north, many birds look to our parks for food, water, and shelter. Birds can be seen flying through our parks, or stopping by for food and rest."

Alewife

  • How to find them: "Alewife herring start to return to the Bronx River, NYC’s only freshwater river, in April to mate and lay eggs. Spawning fish can be seen swirling in small groups."

Bats

  • How to find them: "Cave-dwelling bats, like the little brown bat and big brown bat, go into hibernation in the fall when the weather cools. They emerge again around April as spring approaches, and can sometimes be spotted at dawn and dusk flying among the trees and feeding on insects like mosquitoes."

Purple Martins

  • How to find them: "In April, they return to NYC, where Lemon Creek Park provides man-made bird houses specifically for the purple martins to nest in the springtime."

Red-Tailed Hawks

  • How to find them: "April is nesting season for red-tailed hawks, so you may spot them around the city gathering their building materials. Nests are made of twigs and built high above the ground in trees, on building ledges, and on bridges."

Raccoons

  • How to find them: "While raccoons do enjoy NYC's nightlife, seeing one during the day does not mean they are sick or injured — they can often be spotted resting up in trees or on elevated platforms while the sun is out."

Spotted Salamanders

  • How to find them: "Spotted salamanders are introverts; you’ll rarely ever encounter one in New York City because they spend most of their time under the leaf litter on the forest floor. April is the best time to spot them — this is when they begin leaving their homes to mate in pools of water formed from the first warm rains of spring."

Spring Peepers

  • How to find them: "Spring peepers are the earliest frogs you’ll see, or more likely, hear, as the weather starts warming up."

Whales

  • How to find them: "Humpbacks and other whales are migrating north to the Gulf of Maine. You can potentially spot one at Rockaway Beach or at Staten Island's beaches using strong binoculars or a spotting scope."

Coyotes

  • How to find them: "Coyotes begin birthing litters of four to six pups in April. Young coyotes stay close to home until they are ready to venture out on their own, usually in late fall to early winter, from October to January."

MAY

Canada Geese

  • How to find them: "Canada geese breed in March, and their chicks begin hatching in May. If you visit NYC's shorefront parks, ponds, and lakes during this time, you might see some yellow-green goslings paddling through the water with their parents, with one parent leading the way and the other parent following closely behind."

Horseshoe Crabs

  • How to find them: "In May and June, you can spot horseshoe crabs coming up on our shores during high tide to mate and lay eggs. Eggs typically hatch within 14 to 30 days."

Painted Turtles

  • How to find them: "These turtles enjoy the arrival of the warmer weather as much as most New Yorkers, so keep an eye out for these relaxing reptiles as the summer months roll in. They swim lazily thorough our parks' ponds and sunbathe on nearby rocks."

White-Tailed Deer

  • How to find them: "As early as May, white-tailed deer can begin giving birth to between one and three fawns. Fawns are usually unable to keep up with their mother for the first month, so you may spot a fawn hiding in bushes or tall grasses while their mother goes off to feed."

JUNE

American Bullfrogs

  • How to find them: "They live in freshwater lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams. Female bullfrogs lay tens of thousands of eggs from June through August. The eggs hatch into tadpoles within a week, and can remain that way for one to three years depending upon the conditions of their home."

Canada Geese

  • How to find them: "From late June into July, Canada geese begin changing out of their winter outfits, through a process called molting, where they shed and replace old and worn flight feathers. During this time, they are unable to sustain continuous flight, so you might see them biding their time at your local park. And if you don't see them, you'll likely hear them — Canada geese are very vocal."

Diamond-Backed Terrapins

  • How to find them: "In June and July, while most New Yorkers are heading towards the ocean to escape the heat, diamond-backed terrapins can be spotted traveling in the opposite direction, retreating from the water onto New York City's beaches and marshes to lay their eggs. Freshwater turtles, including red-eared sliders, snapping turtles, and painted turtles also emerge at this time to look for areas to dig and lay eggs."

Bats

  • How to find them: "Bats mate before going into hibernation from October through March. Baby bats, called pups, are born around June or early July."

Red-Tailed Hawks

  • How to find them: "Young red-tailed hawks have fledged and may be seen hanging around on the ground while they are learning to fly. Look for their brown tail feathers to identify them as juveniles."

JULY

Eastern Gray Squirrels

  • How to find them: "Eastern Gray squirrels are the unofficial mascot for NYC's parks, by nature of how easily they can be spotted in most parks, especially during the summer months. Eastern gray squirrels squirrels give birth twice a year, in early spring and summer, and baby squirrels are ready to leave their nests and explore the neighborhood after just seven weeks."

Piping Plovers

  • How to find them: "Every spring, piping plovers, a New York State endangered species, migrate to their summer home of Rockaway Beach, where they lay eggs and raise their chicks. Plover chicks start to be able to fly in July."

Alewife

  • How to find them: "In July, you can watch juvenile alewife 'popping' in the Bronx River. This is a feeding behavior which involves a leap out of the water to capture insects as they emerge. Come fall, juvenile alewife leave their spawning grounds and join the adults out in the ocean."

Bald Eagles

  • How to find them: "Bald eagles lay eggs in early spring. In July, the chicks will be ready to spread their wings around the neighborhood."

AUGUST

Piping Plovers

  • How to find them: "As summer draws to a close, beach season for most New Yorkers is coming to an end. Not for piping plovers, though. In August, after a full summer of breeding and nesting at Rockaway Beach, local piping plovers will begin their migration south to wintering grounds in South Carolina and the Bahamas."

Red-Backed Salamanders

  • How to find them: "Red-backed salamanders lay eggs under rocks, logs, and leaf litter from June to July, and young red-backed salamanders begin to hatch in August and September. Young salamanders can sometimes be seen foraging for food with adults when the leaf litter they spend most of their time under dries up during hotter summer months."

SEPTEMBER

Fall bird migration

  • How to find them: "In late September, our avian summer residents begin to migrate to their homes in the south. Birds from as far north as Canada can be seen flying through our parks, or stopping by for food and rest. Whether you are an experienced birder or a beginner, the fall migration is the perfect time to pick up a pair of binoculars to discover all the amazing birds traveling through the city."

Monarch Butterflies

  • How to find them: "In August, you can see monarch butterflies fluttering around in pollinator gardens, meadows, and open fields where late summer-blooming wild flowers grow. In September, just before the cold weather approaches, monarch butterflies, including their newborns, journey through our parks on their 2,100-mile trip to Mexico, where they remain for the winter."

OCTOBER

Coyotes

  • How to find them: "Coyotes, like most New Yorkers, enjoy exploring their surroundings. Young coyotes begin to leave their dens in October, and are generally more visible during this time as they venture out into the world."

Red-Backed Salamanders

  • How to find them: "Red-backed salamanders breed in October to December. During this time, some breeding pairs can be spotted together. During breeding season, males have more swollen snouts and longer legs than the females. Red-backed salamanders spend most of their time in damp areas beneath objects like rocks and logs, and in small underground burrows."

White-Tailed Deer

  • How to find them: "Breeding season for white-tailed deer, known as the rut, generally takes place from October to January. Deer are especially active — and aggressive — during this time."

NOVEMBER

Eastern Gray Squirrels

  • How to find them: "Before the cold weather arrives, eastern gray squirrels visit their favorite trees to gather food to put away for the winter. It’s the perfect time to see squirrels climbing up trees and scurrying around in leaves, looking for snacks to bury underground."

Seals

  • How to find them: "Seals begin to arrive in the NYC area in November, and can be seen throughout the winter and spring before returning north. The best places for viewing them are on remote shores or on sand banks during the day, but be sure to keep your eyes peeled — seals can be tricky to spot, and what looks like a rock or bottle floating on the water in the distance can sometimes be a healthy seal poking its head through the water."

Virginia Opossums

  • How to find them: "In November, young opossums who were born toward the end of the breeding season will become independent and disperse from their mother, as most of them do once they are 100 days old. Opossums are mostly solitary animals, living alone except during the breeding season."

DECEMBER

Red Foxes

  • How to find them: "The breeding season for red foxes begins in December and continues through March. Red foxes can start mating at one year old. Although they have a fearsome reputation, most foxes are not dangerous to people."

Waterfowl

  • How to find them: "Many species of waterfowl fly into New York City for the winter. Birds including hooded mergansers, ruddy ducks, green-winged teals, northern pintails, ring-necked ducks, snow geese, and American wigeons can be found in parks with water bodies that do not completely freeze."

Images courtesy of NYC Parks

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