Wildlife near New York City, New York
New York packs more wildlife into its edges than its reputation suggests. Peregrine falcons nest on the bridges and skyscrapers, one of the densest urban populations of them anywhere, and red-tailed hawks hunt the parks. Central Park is a famous migration trap, dropping tired warblers into the middle of Manhattan each spring and fall. Out at Jamaica Bay the picture shifts entirely to horseshoe crabs, diamondback terrapins, and clouds of shorebirds. Raccoons and Eastern gray squirrels handle the rest.
Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near New York City. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.
Naturalists have logged 347,718 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near New York City. The most frequently seen is the White Snakeroot, with 24,641 recorded sightings.
Birds account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (12 of the species listed here), followed by plants (11).
Most-observed species near New York City
Built from recent research-grade iNaturalist observations. Identifications are community-sourced and may occasionally be wrong, and the ranking reflects where people record and photograph wildlife, so a species seen often here is not necessarily rare elsewhere. Some plants and animals are only out in certain seasons. Treat this as a lively snapshot of what people are finding, not a formal checklist.
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