Fall Migration in Central Park’s North End

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2025

Leader: Ursula Mitra
Transportation: Public Transportation: Participants can use public transportation to arrive at the meeting location.
Meeting Point: After your registration is confirmed, the Registrar will share directions, the exact meeting place, and time with attendees.
Schedule: The walk starts in the early morning, and if the weather and the birds cooperate, will likely go until the early afternoon.
Relative Difficulty: Four to five miles of relatively flat ground, with some short, moderately steep hills.

Trip Description: Central Park is known as one of the best birding spots in the world, with the North Woods being its hidden gem. This walking route covers all the major hotspots of the North Woods and provides interesting insights into this lesser-known area of Central Park. The typical route starts at the Great Hill (which has bathrooms). It continues to the Children’s Glades, South Blowdown, Balancing Rock, The Pool, Sparrow Rock, East Blowdown, The Block House, Lily Ponds, The Loch, Wildflower Meadow, Grassy Knoll, the Compost Heap, the Nursery, the Conservatory Garden (another bathroom opportunity), and Harlem Meer (including the recently opened Davis Center), before circling back to the Loch and Pool. Bird species that can be spotted along this walk might include the Black-crowned Night Heron, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Swainson’s Thrush, and various warbler and sparrow species.

Please read The Linnaean Society of New York COVID-19 Field Trip Guidelines before registering.

Registration: Registration opens at 9 am on Monday, September 15. After that time, click here to register. Registration closes at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 24. Members (and those who have applied for membership) will be prioritized over non-members.

Please read the About Our Trips page, if you’re going on a field trip for the first time. It details our field trip policies, recommends what to bring on a trip, and offers other useful information, pro tips, and tricks.

If after visiting the About Our Trips page, you still have questions, feel free to contact the Registrar via email.