Staten Island Early Fall Migrants and Sea Watch

Date: Sunday, September 6, 2026

Leader: Anthony Ciancimino
Transportation: Carpool Trip: While carpool rides for everyone usually work out, there is no guarantee of enough volunteer drivers to accommodate all participants. The Registrar will work to organize rides and to notify participants when a rental car may be necessary. Registrar will also inform participants of the carpool fee, which is based on the trip location; the cost of any rental cars should be split evenly by those participants.
Meeting Point: After your registration is confirmed, the Registrar will share directions, the exact meeting place, and time with attendees.
Schedule: Half-day trip, with an early start time.
Relative Difficulty: The seawatch will involve standing in place for a while. The rest of the trip will consist mainly of walking on mostly flat terrain.

Trip Description: Join longtime birder and Staten Island resident Anthony Ciancimino for a tour around the south and east shores of the island. We will start at the Great Kills Park bathhouse, where we will have a seawatch (conditions permitting). Here, we can see a variety of waterbirds, such as gulls, terns, and possibly even Brown Pelicans. From there, we will explore the nearby trails for migrating warblers and other songbirds. Depending on activity, we will then move on to check the marshes, where we can see a great variety of wading birds, such as egrets and ibis, as well as shorebirds. There are a plethora of locations on the island we can check, so Anthony will discern which areas will be best on the day of the event. Please wear comfortable shoes, as we will walk on beaches and rocky terrain at times, totalling a few miles or so.

Registration: Registration opens at 9 am on Monday, August 24. After that time, click here to register. Registration closes at 6 pm on Wednesday, September 2. 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.