Hamptons Verified
Birding the East End
The East End sits on the Atlantic Flyway. From the Snowy Owls of Napeague in winter to the Piping Plovers of Mecox in summer to the fall hawk migration over Montauk Point, this is one of the richest birding stretches on the US East Coast — with 16 verified Important Bird Areas across the two forks and Shelter Island.
Looking for whales, seals, or the broader fauna calendar? See /wildlife for every species on the East End →
Showing 16 of 16 Important Bird Areas
The migration calendar
Apr · May · Jun
Spring songbird migration
Warblers, vireos, and flycatchers stream up the coast. Peak wave is the second week of May; Mashomack, Napeague, and Cedar Point are the reliable migrant traps.
May · Jun · Jul · happening now
Shorebird breeding
Piping Plovers, Least Terns, and American Oystercatchers hold the protected beach corridors. Stay behind every fence; the roped areas are active nests, not closed parks.
Jul · Aug · Sep · happening now
Fall shorebird passage
Juvenile sandpipers and yellowlegs move south along the pond mudflats. Sagg Pond and Mecox Bay drain at the right tide and host the densest concentrations on the East End.
Sep · Oct · Nov
Fall hawk migration
Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, Merlins, and Peregrines funnel down the South Fork toward Montauk Point. Early October at the lighthouse cliffs is the canonical vantage.
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar
Winter waterfowl
Sea duck rafts — Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, all three scoters — settle off Montauk Point and Shinnecock Inlet. Brant crowd the bay flats from November through March.
2 migration bands active this month. Chips at the top of the page filter the site list by season.
The hotspots
- Beach · Montauk
Montauk Point State Park
The canonical East End sea-watch. In fall, the raptor migration funnels down the peninsula and launches south past the lighthouse; in winter, sea duck rafts sit offshore in the tens of thousands.
Best: Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, +4 more
Plan this visit →
- Dunes · Amagansett
Napeague State Park — Walking Dunes
A migrating dune system with a songbird hedge on its lee side. Winter brings Snowy Owl irruptions to the bayside mudflats; spring floods the cranberry bog with warblers.
Best: Spring Migration · Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Osprey, Eastern Towhee, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Salt Marsh · Springs
Accabonac Harbor
The East End's most productive salt marsh. Osprey platforms line the harbor, saltmarsh sparrows nest in the high marsh, and the tidal cuts funnel egrets and willets into reliable viewing distance.
Best: Spring Migration · Breeding · Fall Migration
Targets: Osprey, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Willet, +3 more
Plan this visit →
- Bay · East Hampton
Cedar Point County Park
A long flat bayfront walk that doubles as a winter loon-and-grebe circuit. Bald eagles have returned to the eastern end of the park, and the sandspit at the lighthouse holds oystercatchers into October.
Best: Spring Migration · Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Osprey, Bald Eagle, Bufflehead, Common Loon, +3 more
Plan this visit →
- Freshwater Pond · Sagaponack
Sagg Pond
A mudflat shorebird magnet when the pond drops. Fall passage brings sandpipers, yellowlegs, and the occasional Hudsonian Godwit; spring brings the first returning terns.
Best: Spring Migration · Fall Migration
Targets: Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Black-bellied Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Salt Marsh · Water Mill
Mecox Bay
One of Long Island's two active Roseate Tern colonies and a documented Piping Plover breeding site. When the cut opens, the drained mudflats become a shorebird carousel.
Best: Spring Migration · Breeding · Fall Migration
Targets: Piping Plover, Least Tern, Common Tern, Black Skimmer, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Bay · Hampton Bays
Shinnecock Bay — Ponquogue Bridge
The western gateway to the East End's winter bird circuit. Brant rafts, merganser strings, and the Purple Sandpiper flock on the jetty boulders are reliable from November through March.
Best: Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Brant, American Black Duck, Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Salt Marsh · Quogue
Dune Road — Shinnecock to Quogue
Long Island's longest continuous salt marsh drive. Clapper Rails clatter at dawn, Seaside Sparrows trill from the cordgrass, and in winter the Short-eared Owl quarters the phragmites at dusk.
Best: Spring Migration · Breeding · Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Clapper Rail, Seaside Sparrow, Marsh Wren, Osprey, +3 more
Plan this visit →
- Grassland · Westhampton
Gabreski Airport Grasslands
One of the last grassland bird strongholds on Long Island. Upland Sandpipers still return here in small numbers; Eastern Meadowlarks sing from the runway margins through June.
Best: Breeding · Winter
Targets: Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Upland Sandpiper, Horned Lark, +1 more
Plan this visit →
- Beach · Orient
Orient Beach State Park
The North Fork's signature IBA. A protected sandspit hosts nesting oystercatchers and plovers; the adjacent maritime forest is a known songbird migrant trap.
Best: Spring Migration · Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Osprey, American Oystercatcher, Piping Plover, Common Eider, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Bay · North Sea
North Sea — Robins Island Viewpoint
Robins Island is off-limits, but the public shoreline across the channel gives a clear sightline onto its osprey colony and the bald eagle pair that recently colonized the north end.
Best: Breeding · Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Osprey, Bald Eagle, Double-crested Cormorant, Common Loon, +1 more
Plan this visit →
- Freshwater Pond · Manorville
Peconic River Headwaters
The largest pine barrens ecosystem on Long Island. Prairie Warblers sing from the scrub oaks in May; at night, the Whip-poor-wills still call from the Manorville Hills.
Best: Spring Migration · Breeding
Targets: Prairie Warbler, Pine Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Wood Thrush, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Woodland · Shelter Island
Mashomack Preserve
The canonical East End forest bird site. A rare intact mixed hardwood ecosystem on an island, with breeding Hooded Warblers and Acadian Flycatchers you can't find anywhere else on the South Fork.
Best: Spring Migration · Breeding · Fall Migration
Targets: Osprey, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Hooded Warbler, +3 more
Plan this visit →
- Woodland · Riverhead
Hallock State Park Preserve
The quietest IBA on the North Fork. A working farm wraps the preserve, and the hedge-row habitat supports bluebirds, kestrels, and a reliable Bobolink pair into July.
Best: Spring Migration · Fall Migration · Breeding
Targets: Eastern Bluebird, Bobolink, Eastern Kingbird, Indigo Bunting, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Grassland · Calverton
EPCAL Grasslands (Calverton)
One of only two grasslands on Long Island large enough to hold a breeding Grasshopper Sparrow population. In winter, Short-eared Owls hunt the airfield at last light.
Best: Breeding · Winter
Targets: Grasshopper Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Savannah Sparrow, Northern Harrier, +2 more
Plan this visit →
- Beach · Westhampton
Cupsogue Beach County Park
The western birding gateway to the East End. Red Knots on spring passage, a mixed tern roost that periodically holds Royal and Sandwich Terns, and a documented winter Snowy Owl spot on the dune line.
Best: Spring Migration · Breeding · Fall Migration · Winter
Targets: Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, Piping Plover, +3 more
Plan this visit →
What to bring.Binoculars (8x42 is the East End standard), Merlin Bird ID + eBird on your phone, layers (the coast is 10° cooler than inland), and permethrin-treated clothing from April through October.
Code of conduct.Stay behind every roped breeding area, never play recorded calls near a nest, keep 100 yards from any cordoned tern or plover colony, and leash dogs on every public beach with shorebirds. Every species above is sourced from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology — no fabricated records.