Due to BPCA’s work to continually improve the natural habitat across its 36 acres of parks and public places, Battery Park City is home to a diverse array of wildlife. Many species of insects, including native pollinators, inhabit its gardens and lawns – as do more than 100 species of resident and migratory birds!
Among these birds are the duck families that traditionally call Rockefeller Park their temporary home each spring; their natural instincts lead them to the park’s Lily Pool as a source of water. Following are some tips to keep in mind when observing these and other wildlife in Battery Park City:
– Please do not feed any wildlife in BPC – ducks or otherwise. Doing so can harms the animals, and/or condition them to expect food from humans instead of finding it naturally.
– Read more about BPCA’s new Keep It Wild! public awareness campaign here.
– Due to the Lily Pool’s design, once ducklings enter they often experience difficulty exiting it without assistance. In consultation with our partners at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), BPCA has installed a small ramp at the Lily Pond to enable the ducklings to exit (and re-enter) safely. The ramp will be removed in the fall to coincide with the ducks’ migration south.
Ramping for duckling access/egress is common practice in parks across the city and country, and is recommended by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for ducks nesting in enclosed areas and pools – turns out it really fits the bill!
Additional Resources:
– Watch: BPC Keep It Wild!
– Watch: Tiny Ducklings Leap from Tree (National Geographic)
– The Problem with Feeding Ducks (The Wildlife Center of Virginia)
– Wildlife Watching Tips (NYS DEC)
– Questions? Contact DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife: wildlife@dec.ny.gov
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