Great Backyard Bird Count 2025

This past weekend, FMCP Stewardship volunteers became community scientists for a day by participating in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a global online citizen science project organized by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This initiative encourages individuals to observe and document different bird species in their local areas.

Our group of volunteers enjoyed a walk through some of FMCP’s iconic areas, including the Tide Gate Bridge, the Garden of Meditation, the Unisphere, and Meadow Lake. Additionally, FMCP’s Project Development Coordinator, Michael Devito—an avid birder himself—shared fascinating facts about the bird species we identified. Over the course of three hours, we recorded 28 different species!

FMCP is home to a diverse number of bird species, thanks to its unique combination of wetlands and open spaces. Some of the group’s favorite sightings included the Red-Tailed Hawk, the Great Blue Heron, and the Red-Bellied Woodpecker!

Our volunteers were excited to learn about different species and the importance of migration. One volunteer commented, “I think it’s amazing how each species has its own unique colors, shape, and size!” The birds identified during our walk were logged into the GBBC database, helping scientists better understand bird populations and migration patterns. Through simple bird observation, our volunteers contributed to vital conservation efforts that analyze trends related to climate change and bird health.

The success of our community science projects, such as the Christmas Bird Count and the Great Backyard Bird Count, highlights the importance of supporting our local green spaces, which serve as essential habitats for wildlife in the park. The goal of these events is not only to contribute to a larger scientific effort but also to inspire and connect our volunteers with the natural world in FMCP.

A huge thank you to all the community scientists who joined us for the Great Backyard Bird Count! If you missed this event, we look forward to more community science projects in the future. To learn more about this ongoing project and to view live submissions of birds spotted click here. 

For updates on future events, follow us on social media or sign up for our mailing list.

World Wetlands Day 2025

February 2nd, is known as World Wetlands Day, this year has an emphasis on the theme, “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”. This observance highlights the importance of taking care of our environment and our wetlands.

Wetlands are land areas that have been taken over by a body of water, some examples of wetlands include, marshes, swamp, and wet meadows. Wetlands are an important feature in the environment. They have a list of benefits that provide value to our ecosystem,  some benefits include, providing control for flood and storm water, acting as a natural filter for our ecosystem, and providing a habitat for fishes and wildlife. According to NY DEC, “Wetlands are one of the most productive habitats for feeding, nesting, spawning, resting and cover for fish and wildlife, including many rare and endangered species”. 

Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s Willow Lake (pictured above) is considered to be FMCP’s only “Forever Wild” site which means that this area is protected from development and kept from being disrupted by human activity to preserve the natural habitats and biodiversity. Originally, this site was intended to be for entertainment purposes during the 1939-40 World’s Fair, however by the second fair it was turned into what it is known today with a diverse plant and wildlife habitats. It is also one of New York City’s last freshwater wetlands. 

As important as Wetlands are for us, they are under constant threat due to climate changes and human activities which can affect the water quality and in turn harm the ecosystem in place. Did you know? There were over 200,000 acres of wetland in NYC when the Europeans came to America. Only 2,000 acres of freshwater remain in the city today. By recognizing the values of our wetlands and the role that they play in balancing our ecosystem, through conservation and clean up efforts we hope that this will protect our wetlands for future generations. 

Interested in learning more about World Wetlands Day? Click here to learn more about this day and how it came around. 

MLK Jr. Weekend of Service in FMCP

Martin Luther King Jr. Day asks people to come together to build a beloved community through service and volunteerism. This year, the volunteers chose to serve their community in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s National Day of Service by helping the FMCP Stewardship Team clean up the Marina Candelas and the Rodman Gate entrance.

Within two days, over 800 square feet of invasive materials were removed and 123 trash bags of leaves and litter were picked up by our wonderful and dedicated volunteers. These events exemplified Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of acting selfless for the greater good and coming together as a community. 

Not only did our volunteers help their community by beautifying areas in the park, they also participated in creating a web diagram, sharing what giving back to their community means to them and the importance of serving their community.

Many of the reflections were heartfelt and provided inspiration for their community. Volunteers agreed that volunteering gave them a sense of building a stronger community and even fulfillment within themselves of the work they did over the weekend.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” This was a prime example of how even a small group of volunteers can have a huge impact on the dignity of our community and environment. 

Please take a look at the web diagram that the FMCP Stewardship Team put together from the responses of our volunteers. We hope that as we continue throughout the year to inspire you all to serve in your community and to pay it forward by engaging in acts of service.

If you are interested in participating in future volunteer opportunities consider joining our stewardship team! We hope to see you all soon!

Generous support for the Stewardship Team is provided by grants from Con Edison and Citizens Bank.

Winter Warmup Volunteer Event at Ederle Promenade

Last month in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, we closed out our volunteer season with the last clean-up event of the year! High school volunteers persevered through the frigid temperatures to beautify the Ederle Promenade by raking all the autumn leaves to prepare for winter. 

The cleanup united high school students from different communities across New York to accomplish the goal of cleaning up their community park. Volunteers cleared the leaves to enhance the iconic views by the Ederle Promenade and worked as a team to show their teamwork and initiative to care for their community. As the volunteers were bagging the leaves together, they were surprised to see the impact they have made with just a few hours of raking. 

The event was a huge success, despite the cold weather, our volunteers brought their energy and enthusiasm to collect over 165 bags of leaves!  

Thank you to all the high school volunteers who came out to show love to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, we truly couldn't have done it without the energy and enthusiasm that they brought. We hope to see many of the volunteers return in the future! 

Sign up for our Stewardship Team’s mailing list to be the first to hear about new volunteer opportunities when they are announced.

Generous support for the Stewardship Team is provided by grants from Con Edison and Citizens Bank.

World Wildlife Conservation Day 2024

World Wildlife Conservation Day is coming up on December 4th and what better way to celebrate it by raising awareness of wildlife in New York City! Flushing Meadows Corona Park and parks around the city are home to a diversity of wildlife, such as coyotes and white-tailed deer. Lets take a dive to learn about the importance of these species, how they play a role in our ecosystem and ways we can promote peaceful coexistence with them.

Coyotes have been present in New York since the 1930s and have been living around the city since 1995. Coyotes play an important role as they are predators in our ecosystem and prey on small mammals such as rodents. They can be seen during the day however, they are most active once the sunsets and at night, you may also be able to spot them during mating season which is around January to March or October to January. They are very curious animals and they like to observe human behavior but they tend to avoid being close to humans as much as possible. 

White Tail Deers have been around New York since the 16th century and have been a part of our rich ecosystem, they are considered a keystone species which mean they have a direct impact on other plants and animals. They increase plant diversity, soil fertility, and spread seeds. However, in abundance they can be considered invasive and even pose a threat to us while driving. City officials need to manage the deer population so they can peacefully exist with humans. 

With daylight savings time and the sun setting earlier, we may see an increase in coyotes and white tailed deers across NYC Parks. Click here to learn more about the Wildlife in NYC and how we can coexist with these species. Want to get involved? Consider participating in educational programs, tree planting, and park beautification projects.