Blue Heron Park is a nature refuge on the South Shore of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It has various natural areas including meadows,

kettle pond A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

s, freshwater streams and marshes, and woodlands. The park, maintained by the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

, was acquired by the city in several parcels between 1974 and 2001, with the official dedication taking place on October 22, 1996. The extensive wetlands in the park are part of the Blue Belt, an area of Staten Island which utilizes existing and improved undeveloped areas for storm water drainage. There are six ponds located within the park including the Spring Pond and the Blue Heron Pond The park provides habitat to various species of birds including the Blue heron (''

Ardea herodias The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of Body of water, open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the ...

'') for which it was named as well as various species of mammals such as bats, raccoons, grey squirrels and chipmunks. The visitors center for the park located off Poillon Ave, is the starting point for three trails which traverse different areas of the park.

Flora

American Sweet Gum (''

Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum (''Liquidambar styraciflua''), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temper ...

''), Tulip tree (''

liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...

''), Red columbine (''

Aquilegia canadensis ''Aquilegia canadensis'', the Canadian or Canada columbine, eastern red columbine, or wild columbine, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial native to woodland and rocky slopes in east ...

''), Black-eyed Susan (''

Rudbeckia hirta ''Rudbeckia hirta'', commonly called black-eyed Susan, is a North American flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native plant, native to Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China ...

'') and Jack-in-the-pulpit (''

Arisaema triphyllum ''Arisaema triphyllum'', the jack-in-the-pulpit, bog onion, brown dragon or Indian turnip, is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a corm. It is a highly variable species typically growing in height with three-part leaves and flowers cont ...

'') white water lilies (''

Nymphaea odorata ''Nymphaea odorata'', also known as the American white waterlily, fragrant water-lily, beaver root, fragrant white water lily, white water lily, sweet-scented white water lily, and sweet-scented water lily, is an aquatic plant belonging to the ge ...

'').

Fauna

Glossy ibis (''

Plegadis falcinellus The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...

''), wood duck (''

Aix sponsa The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...

''), osprey (''

Pandion haliaetus The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a Diurnality, diurnal, piscivore, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the ...

''), black-crowned night heron (''

Nycticorax nycticorax The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and N ...

''), Spring peepers (''

Pseudacris crucifer The spring peeper (''Pseudacris crucifer'') is a small chorus frog widespread throughout the eastern United States and Canada. They prefer permanent ponds due to their advantage in avoiding predation; however, they are very adaptable with respec ...

''), tree frogs (''

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and s ...

''),

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

(Procyon lotor)

References

External links

Blue Heron Park
- official site
Friends of Blue Heron Park
- operates the Blue Heron Park Nature Center {{Protected areas of New York City Parks in Staten Island Nature centers in New York City