Walk Cancelled: Hempstead Harbor Woods - Port Washington’s Least Known Secret!
Hempstead Harbor Woods in Autumn Colors & at Serendipity Pond
This month we will be luxuriating in the fall foliage of this diverse area with over 20 species of trees and vines, and dozens of species of fall flowers! The Hempstead Harbor Woods is the ecological heart of Port Washington. It is a gem for field biology, wildlife, and geology! Don’t miss this gem!
Join us as we immerse ourselves in the natural splendor of the fall foliage at the Hempstead Harbor Woods, a 200-acre key biodiversity area located on the Port Washington Peninsula. Here we will explore a fascinating mosaic of diverse habitats including forests, hardwood swamp, meadow, wet meadow, freshwater marsh, intermittent streams, and pond fed by groundwater springs and seeps each with their own characteristic flora and fauna.
A second-growth red maple forest with trees of one-and-a-half to two-feet in diameter is found north of the wetland complex, in the center of the critical habitat area. The forest is open and easy to walk through, the only ground-cover being tall interrupted ferns that give the forest a primordial feel. Secondary species found in this forest include tulip tree, pin oak, silver maple, black birch, paper birch, cottonwood, black locust, black cherry, crab apple, and holly. Virginia creeper, a native vine, grows on some of the trees. No other examples of this forest type are found in Port Washington.
There are many types of UHFs in the HHNS that are defined by their species assemblages, ages, soils, topographies, and disturbances. Some of the younger UHFs have tremendously diverse tree species assemblaged. The forests of the HHNS are the largest forests on the Port Washington peninsula, and because of this they are critical habitat for various species of forest-interior birds that require large intact forests. Species of forest-interior birds include yellow-billed cuckoo and blue-gray gnatcatcher that likely breed in the area. Other forest-interior birds include scarlet tanager, American redstart, red-eyed vireo (Therres, 1992). In addition, the connectivity and edge between forests and wetlands is important for animals such as fowler’s toads, tree frogs, yellow-spotted salamanders (likely, but not confirmed), as well as many others. Other animals that inhabit the UHFs include breeding red fox, deer (at least one individual, possibly more), box turtle (a species of conservation concern), great horned owl, red-tailed hawk, Cooper’s hawk and or sharp-shinned hawk, and flying squirrels.
Very few people are aware of the fact that an astonishingly large and abundant wild habitat exists on the Port Washington Peninsula (see the map below for the geographic area). Formerly known as the “Hemptstead Harbor Sand Pits” and henceforth referred to as the Hempstead Harbor Nature Sanctuary (HHNS), the propsed HHNS is the ecological core of Port Washington's largest undeveloped habitat area. The area contains Port Washington’s largest freshwater wetland and is an important part of Port Washington’s groundwater system.
Jakim’s research, Biodiversity Assessment and Environmental Study of the Hempstead Harbor Nature Sanctuary, has found the greatest diversity of flora, fauna, and habitat types on the peninsula including over 350 species of plants and animals, and rare habitat types such as wet meadows, second-growth red maple forests, and pin oak forests, that are not found elsewhere locally and are unique on Long Island.
Jakim has been studying the Hempstead Harbor Woods since 2012. He is the founder of the committee to create and preserve the Hempstead Harbor nature sanctuary. His work has been instrumental to protecting this key habitat area.
Fee: There is a fee for this walk. See event information.
Meeting location: Hempstead Harbor Woods by the Aerodrome by the aerodrome (Google Maps Link).