Ocean Breeze Park natural area

Ocean Breeze Park's 86 acres of natural areas lie along Staten Island’s eastern shore and consist of coastal grasslands and freshwater wetlands, rare habitats in New York City. Mixed among plumes of little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), showy wildflowers such as the brilliant orange butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), yellow downy goldenrod (Solidago puberula), purple slender gerardia (Agalinis tenuifolia), and pink swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) dazzle in summer and fall. The milkweed provides crucial habitat for the iconic monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), and many more species of butterflies thrive in the grasslands, such as the New York State-rare red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops). The northern harrier (Circus hudsonius), a streamlined hawk of open areas, skims the grasses for rodent prey. Bayberry (Morella caroliniensis), sumac (Rhus spp.), and other maritime shrubs, along with small groves of trees, are interspersed with the grasslands. From the shrubs you can hear the song of the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla), whistles followed by a trill that speeds up like a bouncing ball. The marshy wetlands along the southern border host breeding Fowler’s toads (Anaxyrus fowleri) and an unusually diverse community of dragonflies, including the orange Needham’s skimmer (Libellula needhami) and the delicate blue-tipped Rambur’s forktail (Ischnura ramburii).