Willow Lake Preserve

Jewel Ave., Union Tpke., btw Van Wyck Expy and Grand Central Pkwy.

Willow and Meadow Lakes together represent the largest mostly-freshwater water bodies in Queens, and among the largest freshwater water bodies in the city. The 98.5-acre Willow Lake natural area has been managed as habitat since the 1930s when it was constructed out of salt marsh for the 1939 World's Fair. New York State later designated it a protected freshwater wetland in 1976. In 1996, members of Boy Scout Troop 530 and students from John Bowne High School reconstructed the nature trail around Willow Lake. The half-mile wood chip trail is an enjoyable ramble through 55 acres of plant life, migratory bird habitats, and wildlife native to New York State.

True to its namesake, the Willow Lake area is home to a wide variety of willows, plants belonging to the Salix genus, including the tall white willow (Salix alba), the weeping willow (Salix babylonica), the shorter goat willow (Salix caprea), and the pussy willow (Salix discolor). Other plants, trees, and flowers one might encounter while on a stroll are the blue flag iris (Iris versicolor), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), staghorn suman (Rhus typhina), phragmites (Phragmites australis), black cherry (Prunus serotina), elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), and white waterlilies (Nymphaea odorata).

Willow Lake is a bird watcher's paradise. Northern shovelers (Spatula clypeata), yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia), black-throated green warblers (Setophaga virens), savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis), northern rough-winged swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis), northern flickers (Colaptes auratus), white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana), eastern meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), American pipits (Anthus rubescens), marsh wrens (Cistothorus palustris), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), great egret (Ardea alba), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) have all been recorded at Willow Lake. In and around the lake one can also spot the eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), carp (Cyprinus carpio), and killfish (Fundulus spp.).