Westchester County, New York is located in southern New York, sharing its southern boundary with New York City and its northern border with Putnam County. It is bordered on the west side by the Hudson River and on the east side by the Long Island Sound and Fairfield County, Connecticut. The county has a total area of 500 square miles (1,300 km2), of which 430 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 69 square miles (180 km2) (14%) is water. It is an area rich in biodiversity with many parks and preserves. Literary environmental writer Alex Shoumatoff hailed Westchester County as the "most richly diversified deciduous forest in the world" in a 1978 The New Yorker profile, at the time estimating that it contained 4,200 species of plants. [1]
There are many natural areas that attract wildlife including Marshlands Conservancy and the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, a 179-acre sanctuary along Long Island Sound migratory flyway. In winter months, the 85-acre lake hosts more than 5,000 ducks and was recognized by Audubon New York. [2]
There are 1,168 species of vascular plants in Westchester County, according to the Parks Department. [3]
Endangered plants: [4]
Threatened plants: [4]
Special concern plants: [4]
Invasive plants: Invasive species pose a threat to biodiversity in Westchester County. [5] In order to protect hundreds of species and wildlife, Westchester County has participated in gathering data about invasive plants through the Lower Hudson Partnership for Invasive Species Management (LHPRISM). [6] [7] The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester is a resource for learning more about how to identify and map many of the species listed below. [8]
There are 311 species of birds in Westchester County, as documented by the Parks Department. [3] The local Audubon Society chapter records 368 bird species. [9]
Endangered birds: [4]
Threatened birds: [4]
Special Concern birds: [4]
There are 33 species of mammals in Westchester County. [3]
Special concern mammals: [4]
There are 19 species of reptiles in Westchester County. [3]
Endangered reptiles: [4]
Threatened reptiles: [4]
Special concern reptiles: [4]
Endangered butterflies: [4]
Threatened butterflies: [4]
Special concern butterflies: [4]
The yellow warbler is a New World warbler species. Yellow warblers are the most widespread species in the diverse genus Setophaga, breeding in almost the whole of North America, the Caribbean, as well as northern South America.
Henslow's sparrow is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus Emberiza and called Henslow's bunting.
The black-throated gray warbler or black-throated grey warbler is a passerine bird of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It is 13 cm (5.1 in) long and has gray and white plumage with black markings. The male has the bold black throat of its name, and black stripes on its head, as well as black streaks on its flanks; the female is a paler version of the male, with a white throat and less distinct black markings on the flanks and wings. It breeds in western North America from British Columbia to New Mexico, and winters in Mexico and the southwestern United States. The habitats it prefers are coniferous and mixed forests and scrubland, especially those with pinyon pines, junipers, sagebrush, and oaks. Its nest is an open cup of plant fibers lined with feathers, built a few metres from the ground in the branches of a tree or shrub. Three to five eggs are laid, and young are fed by both parents. Common in its breeding range, it does not seem to be seriously threatened by human activities, unlike many migratory warblers.
Mer Bleue Bog is a 33.43 km2 (12.91 sq mi) protected area in Gloucester, Ontario, an eastern suburb of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Its main feature is a sphagnum bog that is situated in an ancient channel of the Ottawa River and is a remarkable boreal-like ecosystem normally not found this far south. Stunted black spruce, tamarack, bog rosemary, blueberry, and cottongrass are some of the unusual species that have adapted to the acidic waters of the bog.
The spotted turtle, the only species of the genus Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of 8–12 cm (3.1–4.7 in) upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of tiny yellow round spots. The spotting patterning extends from the head, to the neck and out onto the limbs. Sexually mature males have a concave plastron and a long, thick tail. By contrast, sexually mature females possess a flat plastron and have a tail that is noticeably shorter and thinner than that of mature males. Mature males also have a dark iris and face; females typically have a yellow or orange iris and a similarly coloured face that is distinctly lighter than the males'. Juveniles appear female-like in this regard, and at maturity males begin to develop darker features.
The golden-cheeked warbler is an endangered species of bird that breeds in Central Texas, from Palo Pinto County southwestward along the eastern and southern edge of the Edwards Plateau to Kinney County. The golden-cheeked warbler is the only bird species with a breeding range endemic to Texas.
North Meadow, Cricklade is a hay meadow near the town of Cricklade, in Wiltshire, England. It is 24.6 hectares in size. It is a traditionally managed lowland hay-meadow, or lammas land, and is grazed in common between 12 August and 12 February each year, and cut for hay no earlier than 1 July. This pattern of land use and management has existed for many centuries and has resulted in the species rich grassland flora and fauna present on the site.
The Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge located in Ulster County, New York, United States. Formerly the Galeville Military Airport, it was decommissioned in 1994 and turned over to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999. It serves as a waypoint for grassland-dependent migratory birds.
The seaside sparrow is a species of American sparrow.
The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,125-acre (37 km2) National Wildlife Refuge made up of several parcels of land along 50 miles (80 km) of Maine's southern coast. Created in 1966, it is named for environmentalist and author Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring raised public awareness of the effects of DDT on migratory songbirds, and of other environmental issues.
Charles Johnson Maynard was an American naturalist and ornithologist born in Newton, Massachusetts. He was a collector, a taxidermist, and an expert on the vocal organs of birds. In addition to birds, he also studied mollusks, moss, gravestones and insects. He lived in the house at 459 Crafts Street in Newton, Massachusetts, built in 1897 and included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as the Charles Maynard House. The Charles Johnson Maynard Award is given out by the Newton Conservators, Inc.
The wildlife of Cyprus includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Cyprus has a rich flora and a diverse fauna albeit with relatively few mammals. Like most modern countries, the natural habitats in Cyprus have been steadily disappearing, currently retaining only 20% of its original habitat due to rapid urbanization, usage of forests for commercial purposes, tourism and various other reasons. One of the features of Cyprus' habitats is the wild and sharp differences in elevations and habitats on the island as well as climate, all of which supply a diverse habitat for an array of fauna and flora. Terra Cypria was established as a trust in 1992 to conserve the Cypriot environment and its biodiversity.
The Audubon Kern River Preserve is a riparian nature reserve owned by the National Audubon Society in the US state of California, near Weldon in Kern County.
Euphyes dukesi, or Dukes' skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It lives in the eastern United States and in a small portion of southern Ontario, Canada, in three distinct populations. Preferred habitats are shaded wetlands, with various species of sedge plants it uses as host plants for its larvae.
Whelford Meadow is a 1.86-hectare (4.6-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, England, notified in 1985.
The Florida grasshopper sparrow is an endangered subspecies of grasshopper sparrow native to the dry prairies of south-central Florida.
Kankakee Sands is a 10,000-acre (4,000 ha) restored tallgrass prairie in Kankakee County, Illinois and Newton County, Indiana. It is managed by The Nature Conservancy staff and volunteers. The Efroymson Restoration at Kankakee Sands is 8,400 acres (3,400 ha) of prairies and wetlands connecting Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area, Beaver Lake Nature Preserve, Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve and Conrad Station Savanna. This creates over 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of dry, mesic and wet sand prairies, sand blows, sedge meadows, wetlands, and black oak savannas.