Bethpage State Park Ecology

As we know, with warm weather comes new life! Birds lay eggs that hatch and become fledglings! Mammals born to litters, stay close to their siblings while parents do the work of searching for prey! This bustling activity, this time of year, means that Bethpage State Park is no stranger to a huge amount of wildlife sightings; with that, often comes added responsibility on our part as a park! Sometimes baby animals require extra attention and a little human intervention, in the event they are injured or displaced from their nests. This month, we had two separate instances where this had occurred. Luckily, staff rose to the occasion to offer a helping hand and we want to share those moments with you: The first wildlife rescue story took place on June 4th. An Eastern Screech Owl chick was found on the ground, early that morning, on our Green Course. It was noticed by park staff who were out mowing fairways by the woodline. John (a member of our maintenance crew) kindly made sure the young