Complex manager Patricia Martinkovic admiring one of her favorite flowers, the spotted touch-me-not.

ituated on Lloyd Neck outside the village of Lloyd Harbor lies Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge, an 80-acre preserve on Long Island's Gold Coast. The north shore neck gets its name from James Lloyd, a wealthy Boston merchant who acquired it in 1876. His holdings were split up over the years to become the estates of such notables as Marshall Field and the domiciles of singer Billy Joel and aviator Charles Lindbergh.

Rising costs, however, forced much of the ownership to become institutional or public. The estate of Manhattan financier Ferdinand Eberstadt was donated to the federal government in 1967 with the understanding that it was to become a wildlife refuge. Part of the motivation to protect the valuable habitat at that time was to impede plans by the Long Island Lighting Company to build a nuclear power plant.

The British used Lloyd's Neck during the Revolutionary War for building fortifications. It was then that British warships used one of the two large offshore boulders for target practice. Hence, the name target rock.

Besides a half-mile rocky beach overlooking the offshore boulders and Huntington Bay, Target Rock NWR contains mature oak-hickory forest, a brackish pond, and several seasonal ponds. Spruce, azaleas, rhododendrons, and yews are reminders of the gardens that the Eberstadt family once maintained. Planted and natural foliage in bloom makes the refuge a veritable wonderland of color, and birds are prolific.

Over 203 bird species have been recorded in the refuge with 51 known to breed there including orchard orioles. Least and common terns forage along the shore which is sometimes visited by piping plovers. Water birds are easily seen from the beach in winter including ducks, loons, and cormorants. Black ducks predominate. Others are goldeneye, greater scaup, oldsquaw, bufflehead, and red-breasted merganser.

The brackish pond that contains a mix of freshwater runoff and daily tidal influxes is rich with wildlife including great blue herons and snowy egrets stalking their prey.

Nesting by belted kingfishers, bank swallows, and northern rough-winged swallows in the bluff overlooking the beach is enhanced by a partial beach closing from April through August. The closure is also a way to encourage nesting by the threatened piping plover and other shorebirds.

Harbor seals can be seen swimming or hauled out on the beach. A variety of small mammals inhabit the refuge including rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks, but white-tailed deer are rare. A special treat is the sighting of the olive hairstreak butterfly that feeds in the caterpillar stage on red cedar in the refuge. The butterfly is known to visit the moist sand of the beach. Barely over an inch, it is apple-green with white and red-brown markings.

Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly pear cactus grows in the sandy soil behind the beach. It is a New York state protected species.

The two trails in the refuge are a delight to walk. Warbler's Loop Trail is one mile long and takes an hour to walk. Rocky Beach Trail is less than a mile and is a 45 minute walk. The beach trail passes by the brackish pond near the beach. The trails are interpreted by an excellent trail guide keyed to market posts.

Most visitors walk the trails for wildlife observation or photography. Other cast for blackfish, bluefish, or striped bass from the beach. Both an information kiosk and restrooms are provided.

- Jim Clark
Refuge Reporter

For a Refuge System Visitors Guide
call 1-800-344-WILD