Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge


	Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge
	12 Target Rock Rd. Huntington, NY 11743 E-mail: longislandrefuges@fws.gov Phone Number: 631-286-0485
	Visit the Refuge's Web Site: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/longislandrefuges/	Target Rock's forest comes alive each spring with the arrival of migrating warblers, like this common yellowthroat. (copyright Ed Sambolin)

Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge
The Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge is located on the north shore of Long Island, 25 miles east of New York City.

This 80-acre refuge is composed of mature oak-hickory forest, a half-mile rocky beach, a brackish pond, and several vernal ponds. The land and waters support a variety of songbirds (particularly warblers during spring migration), mammals, shorebirds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. During the colder months, diving ducks are common offshore, while harbor seals occasionally use the beach and nearby rocks as resting sites. NY State and Federally protected piping plover, least tern, and common tern depend on the Refuge's rocky shore for foraging and rearing young.

The spring bloom at Target Rock is a reminder of its days as a garden estate, with flowering rhododendrons and mountain laurel.

Getting There . . .
From Main Street (Route 25A) in the Village of Huntington, take West Neck Road for 5 miles, continue on Lloyd Neck Road which ends at Target Rock Road, follow Target Rock Road for 1/2 mile, the entrance is on the right. The refuge entrance is 2.2 miles east of Caumsett State Park.

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Uplands The Refuge consists largely of mature oak forest characteristic of Long Island's north shore. Dominant tree species include black oak, red oak, white oak, hickory and tulip tree. The understory is largely comprised of maple-leaved viburnum and mountain laurel. Other terrestrial habitats at the Refuge include forest openings, red maple forest, and bluffs. The sand ridge areas have juniper trees that provide habitats for olive-sided hairstreak butterflies. The prickly pear cactus, protected in NY, is found in the sand ridge areas of the beach...

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If you visit the beach at Target Rock NWR, you will likely see a 14-foot rock jutting out of Huntington Bay. Legend has it that the British Navy used that rock for target practice during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

The Eberstadt family eventually took ownership of this land, transforming it into magnificent gardens. The hints of their work bloom every spring with flowering daffodils, azaleas and rhododendrons. The Refuge was established in 1967 via land donation from the Eberstadt family, under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act.

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The refuge is managed to provide habitat for migratory songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and other wildlife. During the spring breeding season, a segment of the beach is closed to public use to provide undisturbed nesting habitat for the bank swallows using the bluffs, and piping plover foraging and rearing young along the shore.

Management programs include invasive species management, sensitive species protection and habitat enhancement, and public facility management.