Huckleberry Island (New York)

Infobox Islands
name = Huckleberry Island


image caption = Location of Huckleberry Island off the coast of New Rochelle, New York
image size = 300px
locator

native name =
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location = New Rochelle, New York
Long Island Sound
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total islands = 1
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area = 10 acres
highest mount =
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country = United States

Huckleberry Island (or Whortleberry Island) is an island located in Long Island Sound and part of New Rochelle, New York. It is situated approximately three-fourths of one mile east of Davids' Island. The 10 acre island consists of rocky shoreline and mostly deciduous forest with virtually no shrubs or herbaceous growth under the canopy. Huckleberry Island is owned by the Huckleberry Indians, Inc., a club within the New York Athletic Club. Bought by the club in 1893, the island is only used during the summer season and development has been limited to a dock and a few small buildings at the western end. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F20E16FE385812718DDDAE0894D0405B878BF1D3 Islands Fulfill Dreams] , Max J. Friedman, The New York Times, August 7, 1977]

Wildlife habitat

Huckleberry Island provides an undisturbed upland environment for wildlife that is rare in coastal portions of the New York City metropolitan area. The primary significance of the island is its use for nesting by large numbers of colonial waterbirds such as egrets and night herons. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DA1F3DF930A1575BC0A961948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 AN EFFORT TO PROTECT SHORELINE HABITATS FOR WILDLIFE] , Suzzanne Dechillo, New York Times, August 23, 1987] In addition to the heron and cormorant populations, Huckleberry Island has significant nesting colonies of herring gull and great black-backed gull. In 1987, an estimated 1000 nesting herring gulls and 400 nesting great black-backed gulls were observed here. The great egrets and snowy egrets tend to nest in the tops of densely crowned trees. Black-crowned night herons appear to nest in the lower extent of the forest canopy and double-crested cormorants nest in either the upper branches of small trees along the forest edge or at the tops of the larger trees. Most of the gulls nested near the edge of the rocks along the island's perimeter (mostly at the north end). Other possible nesting birds include green heron and little blue heron. The rocky shoreline of Huckleberry Island supports a marine rocky intertidal community comprising one of the most southerly occurrences of this community type on the North Atlantic Coastline.

This island is listed in the National Audubon Society "2002 Open Space Conservation Plan" as a priority site under the project name "Westchester Marine Corridor". Cormorant droppings have been killing many trees at this site, making them unsuitable for nesting by herons and egrets. There is some concern that the non-native Norway maple understory may eventually replace the native hardwood trees.

References

External links

* [http://ny.audubon.org/lts/page80-84.pdf National Audubon Society]
* [http://www.nycaudubon.org/projects/harborherons NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Project]
* [http://www.terraserver.com/view.asp?cx=604750&cy=4527004&proj=32618&mpp=1&pic=img&prov=gx19&stac=1542&ovrl=-1&drwl=-1 Satellite map of Huckleberry Island]