At Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers, NY, on May 18, I didn’t see many birds out of the ordinary. I was so taken in by the dramatic vistas of the park and garden that I may have overlooked them.
Tens of thousands of birds migrate north of New York City each spring and up the Hudson River along the Atlantic Flyway. They fly over the sweeping landscapes, charting their course by the stars and the region’s famous sunsets. This summer I plan to explore some of their Hudson River views and perches through occasional field trips.
It was my first trip to see the gardens, an ongoing restoration and creative enhancement of the original gardens of Samuel Untermyer, a successful attorney and garden enthusiast. It was his idea to leave his monumental garden, first created with his wife Minnie in 1917, for public access after his death. The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy, established in 2011, works with the Yonkers Parks Department to reestablish and maintain the garden.
The 43-acre city park, a wonderland of botanical diversity, echoes various traditions and myths of the ancient past. The Garden of Eden, the founding paradise in Judaism, Christianity, and Islamic traditions, provides a unifying thematic element throughout the gardens. The exquisite Walled Garden at Untermyer evokes the edenic story through Indo-Persian design. The sight of the reflecting Persian Pool with its swirling fish mosaics provides an escape from everything that fell after Eden.
The birds must feel like they’re in paradise here, or at least I like to think so. I followed a Song Sparrow flying from a formal garden area below to a bare branch high over the slope down to the Hudson. It perched and sang there for a long while.
In addition to Song Sparrows, I spotted a tiny female Northern Yellow Warbler in the woodlands. I was not at all surprised to see a flock of Cedar Waxwings in such a well-kept paradise. Baltimore Orioles here can find the most exquisite perches in these gardens.
The restored gardens include many species of plants. Cryptomeria, large Japanese Cedar trees, line the dramatic Vista, a long descending path that leads to an observation area. The Vista provides a sensational view of the Hudson River and the Palisades beyond. The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy has rebuilt a garden of rhododendrons, a favorite of the original owner.
I highly recommend accessing a map of the gardens. I picked up a Visitor’s Map at a kiosk near the Ruin Garden near the Old Croton Aqueduct gate down the hill. Still, one of the intriguing and rather mysterious aspects of Untermyer Gardens is that some of the passageways are intentionally discrete. You have to figure out on your own how to navigate this paradise.
Public transportation: The Inwood neighborhood at the top of Manhattan enjoys easy access to the river towns of Westchester County and beyond. I recommend taking the Metro-North Hudson line to Yonkers and then switching to the 6 bus on the Bee Line.
The gardens (945 N Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701) are free to visit and open every day during spring from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Official website of Untermyer Gardens Conservancy: https://www.untermyergardens.org/
Related: See a previous field trip on fall migration at the West Point Foundry Preserve in Cold Spring, New York.
Cover: A view of the Walled Garden, Persian Pool and Temple of the Sky at Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers, New York. May 18, 2026
Spring Migration Sightings Report
Back in Inwood, I haven’t seen all of the spectacular warblers migrating through, but I have seen some of them. A Black-and-white Warbler and a Black-throated Green Warbler showed up at the natural springs on a recent hot day. A Northern Yellow Warbler has been flitting and singing around the Salt Marsh, along with one of two Eastern Kingbirds. I observed one kingbird picking up nesting material, so it may want to stay around for the summer. See the May 2026 Sightings page for more.
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Previous posts
- Birds in the Garden of Eden: A Field Trip to Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers, New York
- An Evening Walk with a Great Egret, and Spring Migration Report
- Birds on the Forest Floor: Ovenbird and Veery
- A Flurry of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Flickers Flickering, and a Great Egret Returns
- The Kinglets of the Forest, with More Stories and Tech-Related Mishaps in the Age of Digital Birding
Birds of Inwood 
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