It’s like Cuba but with modern cars and no Castro. It’s the place Andy Warhol came to escape. And it’s where a strange monster once washed up on shore. We’re talking about Montauk, a fishing village and summer-share spot that, in the cooler seasons, becomes so much more—specifically, a birding mecca attracting rare birds and the city-based birders who watch them.
The Black Sheep of the Hamptons family, Montauk, on the end of Long Island, is preserved in time, with the samestorefronts on the main strip that have been there since the 1950s and 1960s.
In more recent years, it’s attracted more of the share-house crowd in the form of surfers who want to avoid the more heavily shared areas of the Hamptons and Fire Island, which has even been the setting for a reality show and our friend John’s book Sharehouse Confidential. But we digress.
Take a three-mile hike through Shadmoor State Park, 99 acres located a quarter of a mile east of Montauk Village that offer WWII bunkers, a view of the East End along the Montauk bluffs, including the 213-year-old Montauk Lighthouse, and elevated platforms for bird watching. In addition to hosting several species of migrating birds and shore birds, rare-bird sightings include the northern harrier and the Cooper’s hawk.
Trails through Hither Hills State Park, on the western border of Montauk, and Napeague State Park offer glimpses of piping plovers, black skimmers, oyster catchers, common terns, northern harriers and short-eared owls, among other species. And you might just have to find an excuse to take a boat out to see the northern fulmar, which is rarely seen from shore.
So grab your binoculars and drive or jump the train to Montauk. If you head out this weekend, you’ll hit the Montauk Fall Festival, with a clam chowder-tasting contest, pumpkin decorating, carnival games, raffles, live music and clam shucking. Like we said, we only promised modern cars.