Editor’s introductory note: When the full website for Nature Calendar launches this summer, we will feature a special section, and hopefully a podcast, called “Nature Walks With Sheila Buff,” to take readers by the hand through some of the best green escapes in our metropolitan region. During our blog startup phase we will feature periodic entries of Sheila’s wonderful work, much of which originally appeared as chapters of her now out-of-print gem called Nature Walks In and Around New York City, published in 1996 by Appalachian Mountain Club Books. The author, parks authorities, and Nature Calendar, and parks have updated the materials for your enjoyment and use today.
Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve
By Sheila Buff
Staten Island
Length: 1 mile
Duration: About an hour
Difficulty Level: Easy
Ponds, meadows, sand barrens, bogs, woodlands, and marshes–all in one place.
Most New Yorkers think of Staten Island, the city’s least populous borough, as nothing but ugly strip malls and execrable residential architecture–a place to be passed through on the way elsewhere, if visited at all. A visit to Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve, however, shows another side of Staten Island, one that recalls its rural past as a place of small farms and early industry. The preserve consists of a 260-acre natural area near the southwest shore of the island. It was established in 1977 as a result of community efforts to preserve its unique ecological and historic interest; today, it is New York City’s only state park preserve. About 90 acres of the park are designated as state freshwater wetlands; 70 more acres are designated as a state unique natural area. Most of these designated areas are in the northern half of the park (north of Clay Pit Road) and are closed to visitors. Even so, there’s still plenty to see.
Clay Pit Ponds is geologically quite interesting. Sand and clays deposited during the Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago, are overlain by much more recent glacial deposits that are only 12,000 years old. The mixed underlying geology creates a variety of different soil types, and this in turn provides the park with an interesting mixture of habitats. Ponds, meadows, sandy barrens, bogs, woodlands, and swamps are all found within the preserve’s borders. The park is particularly noted for the amphibians and reptiles found in it. Among the crawly creatures you could glimpse here are northern black racer snakes, box turtles, Fowler’s toads, green frogs, spring peepers, red-backed salamanders, and fence lizards. More than 170 bird species have been spotted here, and 40 species–including ospreys and indigo buntings–are known to breed in the park. The mixed habitat also leads to a wide range of plant life. Trees found here range from the weedy gray birch to the stately white oak.
There are two interesting but short walking trails at Clay Pit Ponds. The walk described here combines them, but even so it is still no more than a very easy mile, making this a particularly good place to bring children. Numerous bridges and boardwalks take you over the wet areas, and most the walk is through one of the designated unique areas.
Start your walk on the Abraham’s Pond Trail. Look for the round blue plastic markers and the sign just to the right of the picnic area behind park headquarters. After passing through a garden area with a beehive and weather station, follow the trail as it goes into the brush. In a few minutes you’ll come to steps leading down to a bridge over a stream. Note the sandy soil and abundance of cat brier here. Also called green brier or smilax, cat brier is green-stemmed, woody vine with tendrils, sharp thorns, and large leaves. In the late fall and winter it bears clusters of blue-black berries. The dense, thorny tangles of cat brier provide year-round shelter for birds (ring necked pheasant in photo above by New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation) and mammals, and the berries are an important food for them.
As you cross the bridge, note the numerous ailanthus trees growing on both sides of the ravine. Look for thin branches with anywhere from ten to 40 alternate leaves; the leaves give off an unpleasant odor when crushed. The bark is gray-brown with narrow, light-colored grooves. This weedy, very hardy tree, also called tree of heaven, is an invasive species imported to the United States in the 1750s. The ailanthus is the most rapidly growing woody plant found in the northeast. It can grow 12 inches a year in even the poorest of soils, is immune to air pollution, and is almost impossible to eradicate.
Follow the trail past the bridge for a few minutes as it leads through more cat brier. Look here for sassafras saplings (Sassafras albidum) rising up through the thicket. This plant is easy to identify because its leaves have three different shapes. Some leaves are oval, others are mitten-shaped with a distinct thumb, and still others have three lobes. In the winter, you can spot a sassafras by the large buds at the ends of bright green twigs. Sassafras bears blue-black berries that are a valuable wildlife food.
The trail soon comes out into a large, open field covered with wildflowers. This area was once a pasture (for the mules used in the clay-mining operation?) and is now a meadow filled with wild flowers, blackberries, and thistles. This is a good place to look for white-throated sparrows. Follow the trail as it skirts the meadow over a small bridge and then takes you to a long boardwalk. Just past the boardwalk, the trail forks. Bear right and walk along a sandy trail to a large, open area. This is a little patch of pine barrens–dry and sandy, with stunted trees. The abundant undergrowth of cat brier and blueberries is an ideal habitat for the fence lizard. At one time fence lizards may have been native to the area, since they are also found in the pine barrens of New Jersey, but the ones found here today are probably descendants of those deliberately released on Staten Island in the 1940s to create a new population. The fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus) is about five to six inches long. It is a brownish color with spiny scales and dark, wavy crossbands; males have blue patches on their undersides. It gets its name from its habit of scampering along fence rails (or fallen logs) as it searches for insects. If you sit quietly in this part of the park on a sunny summer day, you may spot one.
From here, the path leads downhill past an enormous, gnarled old beech tree to Abraham’s Pond. As you walk, note how the sandy trail gives way to harder, rockier soil. You’ll see plants that look a bit like pine seedlings growing on the slope leading down to the pond. In fact, these are horsetail, the only living survivor of a long line of primitive plants. Gritty particles of silica are found in grooves on the outer surfaces of the plant, which makes this plant an excellent natural scrub brush. The path leads you to a wooden observation platform overlooking Abraham’s Pond. This pond and another large pond in the restricted section of the preserve are former clay pits. Starting in the early 1800s, these deposits of white kaolin clay were mined for use in brick-making, paints, and dyes. By the 1920s, however, demand for kaolin had dropped off and the clay pits were abandoned. Natural springs and rainfall soon filled the pits with water; vegetation and wildlife quickly followed. Today, nearly a hundred years later, the pond is edged with cattails and phragmites; the surface is covered with yellow water lilies in the summer. Red-winged blackbirds nest among the cattails and muskrats open paths through the reeds. In the summer, look for painted turtles basking on rocks and logs.
From the observation platform, the path leads on to a bridge over a slow-moving stream (it may be dry in the summer). Just after the bridge is a T intersection. Turn right and follow the yellow markers for the Ellis Swamp Trail. In a few minutes another bridge takes you over a natural spring lined with cinnamon ferns and mosses; note how the spring drains into a swampy area. As you walk on, a few more minutes brings you to a small, open, sandy area. Continue along the trail until you come to a set of steps leading off to the right. Follow them to a bridge that takes you over another swampy area full of ferns, red maple, and phragmites. As you continue to follow the path, bridges and boardwalks take you over the wet parts and protect the fragile mosses, ferns, and other vegetation from trampling. In about ten minutes, you will climb a small, wooded hill. The trail curves to the left and takes you back down the hill. From here, it rejoins the main path and you will retrace your steps nearly back to Abraham’s Pond. When you notice both yellow and blue trail markers on the trees, bear left ( a sign also points the way) to arrive back at the park headquarters in five more minutes. In the yard behind headquarters, look for a labeled wildflower garden on your right.
Hours, Fees, and Facilities
Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve is open every day from dawn to dusk, and the park headquarters is staffed every day from 9 to 5. A new Learning Center will be opening this summer.
There is no fee. Restrooms and water are available at park headquarters; a picnic area is behind the headquarters building. No dogs.
Getting There
Nature Calendar strongly encourages biking and mass transit.
NYC Bike Map – Find a route that’s convenient and fun for you!
There is a bike rack near the park entrance.
Mass transit:
S74 bus from Ferry Terminal to Sharrotts Rd., cross Arthur Kill Rd. to Sharrotts Rd., walk Sharrotts Rd. 1⁄4 mile and turn left onto Carlin St., follow Carlin St. to its end.
If you must drive, please share the experience by loading the vehicle with friends! Via the Verrazano Bridge, take Route 440 (the West Shore Expressway) south to exit 3 for Bloomingdale Road. Make a left onto Bloomingdale Road and then a right onto Sharrotts Road. Follow Sharrotts Road 0.4 miles At the sign for Clay Pit Ponds, make a right onto Carlin Street and follow it for 0.1 mile to the entrance gate at the end. If you are driving from New Jersey, take Route 440 north to exit 3 for Woodrow Road. Follow the service road and bear left under the overpass onto Sharrotts Road. Follow directions as above. The park gate is closed before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m., so park on Carlin Street if you arrive early or will be staying late.
For More Information:
Website:
http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=32
Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve
83 Nielsen Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10309
(718) 967-1976
April Events in Clay Pit Ponds (volunteer opportunities coming this summer):
The Buzz on Bees
Sat. April 5th 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Ages 8+
Animal of the Month Club: Fabulous Frogs
Sun. April 6th 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Ages 6 – 11
Native Tree ID Hike
Sat. April 12th 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ALL AGES
Nature Story Theater
Sat. April 12th 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Ages 3 – 6
Parent and Child Sensory Safari
Sun. April 13th 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Ages 3 – 6
Earth Day Activities and Clean Up
Sat. April 19th 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ALL AGES
Nature Calendar’s Earth Day favorites:
Wetland Walk-and Talk
Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Region: New York City
30 minute hikes offered at 10:30am; 11:30am and 12:30pm: Meet at park headquarters for a hike around Ellis Swamp. Learn about the importance of wetlands and how we can protect them.
Self-Guided Tree Walk
Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Region: New York City
10:30-1:30pm: Grab a map and booklet and set out on your Yellow Trail. See and read about the variety of trees at Clay Pit Ponds. You set the time and the length–you are the hike leader!
Birding for Absolute Beginners
Sun. April 20th 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Ages 6+
Celebrate National Turnoff Week Activities!
April 21st – April 27th 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ALL AGES
Sketching Nature
Sat. April 26th 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Ages 11+
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