Part of Gateway National Recreation Area, which stretches across the harbor to New Jersey, Jamaica Bay is a bucolic patch of wetlands sandwiched incongruously between JFK airport and the Rockaways. The park is a major draw for bird-watchers with sightings of over 330 species. Ospreys and other water birds nest here; you can spot them on a loop trail from the visitor center.
You can borrow binoculars from the visitor center (bring an ID).
