Paul F. Connor (1971, "The Mammals of Long Island, New York," Bulletin 416 NYS Museum and Science Service) describes the Muskrat's historical ubiquity throughout Long Island's salt and brackish marshes and all manner of freshwater wetlands. He specifically mentions that, as of his writing, they were "still present in Brooklyn (Jamaica Bay) and Queens, and on Staten Island; eastward they extend to Montauk Point, Orient Point, Shelter Island, and Gardiners Island."
He also mentions reductions in their populations owing to the destruction of marshes, and cites an earlier source who noted that during the winter of 1919, "over a thousand dollars worth of the furs were harvested from the salt marshes and creeks (Flushing Meadows area in Queens) that later became the site of the 1939 World's Fair." They are still very numerous on Staten Island today, as proven by the seemingly very large numbers of road-killed animals I see there. Shai Mitra Bay Shore ________________________________ Think green before you print this email. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
