Ironsides Island is an uninhabited rocky island in the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

, and part of the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

region near

Alexandria Bay, New York Alexandria Bay is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, within the town of Alexandria. It is located in the Thousand Islands region of northern New York. The population of the village was 1,078 at the 2010 United States censu ...

. It is in both Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties. Most of the island lies in the town of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, in Jefferson County, while its northeasternmost corner lies in the town of Hammond, in St. Lawrence County. The island is located near

Kring Point State Park Kring Point State Park is a state park located on the St. Lawrence River in the Town of Alexandria in Jefferson County, New York. The park is north of Alexandria Bay near the St. Lawrence County line and is connected to NY 12 by Kring Poin ...

. The island has cliffs along its waterfront, and its vegetation is dominated by white pine trees. It was donated by former ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' ad executive William Browning to

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

in the late 1960s to ensure protection of the island's

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbea ...

rookery A rookery is a colony of breeding rooks, and more broadly a colony of several types of breeding animals, generally gregarious birds. Coming from the nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-fo ...

. Over a thousand herons return to breed every April. It was declared a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

in 1967. Prior permission from The Nature Conservancy is required to land on the island, but it can easily be viewed from the water.

References

External links

The Nature Conservancy: Central & Western New York Chapter
{{authority control National Natural Landmarks in New York (state) Islands of the Thousand Islands in New York (state) Nature Conservancy preserves in New York (state) Protected areas of St. Lawrence County, New York Protected areas of Jefferson County, New York Nature reserves in New York (state) Islands of Jefferson County, New York Islands of St. Lawrence County, New York Uninhabited islands of New York (state)

See also

References

External links