My first bird watching experience was during a trip with my friends to Kokkarebelur (“village of storks”) in South India. We had heard about large flocks of painted storks and spot–billed pelicans returning year after year to this village in early January. We decided to go and see the huge flock of birds. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the whole village was filled with overwhelming sadness. The birds had not yet come! One dweller commented “we do not even worry whether we get enough rainfall for our crops, but if the storks failed to come, then something is really wrong. We feel depressed.” We could not decipher as to why the villagers were filled with such overwhelming emotion until we visited the site when the storks finally arrived. The storks and pelicans lived comfortably with the village dwellers. They walked around freely in and out of their homes, gardens, trees, and shrubs, as though the whole area belonged to them. We were touched by the whole experience, and that inspired us to watch birds ever since.

Cartoon by Rossana Henriques

When I came to NYC, I thought I would be abandoning my hobby for the next few years. A visit to the Natural History Museum changed my perspective of birding in NYC. I was attending a gallery talk and I learnt that they have regular bird walks in Central Park. How absurd is that! A city of skyscrapers attracted by birds? It appears that the big green patches in the heart of the city, and the surrounding areas, attract a lot of birds since these areas lie along their migrating path, and next to a huge water body. The entire East Coast is a haven for bird watching. In the NYC area, birds are found in Central Park, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the wonderful Jamaica Bay Wild Life Refuge on Long island, and the list goes on. During my first bird walk in Central Park, organized by the Natural History Museum, I was amazed at the number and kinds of birds we encountered. We met a large number of early birders, a group from the New York City Audubon (NYC Audubon), and a group led by one of the master birders in the city, Star Sapphire. Since then, I became a member of NYC Audubon.

My best experience for learning to identify new bird species is to go birding in spring time. We went once a week, and the number of birds coming into the park grew exponentially during each visit. We spotted new birds as soon as they came, and it was the best way to learn. The NYC Audubon has many programs and bird events throughout the year. I volunteered for two summers for the Harbor Herons project to count the number and kinds of wading birds and to understand their foraging habits. The man-made islands, which were formerly utilized to segregate people afflicted with disease in the early 20th century now serve as habitats for wading birds. (I thank all researchers who helped in the understanding of infectious diseases thereby ending the lamentable practice of isolation for disease-afflicted people). We would go to these islands (Goose Island, North and South Brother Islands which is south of the Bronx, Canarsie Pool, and Hoffman Island situated across from South Beach in Staten Island) via public transport on weekends. Along with a coordinator from the NYC Audubon, we would set up our spotting scopes and binoculars to start monitoring the birds. By observing their flight direction we were able to evaluate their source of food and what attracts them to these areas. Volunteering is so valuable for me since I meet native New Yorkers, whose voices narrate the history of this city, and it helps me orient myself in the area.

Last summer, I had an exciting experience volunteering for the Bird Breeding Census (BBC) in Central Park. The whole park was divided into fifteen parts, and each part was surveyed by two volunteers. We were all given a “patch” to monitor, and to my excitement, I was assigned a part of the Ramble including the Oven, the Point, the area around the Boathouse along Bethesda Terrace until Cherry Hill. In addition, my partner was Ben Cacace who had been birding in the city for years. As an expert, he has focused on red-tailed hawks for five long years. We all know how excited we have been about Pale Male and Lola in recent years. The only criteria for participating in the BBC were to wake up at 5 a.m. and to monitor bird activity close to their nests. We had to monitor breeding activity which was defined by characteristics such as birds carrying nesting or food material, adults with fledgling, males singing endlessly to find a partner, chasing, fighting or showing affection to each other, birds making calls to message the fledglings of danger, etc.

We had so many wonderful moments during the census. We saw a robin carrying a square piece of a thin plastic sheet which was four times bigger than itself. We shouted at the robin, “we are going green!” A few days in a row, we found a catbird singing continuously. The following week, we managed to find a nest in that area. Sometime later, a few babies appeared. I was amazed at the beauty of the cedar waxwings when I saw five of them happily having a bath in the Oven. What a creation! If you have not seen them before, please check them out. They have a beautiful yellow bordering on the tip of their tails, and a creative design of red and white dots decorated like beads on their brown back. One morning we heard all the birds making a call, a shout of alarm, and we encountered a hawk trying to feed on the eggs and the fledglings of smaller birds. This time all the small birds became a team, and one by one, they tried to chase the hawk. The hawk was very strong, and plundered the nests to satiate its hunger.

The NYC Audubon has detailed reports from each one of our visits, and based on the bird species and the activities we documented in the specific areas, they have put together a database on the survey. Hence they have a history of the birds breeding in the park through the years. I was happy to get to know the park in utmost detail since we walked through every trail in the park, and documented breeding activities by marking the spot where we found the nests of birds, and where they were making a call, and where they were singing.

This is the ideal time to start birding or learning about the birds in this area. Get yourself a good pair of binoculars if you want to watch birds. Find out why mocking birds can mock the ambulance siren. Find out how the non-native birds, like starlings and sparrows, survive in this area!

Go birding with NYC Audubon or with the other birders in the city (Natural History Museum, Linnaean Society). There are many independent, obsessed, passionate birders who are birding all through the year. You can sign up for bird alerts, join ebirds ( ), or call the bird hotline for updates 212 691 2003. Get acquainted with birds of NYC.