Spring is a great time to spot birds as migrants pass by
and residents raise nests of chicks. BIRDING AT THE BRIDGE:
In Search of Every Bird on the Brooklyn Waterfront took
Heather Wolf on a journey of discovery around the Brooklyn
Bridge Park, a new open space and bird habitat. I'm pleased
that the foreword is by David Lindo as I've previously read
his book 'The Urban Birder' in which he describes finding
150 species in a waste patch in London. If anyone knows
about bird habitat in a major city, he does.
Built structures are the first thing most of us associate
with New York, and indeed this is what we see in Heather's
stunning colourful photos. But isn't that a bird? Heather
worked as a software developer in Manhattan without
becoming a birdwatcher, took note of nesting birds in
Florida, then moved back to Brooklyn in 2012 with a
fledgling life list and newfound enthusiasm. Central Park
and Prospect Park were better known bird habitats but an
inrush of bright migrant birds that spring convinced
Heather that her own neighbourhood was a great spot. Amid
the mergansers and gulls she now had warblers, orioles,
thrushes and wrens, right below the Brooklyn Queens
Expressway.
EBird is an online aid that allows Heather to enter bird
sightings into her organised lists and share the data with
other bird watchers and scientists. This is called citizen
science as ecologists make use of the data to track bird
movements and survival. She also started a Meetup group and
a blog to share her discoveries on walks. Because the only
thing more fun than spotting ruby-crowned kinglets, grey
catbirds and yellow warblers is helping someone else see
them too. In September 2014 she spotted a yellow-billed
cuckoo, her ninety-fifth species in the park. Could she
reach a hundred different species in this one patch of
land?
With every visit Heather learns different things and sees
usual birds behaving in unusual ways. She stresses learning
to tell birds apart by their song, as some have a similar
appearance or are too shy to be properly seen. A wide range
of species betokens a healthy environment. Her photos of
beautiful birds spotted in the course of a year - many
different to the birds I would see in Ireland, like the
cardinal - are full of life and movement. And in the
background you will spot an out-of-focus Lady Liberty. We
also learn about new building codes to be more bird-
friendly. The Baltimore oriole on a paulownia stem would
make a stunning poster. BIRDING AT THE BRIDGE will please
everyone interested in nature or NYC and would be a
splendid gift.
The
Brooklyn Bridge once overshadowed a decaying industrial
waterfront, but today it points the way to a new green
oasis: Brooklyn Bridge Park. When avid birder Heather Wolf
moved from tropical Florida to a nearby apartment, she
wondered how many species she might see there, and soon came
to a surprising realization: Not only is the park filled
with an astonishing variety of birds, but the challenges
that come with urban birding make them even more fun—and
rewarding—to find.
Camera in hand, Heather
has captured scores of memorable scenes—a European starling
pokes its head out of a hole in a snack shop, a marsh wren
straddles two branches, common grackle nestlings clamor for
food above the basketball courts—in more than 150 stunning
photographs that will entrance birders and bird lovers,
wherever their local patch may be. From the
familiar-but-striking bufflehead duck to the elusive
mourning warbler, every species comes to life on the page,
foraging, nesting, and soaring in the slice of the city
where they’ve made themselves at home. Discover the
thrilling adventure of birding in the great outdoors—in the
heart of Brooklyn.
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