NCA Bird Walk

by Ross Diamond, NCA Intern

What do concrete factory conveyor belts, barbed wire fences and cemetery obelisks all have in common?  They serve as excellent perches for birds.  This morning four intrigued members and affiliates of the NCA prepared for Brooklyn’s industrial wild west by gearing to the teeth with binoculars, telephoto lenses and notebooks (no multi-pocketed vests or safari hats present, yet).  The goal was to observe and record nature’s avian persistence in the shadow of water pollution, noise, feral cats, and crippled habitat.

The mission was a success, with 11 different species recorded cumulatively at five locations along the creek.  Black-crowned night herons perched on floatable booms, a gray catbird calling from a tree of heaven, and barn swallows darting out from under bridges and sewer outfalls were some of the morning’s highlights.

 

Urban birders, join us on our next birding trip (exact date TBD) for a more refined version of our Newtown Creek bird tour and witness nature-human interactions like you’ve never seen before.