Text by Bonnie Eissner
Photographs by Beth Bergman
Beginning this month, Upper West Siders will have easy access to some of the best birding in the world.
Mid-April through mid-May marks the peak spring songbird migration in New York City, when flocks of birds traverse the night skies from their wintering grounds in the South to their breeding places to the North. The city lies along the Atlantic flyway, a superhighway for winged migrants that stretches from Florida to Greenland. And the city’s large parks, such as Central Park and Riverside Park, beckon weary travelers, who drop down from their long flights to rest and eat.
Central Park alone attracts about 200 species a year, including dozens of varieties of warblers — dainty, colorful songbirds, considered the butterflies of the bird world — who stop by in the largest numbers in the spring.
These and other brightly plumed songbirds delight the eyes and ears, and for those curious about birding in this prime season, experienced birders offer tips.
Find Your Flock
Spotting birds, especially amid dense spring leaves, takes practice, says Carine Mitchell, who leads bird walks for the Wild Bird Fund. “I always recommend to start with a group,” she adds.
Others say that socializing enhances the joy of birding. “I’ve met most of my close friends because of birding,” says Marcus Caceras, who co-leads free walks for the Riverside Park Conservancy Birding Club.
Bird walks and groups abound in and around the Upper West Side. New York City Audubon offers scores of outings and classes, several of them for free. The Linnaean Society of New York leads bird walks in Central Park, including free Tuesday morning walks, and offers classes and other outings. NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers run free wildlife viewing events across the city. Robert DeCandido, Ph.D., a.k.a. “Birding Bob” leads popular walks in Central Park. His use of recorded bird calls to lure birds, though, ruffles many birders’ feathers.
Binoculars? Try Before You Buy
“You don’t need binoculars to go birding,” says Tod Winston, a birding guide and urban biodiversity specialist at New York City Audubon, who held an intro to birding webinar in early March. “If you go, particularly by yourself, or just spend time in nature, in any park in the city, you’ll find that birds are there, and if you let the birds come to you, they do,” he says. And on many introductory birding walks, including the ones NYC Audubon leads, participants can borrow binoculars.
For those who decide to buy binoculars, Audubon offers guidance as does the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Winston advises that people consider binoculars a long-term investment. A good pair will likely cost a few hundred dollars. DeCandido says that for those looking to save money, Celestron Outland X binoculars, which retail for under $100 can do the trick.
Look and Listen
Identifying bird species is part of the fun. A bird’s overall shape; the size, shape, and color of its bill; and its markings or patterns are telltale clues.
It helps too to observe a bird’s behavior and where it’s seen. Is it pecking a tree? Foraging on the ground for worms?
Birds also make distinct sounds. Winston likens bird calls and songs to the vocabulary of a new language, which can be learned pretty quickly. “I cannot overstate how helpful and fun it is to get to know the sounds birds make,” he says. “I am almost a lazy birder because I focus so much on bird sounds.”
References: Books vs. Apps
Field guides and phone apps are helpful references for identifying birds, especially when birding alone or without a personal guide. Winston likes the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of North America, which he finds is small enough to carry in the field and is accurate and detailed. Mitchell advises starting with the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, now in its seventh edition, considered the “Bible of Birding,” because of its superior illustrations of the different types of warblers.
Both guides use illustrations, rather than photos, which both experts say portray a bird’s colors and characteristics more reliably than photographs, which may be affected by shadows.
DeCandido favors a phone app in the field and uses the Sibley Birds app. Merlin Bird ID, a free app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is popular for identifying birds by sight or sound.
eBird, an online database of bird sightings, is a great way to track and record birds, says Winston. This chart shows the birds spotted in Central Park from 2020 to 2023.
The Early or Late Birder Sees the Bird
Songbirds tend to be most active — moving around and singing — in the morning from dawn until 11 a.m. in the spring and early summer. They rest in shady spots in the middle of the day and become active again in the late afternoon and early evening.
A Lifelong Activity for Anyone
Both Winston and Caceras began birding as kids. Caceras, who grew up in the Bronx, got hooked on birding as a teen. Winston’s father introduced him to birding when he was a child in southeastern Pennsylvania.
“I’ve had the chance to get to know birds,” Winston says. “I’m not really a religious person, but they’re like these spirits that have accompanied me my whole life and keep me company everywhere I go. Birding can be so many things, and we all approach it differently. That’s what’s so wonderful about it.”
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“Birding Bob” provides an example of how not to bird. Playing bird calls and songs is a way to disrupt the birds’ processes of establishing territory, mating, and breeding. He has probably driven more birds out of the park than anything else (not to mention driven birders out of whatever area he’s in).
I love Birding Bob’s walks and recommend them to beginners and veterans.
He acknowledges the criticism of his methods but insists they are not supported by any peer-reviewed science.
Do you have any evidence that playing recorded calls, “disrupts the birds’ processes of establishing territory, mating, and breeding?”
Beautiful song birds from Heaven🌷
This is the time I look forward to Central Park April/May. Bringing it on!
The Merlin and eBird apps through Cornell are phenomenal. Highly recommended.