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November 05, 2005
Birdwatching in Central Park
I've always liked birds but my desire to learn about them was increased following two recent attempts to rescue baby birds (neither of which, unfortunately, were successful). After the second bird, I was happy to find out that the NYC Audubon Society offers birdwatching classes but I decided to hold off on enrolling until next spring since I wanted to focus on my thesis this semester. Since I've been on a nature kick though, I decided to go to a birdwatching walk in Central Park this morning. Dragging myself out of bed at 7 on a Saturday morning wasn't easy, but I'm glad I went.
The walk was lead by an Audubon Society birder who was excellent. I'm sure she's had many years of experience, but I was really impressed by how easily she identified birds by their sounds and she was able to spot less commonly found (and, frequently, small and camouflaged) birds amidst the nooks and crannies of the park. I was really happy to see all these birds I had never seen before up close and personal with my binoculars (most birds fly away if you get within twenty to thirty feet away from them). Unfortunately, we didn't see a ton of birds since it's towards the end of the migration season but it was still an enjoyable experience nonetheless. And, I was able to get some beautiful shots of Central Park:
Like I indicated, none of the birds let us get close enough for me to take a decent photo, except for this one bird that I encountered on my own while I was trying to find my way out of the park. I think it was one of my favorites.
Posted by Jennifer at November 5, 2005 05:55 PM