By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CENTRAL PARK — The green heart of Manhattan is starting to wake up from its winter slumber.
Flowers and trees are beginning to bud in Central Park, birds are preparing their nests and the turtles have come out of hibernation.
"Everybody is starting to get active now," said Regina Alvarez, the director of horticulture for the Central Park Conservancy. "Most people don't know how much is going on in the park."
Her job involves taking a daily golf cart ride through Central Park to check on the plants and animals. DNAinfo went along for the ride one recent afternoon.
As the golf cart chugged along through the Ramble — where many types of birds such as sparrows and cardinals could be seen — a red bellied woodpecker could be heard thumping its beak against a tree. Alvarez pointed to blue jays bathing in a puddle.
The red-tailed hawks, she said, would be searching for a mate and a place to nest, if they didn't already have one.
"When they find a mate they will start fiddling around with their nest and hopefully lay some eggs," Alvarez said.
After the Ramble, it was over to the Lake where one of the first signs of spring is when the red eared slides come to the surface.
"They only just came up," said Alvarez, as the golf cart crept past the sunbathing turtles. During the winter months the turtles hibernate at the bottom of the lake taking whatever oxygen they need from the water, Alvarez explained.
As the golf cart continued its journey, pockets of flowers were scattered everywhere giving park goers an early and colorful welcome to spring. Alvarez pointed out subtle witch hazel blooms as well as plenty of snowdrops, daffodils and hellebores.
Seeing the renewal of nature up close might lead one to conclude that Alvarez had the best job in the city. But she demurred.
"Nobody envies us in winter," she said.
