By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BRYANT PARK — Migrating birds that normally prefer to nest in forests and mangroves are making rest stops in Bryant Park.
A Lincoln sparrow more commonly found in wetlands, rare Canadian warblers with yellow chests, and a Savannah sparrow named after the city in Georgia have all been recently spotted in the Midtown park surrounded by skyscrapers.
Vitalia Shklovsky, who coordinates birding tours for the park, said more than two dozen species have been spotted in the past month alone.
“Birds fly so high,” said Shklovsky. “Even though [Bryant Park] seems small, it’s big enough and good enough for them to fly down and take a rest.”
Gabriel Willow of local birding group NYC Audubon, which runs tours out of Bryant Park in the spring, has been a tour guide for more than 10 years. He has seen a half-dozen ovenbirds, usually found in forests, a peregrine falcon and a large, exotic-looking yellow-breasted chat, all in Bryant Park.
“I saw a Lincoln sparrow hopping around a little hose a few weeks ago,” said Willow. “I thought, wow, that’s a bird that you don’t usually see much, let alone in Midtown Manhattan. To see it was quite an opportunity.”
Scheduled birding tours at the park finished up in May, but they are expected to return in upcoming months. NYC Audubon also runs birding trips and classes throughout the city.
“The fact you can see this diversity of bird life in the area, which is one city block by one city block, is amazing,” Willow said. “It beats landing on the sidewalk or Times Square.”
