Central Park: The Birds of the Concrete Jungle

Few visitors in Times Square (surrounded by all that neon and noise) would think that, just 20-30 blocks north, is a spot that bills itself as one of the top bird-watching spots in North America. Central Park is best known to many tourists as a spot to recreate their favorite movie scenes, take a scenic horse carriage ride, or have a nice stroll to the Met. But eagle-eyed (pardon the pun) locals know that, on any given day, dozens of species of birds can be spotted inside its 843 acres.

We offer a regular Central Park walking tour, but we were contacted this Autumn about a custom birder tour of the park. Binoculars and cameras in hand, I led my group into the park’s best-hidden paths for our exploration. Over the course of just 2 hours, we spotted the following: the now-infamous Mandarin duck, wood duck, mallards, Northern Saw-Whet owl, Barred owl, great horned owl, red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawk, robin, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, finches, sparrows, finches, a heron, kestrel, starlings, and more. A beautiful afternoon and so many wonderful birds.

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