Early on Saturday, July 12th, a group of more than 40 birders, nature-lovers and locals gathered at the Salt Marsh Nature Center, at Avenue U and East 33rd Street, for a special Waterbird Walk in honor of City of Water Day.
City of Water Day is a celebration of the many ways we interact with and rely on water. The day, recognized in New York City and surrounding regions, usually offers a whole slate of water-related events for individuals and families, such as kayaking, educational events and more.
The bird-watching walk, which was hosted by the Marine Park Alliance, took participants through the trails of the nature preserve to spot the variety of native and migrating species around the marsh and coastal forests.
“Marine Park is the largest city-owned park in Brooklyn at 800 acres, and most of that park is the Forever Wild natural preserve,” MPA Executive Director Scott Middleton said. “It’s a beautiful place to find some peace and relaxation in nature.”
The walk was led by Ryan Mandelbaum, a nature educator from the NYC Bird Alliance and author of the “Wild NYC” nature guide.
Mandelbaum gave a general introduction to what kinds of birds, bugs and plants can be found in the salt marsh, pointing species out along the way. Attendees borrowed binoculars from the MPA or peeked through the guide’s telescope to check out birds from a distance.
Participants got the opportunity to spot several species on the walk, including common yellow-throat warblers, barn swallows, American robins, egrets, mourning doves and seven ospreys.
“New York City is a spectacular place to look at birds,” Mandelbaum said. “Not just randomly, but in fact we sit along a major migratory flyway, so it’s concentrated in a lot of bird species.”
