Please bring binoculars.
Feathers will be flying over New York City this weekend. At that time, hundreds of thousands of birds will pass through the Big Apple on their way south for the winter as part of a predicted migration surge.
Birdwatchers are screaming in anticipation at the arrival of a larger-than-usual bird.
“I'm so excited. When someone says, 'Today's going to be a great day,' it really motivates me to go out,” said Amy Cook, 56, of Park Slope. told the Post.
Approximately 3,921,500 birds, including bald eagles, have already passed through the Big Apple this fall migration season, which began in August. According to BirdCast data.
Bird numbers have surged in recent weeks, with 83,000 birds arriving on Thursday night alone, but birding experts say the peak migration period is October, especially when temperatures drop. I explained that the time would come.
The perfect combination of cool weather and strong winds is likely to bring a large “pulse” of migratory birds on Saturday night.
“We're going to continue to have very favorable conditions, with cooler temperatures and tailwinds and winds blowing from the north and the west. And that's what, in the closest sense, is bringing this about,” he said, collecting birdcast data. said Andrew Farnsworth, a scientist at the Center for Bird Population Research at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Mr Farnsworth described the migration season as a “strange year”, with the five boroughs experiencing dire weather in late September as a by-product of Hurricane Helen.
Foggy and humid conditions typically push birds farther from the sky, creating a danger for birds attempting to continue their southward migration.
Between 90,000 and 230,000 migratory birds are killed each year by collisions with buildings. According to data from the NYC Bird Alliance.
Farnsworth said he doesn't expect the decline in migration to affect the season's overall numbers, which will be similar to past years, but he expects significant numbers to arrive next weekend, which will give bird lovers a chance. They are very excited.
Early Thursday morning, about 40 birdwatchers patrolled Prospect Park, hoping to catch a glimpse of migratory birds that stop in the Big Apple to refuel before continuing their journey south.
Board member Tom Stephenson, 74, said the three-weekly walks led by the Brooklyn Bird Club can last seven or eight hours during the fall migration season.
“The reason urban parks are so incredibly important is because birds have no other choice. At the end of the night, this is it. There's nowhere else,” the Princeton University ornithology lecturer told the Post. , noted that birds follow coastlines during migration.
“Most New Yorkers don't know anything. When you talk to civilians in the park, they're like, 'Oh, there are birds in the park, there are pigeons,' but no! The park can be home to 100 different species on any given day. ”
On Thursday's walk, crews spotted 67 species of birds, including bald eagles, red-tailed hawks and five species of woodpeckers.
Bird watching has become increasingly popular in recent years, with a notable boom occurring during the pandemic, Stevenson said.
Cook, who fell in love with the trend in 2021, told the Post that she found tranquility in birding and found a community that values nature. She recalled the euphoria the group experienced during a previous migration when they spotted the American purple gallinule, a southeastern waterfowl rarely seen in New York.
“You'd think Taylor Swift was here!” Cook said.
Mitch Fagan, 36, and his partner Chloe Merrifield, 31, had been thinking about taking up the hobby for a while but jumped at the chance to take part in bird walks during peak migration months. Ta.
“We decided to get out of here before winter. It's a great connection to this place,” said Fagan, who moved from Portland, Oregon.
Bird watching has already proven to be an exhilarating pastime for couples. The species they discovered were very different from what they were used to seeing on the West Coast.
“This is a big draw for us,” Merrifield added.
