Birds in NY

by Sebastien Gournay

I chose this project because i wanted to see how migration patterns effect how many times I see a type of bird. I also wanted to show people how birds

vesper sparrow

This could be a male or female Vesper Sparrow. They migrate to New York in early March to pair and breed. The males arrive first and the females arrive a week later. The female builds the nest alone on the ground using grass, twigs, feathers and hair.

The female and male produce two sets of 3-5 eggs in a season. After laying eggs, the female sits on the eggs to incubate them for 13-15 days. After hatching both female and male raise the young. When the female needs to lay the other set of eggs, the male takes over the feeding of the first hatchlings.

Before European settlement, Vesper Sparrow was not native to the Northeast. In New York, the Vesper Sparrow is listed as Special Concern, mainly the population is declining because it is a grasslands bird that require open spaces.

Most people look at small birds and say “Oh its so cute it’s a baby bird “. When it could be a middle aged bird I find it annoying that people judge birds by what they look like and what their size is.

I did not see many vesper sparrows at the park I only saw them once and there were at the most 5 of them. I hope that the population will increase because these are very beautiful birds .

Source: NYC Dept of Environmental Conservation.

 American Robin

 “I’ll take Manhattan!”… and they have.

Not a declining population at all, the American Robin is thriving in many cities, not to mention New York. I saw a lot of these birds but this was my best photo of the chubbiest American Robin ever.

American Robins used to migrate but not any more!! They are here to stay. Real estate costs nothing for these guys, but prices may rise in the future. All jokes aside, they are very adaptable and are happy to make their homes in any rooftop, terrace or small garden.

While I was in prospect park I saw a lot of these birds. I mean i saw enough to cover a 20 story apartment. These birds are true New Yorkers.

Red Cardinal

The Northern cardinal is a brightly colored song bird. A cardinal can be seen at any time of year, in any of the five boroughs.
But they are seen mostly on February mornings.

Unlike most songbirds, cardinals do not migrate. And they do not change color. Most males are flame red with a black face and an orange beak.

Cardinals tend to sit low in shrubs or on trees with loads of branches.

This is a very beautiful bird but you tend to see them deep in the park. I saw 2 of these, the second one I did not manage to take a picture of. When you see them it takes a moment to take it in first you see red then black. Then you have a staring contest. Wait no I’m serious it stares at you with black beady eyes. There is something special about the cardinal, it feels like you were the first person to find this breed even though they’re quite common.