Pi-geons are beautiful. Learn more about this urban denizen from the books and essays below. A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching by Rosemary Mosco The Global Pigeon by Colin Jerolmack Pigeon series by Mo Willems “The Pigeon Stalker” about Dr. Elizabeth Carlen by Corey Kilgannon (NY Times paywall) “The Origins of Our Misguided Hared for Pigeons” by Matt Soniak(Audubon)…
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We’ve been spending lots of time looking in physical and digital archives and collections for different projects. Even when we aren’t focused on WSP, the park is never far from our minds. Here are four historic photos that capture the seasons of the park. A snowy day in the park. Too bad we are in…
Did you get the idiom in the title? Speaking of leaves, when you visit the park at this time of year, the leaves you’ll see are evergreen–broadleaf (ex: hollies) and needle-leaf (ex: Eastern White Pine). Look at the Mulch Fest pile! It has grown. If you participate, remove decorations, plastic, any and everything that’s fake.…
Washington Square Park was a Christmas Bird Count site on December 18, 2022. The morning’s checklist can be viewed here. If you celebrate with a live tree, please drop off your tree at the end of the season. NYC Parks and NYC Sanitation will mulch your tree! Trees have been planted in the sidewalks around the…
The Tree Wonder Initiative based in Washington Square Park is a gathering to be in awe of and draw the English Elm in the northwest corner of the park, the oldest tree in Manhattan. Join us every Sunday at 11am to 12noon. The initiative is a collaboration with Kristin Jones and BEHOLD: Trees, A Visual…
Local Nature Lab, our parent org, commissioned Data Vandals to design and build QUERCUS. The data-rich bio-artwork was piloted in Washington Square Park on July 30, 2022. A big shout out to the backers of the Kickstarter campaign and to all the park-goers who took a look, asked questions, and shared stories. Enjoy this video…
The Washington Square Park eco map is back! Our thanks to Dakota London, an NYU student, who worked with us this summer. The map includes most of the park’s trees as well as adjacent sidewalk trees. The map also includes the route of Minetta Brook, data courtesy of Steve Duncan, PhD. View the map. A…
TreeWonderWSP is back for the rest of June! Come join us to observe and draw (or write) the oldest tree in Manhattan. Yes, the English Elm in the northwest corner of the park is the island’s oldest tree. There are a couple of places to find hawthorns in the park. There are several trees growing…
Join us at Naval Cemetery Landscape on May 15, 2022 for bird crafting, listening, and watching! Register for this free event at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/family-friendly-bird-program-at-the-naval-cemetery-landscape-tickets-320117820017.
The deciduous trees in the park have leafed out, and the warblers and other migratory birds are here! The lede photo looks into the park from the northwest corner which is again barricaded. Full disclosure: our survey permit allows us to enter this area of the park on a biweekly basis to count birds. Let’s…
We hosted two programs in April to spotlight the biodiversity of New York City with a focus on birds. On April 21, we unveiled a new art activity: What’s Your Wingspan?, at the Earth Day celebration in Union Square. We traced children’s outstretched arms, measured the span, and the children illustrated an imaginary or real…
Yoshino Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) trees, above, are no longer in bloom. The trees are leafing out. Crabapple (Malus) flowers are open now. Two locations to view the flowers en masse are the grouping across from the Holley Monument and the grove to the west of the Arch. The park is also home to Kwanzan…
Last week the showy-flowering magnolias and ornamental cherries began to reveal their petals. The photo above is of a Star Magnolia flower emerged from a terminal bud. Leaves are also housed in the terminal buds of this species. This flower is not open phenologically speaking–the petals are still obscuring the reproductive organs. Outside of their…
We are proud to be a Christmas Bird Count site again this year. Join us for a collabirdtive excursion on Sunday, December 19, 3pm ET. Christmas Bird Count Covid-19 Guidance Please do not attend this program if you meet any of the below conditions on the day that it is held, as per CDC guidelines.…
Last week, we released Part Two of a mini-series about parents who bird on the Your Bird Story podcast. You will hear stories from Jen Kepler (Brooklyn, NYC) and Bryony Angell (Washington state). Bryony describes the episode: “We talk about making the most of the immediate surroundings to bird, opportunistic birding and insistence to the…
Leave the leaves is a rallying cry and campaign to land managers to let nature’s mulch, fallen leaves, do the work of insulating the soil, providing habitat for ground dwelling and feeding animals, and returning nutrients to the soil. In Washington Square Park, leaves that fall on lawns are collected, mechanically clipped, and reallocated throughout…
Our lead photo is of the two tuliptrees in the park. The picture was taken on November 15, 2021 and shows the trees slightly post-peak foliage. Although there are still green leaves, some of the colored leaves are dried but persisting on the trees. We are monitoring the tree on the right year-round as part…
As always, we’ve got “feather and foliage” news. On October 16th, we hosted a Birdtober 2021 count. The group observed 21 species including yellow-bellied sapsucker, flicker, ruby-crowned kinglet, various thrushes and sparrows, towhee, and palm warbler. Thank you to the folks who participated in this collabirdtive event. The park is still full of birds. We…
Join Loyan Beausoleil at the 6th Street and Avenue B Community Garden on September 16, 6:30-7:30pm EDT for the 3rd Annual Swift Night Out bird count.
At the 11th Enhancing Fieldwork Learning Showcase, Georgia spoke about Explore Birds, an environmental education program, as a pathway for children to learn basic field methods. Field work is perceived as happening in the realm of adults but children can conduct field work. Environmental education programs area perfect vehicle to introduce observation skills and various…
Washington Square Park Nature News July 2021 edition: Public parks are our local nature Red-tailed hawk breeding season This year’s red-tailed hawk breeding season in Washington Square Park was unsuccessful. The female did lay three eggs and sat on them well beyond the typically incubation period. She eventually abandoned the nest. The pair is a…
You read it here first! We are drafting a Tree Management Plan for Washington Square Park. We are also designing a fundraising campaign for tree planting in the park.
Explore birds with us at the Naval Cemetery Landscape on May 2nd, 10:30am EDT. The NCL is located on the Brooklyn Greenway. Activities include a kid-friendly bird walk and bird craft, with an opportunity to check out some bird specimens. BYOB- bring your own binoculars! RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/family-friendly-bird-program-at-the-ncl-tickets-151729736727.
Trees It is blossom time! The Yoshino cherry and magnolias are putting on a stunning show right now. The cornelian cherry, a dogwood, has already flowered, but look out for the flowering dogwood. The maples and elms flowered and are now putting out leaves (red maple) or fruit (silver maple and elms). The next cherry…
March for Science will hold a virtual celebration to honor Earth Day this year. Come visit us in Booth #83! Stop by for guided drawing, Bird ID by ear, specimen study, share your bird story, and more. RSVP here.
Join Washington Square Park Eco Projects on Saturday, May 8, 7:30-8:30pm ET, and learn how to find the Chimney Swifts that live near you! We will explore photos and videos, learn about Chimney Swift behavior, discuss conservation and have a Chimney Swift craft project. Chimney Swifts are a lesser known urban bird which are listed…
We will be birdwatching in Inwood Hill Park on March 6, 2021. The walk starts at 11am from Shoraakkopoch Rock (soccer field). Join us!
Your Bird Story is among several woman-led podcasts featured in March/April 2021 issue of Bird Watcher’s Digest. Thank you to birder-writer Bryony Angell for sharing our story! The article is behind a paywall but here’s the link.
In the rush of joy about the election of Warnock and Ossoff in Georgia, followed by the infuriating and terrifying insurrection on the Capitol, and then the glow of excellence at the Inauguration of Biden and Harris, we failed to publish a January newsletter! The iconic Englism elm in the northwest corner of the park…
The birdy stuff Explore Birds From Home is back! We are offering TWO STEAMy classes this month. Join us on Dec 9th and Dec 16th, both days at 3:30 pm ET. Free and fun and great for 5-10 year olds. Register here. The FOURTH episode of Your Bird Story will be released on Thursday, Dec10th.…
Thank you for being a voter during the recent General Election. We are excited about the next steps in the movements for racial equity and environmental justice. We wrapped up Explore Birds From Home last month. We had lots of STEAMy fun! Check out some of the objects created by the youth participants. Many of…
Explore Birds From Home concluded on October 30, 2020. Here is a gallery of some of the birdy objects created by the youth participants. Binoculars (red-tailed hawk) Pecking machine (red-bellied woodpecker, yellow-bellied sapsucker) Projectile machine / catapult (Cooper’s hawk) Hidden bird / camouflage (brown creeper
This initiative is led by a Black woman and its bird program is run by a white woman accomplice. Black Lives Matter to us, still! We encourage you to complete the 2020 Census and to vote. Vote early and in-person, if you can do so safely. There are three sessions remaining in Explore Birds From…
Participating in Explore Birds From Home 2020, kids 5-10 years old will learn about birds, their super powers, and create bird-inspired objects using common household items. We kicked off the program on August 25th. We went on a treasure hunt for red objects and shared stories about them, compared a red-tailed hawk eye to the…
Kids 5-10 years old, join Eco Projects + KoKo NYC for free bird natural history and maker classes! We will learn about birds, their super powers, and create bird-inspired objects using common household items. There is a new theme each class. The first theme is BINOCULARS and class will be held on Tuesday, August 25th,…
Although the Black Lives Matter uprisings have moved on from the park, the demands for racial and economic justice are ongoing in NYC, nationally, and globally. This month we are launching Explore Birds From Home, free bird natural history and maker classes, in collaboration with the teaching artists at KoKo NYC. This program is funded…
We don’t have an official statement about the protest marks on the monuments in the park, but we have to speak out against the defacement of trees in the park. Trees are living beings, not objects, with inherent rights to exist and thrive. Please do not “tag” the trees in Washington Square Park or elsewhere.…
I am writing this newsletter with a very heavy heart. The racial animus that has led to the deaths of and threats to too many Black lives is frightening, appalling, and maddening. Action is necessary right now. You can call or write to your elected officials to demand substantive and sustainable reforms. You can march with racial…
The Covid-19 situation in New York and elsewhere remains grim. We hope you and all your loved ones are well and safe. Our in-person public programs are still on hold, but we have resumed our bird survey and plant phenology monitoring programs with appropriate physical distancing protocols. For official park status updates, please visit the…
We hope this newsletter finds you and yours healthy and safe. Our wildlife and plant phenology surveys, the EXPLORE BIRDS education program, and related community science experiences are on hold. We miss spending time in the park. We will miss observing the changes in the trees and shrubs, the arrival of migratory birds, and the…
The seed for Washington Square Park Eco Projects took root in 2013. We launched as WSP Ecology in 2014 with the park’s first online tree map, WSP Eco Map. The map also featured layer of Minetta Brook’s historic and contemporary flows. In 2016, we received our first permit to conduct a long-term wildlife survey from…
Please save the date for the 2020 Great Backyard Bird Count in the park. We will be walking the transect and counting winter birds on the morning of Saturday, February 15th. Email us for start time and meeting location. By the way, a Carolina wren (pictured above) was last seen in the park on October 5, 2019.
On an unseasonably warm Saturday last December, five observers counted birds in Washington Square Park for the 2019 Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The CBC is a project of the Audubon Society and is organized in the five boroughs by NYC Audubon. We hope to make the CBC a regular annual event in the park. We…
EXPLORE BIRDS will be presented at the Municipal Art Society’s Innovation Exhibition on October 25, 2019. The exhibition is part of the 2019 Summit for New York City: Fight for Light. EXPLORE BIRDS By Washington Square Park Eco Projects Birds are an ideal symbol for the importance of light and air in a livable city.…
Our second annual fall bird walk with the Feminist Bird Club was held on October 5th. We walked the WSP Wildlife Survey transect for over two hours and observed 23 species. In addition to pigeon, house sparrow, and starling, we saw catbird, creeper, vireo, jay, pewee, wrens, warblers, woodpeckers, and thrushes.
EXPLORE BIRDS will participate again the Biodiversity Day at the 6&B in the Lower East Side. Learn about the many aspects of backyard biodiversity with Melinda Billings, Loyan Beausoleil, Georgia Silvera Seamans, & Amy Berkov on Saturday, September 28, 2019 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the Sixth Street & Avenue B Garden in the Lower…
EXPLORE BIRDS, our portable bird education program, was invited by New York City Wildflower Week to participate in the first Pelham Bay Park Nature Day on August 31, 2019. Pelham Bay is a beautiful park, and we enjoyed meeting other exhibitors and talking to fellow New Yorkers about birds.
EXPLORE BIRDS went to Cambridge, Massachusetts on August 1, 2019 for an open studio hosted by Practice Space. We took seven specimens to the studio: American Goldfinch, American Kestrel, Cooper’s Hawk, European Starling, Rock Pigeon, and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Would you like to incorporate biological illustration into your studio’s programming? Email us at hello (at) wspecoprojects…
Join us this Friday, July 26, 2019 at the EXPLORE NYC cart where we will be recording the bird stories of everyday New Yorkers. Find us at East 106th St and Third Ave, 9:30 am – 1 pm. See you there!
We will staff the Uni Project Street Lab EXPLORE NYC cart at Hamilton Heights cart on Saturday, July 27th, 1-5 pm. The Sugar Hill Weekend Walks will be held at Hamilton Place at 142nd Street. Join us!