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 by a 2020 LMCC Creative Engagement grant.  Kids 5-10 years old will learn about birds, their super powers, and create bird-inspired objects using common household items. There is a new topic each class. The first theme is BINOCULARS and class will be held on Tuesday, August 25th, 10:30am-11:45am ET via Zoom. Register here. You will receive Zoom login details via email. Registration will close Aug. 25, 10am ET.
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We have also partnered with the Naval Cemetery Landscape (NCL) in Brooklyn for read-alongs of some of Georgia’s favorite nature-themed picture books. Join Georgia every Saturday in August at 12 PM ET for a new book. Live readings are hosted on the NCL IGTV.

Saturday August 1st: Ruby’s Birds by Mya Thompson

Saturday August 8th: The Tale of Pale Male by Jeanette Winter

Saturday August 15th: Wangari’s Tree of Peace by Jeanette Winter

Saturday August 22nd: The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter by Shabazz Larkin

Saturday August 29th: The Hike by Alison Farrell

Curious about the series? Watch The Tale of Pale Male by Jeanette Winter. ___

Washington Square Park continues to be a park with a large American robin population and this August has been no exception. It has been wonderful to see so many immature American Robins in the park. We were also excited to see two yellow warblers this month during a wildlife survey. Warblers are just now beginning to migrate through the city on the journey South. Finally the Washington Square Park red-tailed hawk pair was recently spotted. They have been spending more time away from the park so it was nice to see them!

Here you can see how camouflaged a young robin can be.

Here is a recent photo of a yellow warbler, although not taken in Washington Square Park. The ones we saw in the park were very high in the canopy of a Japanese pagoda tree tree and hard to photograph.
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Got a wild bird story you’d like to share? Email us to schedule an interview via Zoom to be aired on the Your Bird Story podcast.

Please reach out to us with any natural history questions about the park. Our email is hello@wspecoprojects.org. We are happy to answer them if we can.