How Can Weather Forecasts Help Us Save Birds?

Sara Kross, PhD, Katherine Chen (NYC Audubon Community Science and Outreach Manager), and Benjamin Van Doren, PhD | March 6, 2024 

Migration is a particularly dangerous journey, and it’s estimated that collisions with windows kill up to one billion birds across North America annually. NYC Audubon scientists and partners have focused on this problem for decades. Now, new research on weather’s impact can make solutions more effective.
CONTINUE READING

A Tale of Two Egrets

Don Riepe | March 6, 2024 

For most of my life, I lived happily at Broad Channel, Queens, with the birds outside. Until 15 years ago, when the birds started coming inside. As I sat on my dock in 2009 looking out at Jamaica Bay, a beautiful white Great Egret landed at my house and soon, my new friend Egor the egret would stop by nearly every day for a snack. 
CONTINUE READING

2023 Christmas Bird Count Soars to New Heights

Carol Peace Robins | March 5, 2024 

The 124th Annual Christmas Bird Count, which took place on December 17, 2023, was a historic one for NYC Audubon. Not only did we have a record 400 registered volunteer counters, but for the first time in the Count's history, a green roof was included in the festivities. Carol Peace Robins recounts the historic day at Hudson Yards. 
CONTINUE READING

Study Shows How Weather, Migration Intensity Affect Bird Collisions in New York City

Up to a quarter million birds die annually from crashing into New York City’s buildings due to light pollution and reflective or clear glass. A new study in the Journal of Applied Ecology found that weather forecasts and bird migration intensity data can be used together to predict the days of greatest bird collision risk in New York City. 
CONTINUE READING

2023 Harbor Herons Report: A Q&A

Olivia Liang | January 8, 2024

NYC Audubon’s annual Harbor Herons Nesting Survey has monitored and protected these birds since 1982. To get a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s data collection, NYC Audubon sat down with Tod Winston, our Urban Biodiversity Specialist and creator of the 2023 State of the Harbor Herons, and Dr. Shannon Curley, PhD, our Harbor Herons Nesting Survey Coordinator.
CONTINUE READING

Syrinx Spotlight: PSF Volunteer, Photographer & High-School Senior Winston Qin

Olivia Liang | December 4, 2023

Winston Qin is a gifted photographer, an aspiring engineer, a lifelong bird enthusiast, a Project Safe Flight volunteer… and a high school senior. Meet this exceptional teenager devoted to protecting our City’s wild birds. 
CONTINUE READING

NYC Audubon's Birdy Holiday Gift Guide

NYC Audubon Staff | December 1, 2023
The holiday season is here and the NYC Audubon staff has put together our best and birdiest list of gift recommendations! We have 15 amazing recommendations that are sure to win over the cheery cardinals, weird ducks, and even the grumpy grackles of your life. Happy holidays and happy birding! 
CONTINUE READING

Small Wins. Big Impact.

Olivia Liang | November 10, 2023
"We understand that the New York we’re in today is not the New York we all grew up in. What is our responsibility?"

A Q&A with NYC Audubon’s new Director of Advocacy and Engagement, Saman Mahmood. 
CONTINUE READING

Paper Menagerie on Governors Island

Olivia Liang | October 6, 2023
A fascinating new art exhibit imagines how climate change, habitat loss, and human impact would affect the birds of the future. 
CONTINUE READING

9/11 Memorial Shines a Spotlight on Risks to Birds

Katherine Chen | October 5, 2023
For over 20 years, NYC Audubon scientists have monitored the 9/11 Tribute in Light. This year was particularly hazardous for birds.
CONTINUE READING

Horseshoe Crab Monitoring 2023 Season Recap

Katherine Chen | August 7, 2023
For nearly 15 years, NYC Audubon has been organizing a special opportunity for community scientists of all ages and backgrounds to come out to the beaches of Jamaica Bay in May and June during 12 nights around the full and new moon. The purpose? To monitor and tag Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs. During these special nights, thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore along Plumb Beach and Big Egg Marsh in Jamaica Bay to spawn. See highlights from this season in our latest blog post.
CONTINUE READING

The Christian Cooper Chronicles

Carol Peace Robins | June 1, 2023
NYC Audubon Vice President Christian Cooper shares his passion for birds and chronicles his many adventures in the upcoming book Better Living Through Birding and National Geographic show Extraordinary Birder, both set to debut in June 2023. 
CONTINUE READING

Turn Off the Lights This Spring and Fall; Save Millions of Lives

Carol Peace Robins | February 27, 2023: 
The bright skyline of New York City may be emblematic of "the city that never sleeps," but the nocturnal glare is dangerous for the millions of migrating birds that travel along the Atlantic Flyway. Learn about this fundamental problem and the ways that NYC Audubon is working towards solutions. 
CONTINUE READING

PSF FALL 2022

Project Safe Flight Unwrapped: Fall 2022
Katherine Chen | February 27, 2023: 
Results are in from the Fall 2022 Project Safe Flight season, the 26th year of our signature community science research program studying bird collisions in NYC. See key findings from this season, which saw record volunteer participation and coverage of all five boroughs for the first time in the program's history. 
CONTINUE READING

Volunteer Profile: Junko Suzuki, Determined Birder

Phil Roosevelt | February 27, 2023: 
NYC Audubon's passionate volunteer corps has sustained its conservation work for over 40 years. Meet Audubon Christmas Bird Count surveyor Junko Suzuki.
CONTINUE READING

Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)

Don Riepe | February 27, 2023: 
The Laughing Gull, the striking "summer gull" of the East Coast known for its infectious guffaw, has had its ups and downs in New York City. Read about the resilience of this gregarious species and its Jamaica Bay nesting colony. 
CONTINUE READING

Discover the Thriving Bird Community on the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center's Network of Green Roofs: Over 50 Species Found

Dustin Partridge, PhD | February 1, 2023
At the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, our conservation team has been thrilled to document a staggering 51 bird species thriving on its network of green roofs! This impressive feat is even more remarkable when you consider the building's past reputation for being a danger to birds due to its untreated glass. Learn about the two latest species found at the Javits Center, and why we are seeing an ever-increasing number of birds on its rooftop.
CONTINUE READING

CBC 2022

A Wonderful 123rd Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count
Katherine Chen | December 23, 2022
Thank you to all who joined NYC Audubon for the 123rd Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count on December 18. It was an extraordinary Sunday, with over 200 community scientists fanning out across Manhattan and Northern New Jersey for bird surveys at 35 different locations—seven within Central Park alone! While we are still sifting through the data from all our counts, we are sharing some initial highlights reported by volunteer counters. 
CONTINUE READING

Project Safe Flight Points the Way to a Bird-friendly Future

Suzanne Charlé |  November 15, 2022: 
Get the latest updates on Project Safe Flight, NYC Audubon's signature campaign to protect migrating birds in New York City. Learn how we use our research to reduce window collisions. 
CONTINUE READING

Introducing the Volunteers of Project Safe Flight

Carol Peace Robins |  November 15, 2022: 
Get to know the volunteers of Project Safe Flight, who devote themselves to rescuing injured birds in the City, and in doing so, collect research data crucial to NYC Audubon's advocacy efforts.
CONTINUE READING

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Tod Winston |  November 15, 2022: 
Get to know the interesting ecology and evolving family tree of the Yellow-rumped Warbler, New York City's only winter-time warbler species. 
CONTINUE READING

Songs in a City Soundscape: Tips for Birding by Ear

Hillarie O'Toole |  November 15, 2022: 
Learn how to become more connected to the sounds of birds in New York City and explore the ways in which birdsong is impacted by human noise.
CONTINUE READING

President's Perch: A Peregrine Pair Represents Progress...and Promise

Karen Benfield |  Sep 21, 2022: 
NYC Audubon Board President Karen Benfield relates the successful fledging of a brood of Peregrine Falcons on Manhattan's Upper West Side—and explores both the excitement it caused in the neighborhood, and the promise the birds' presence holds for the future of conservation.
CONTINUE READING

Ensuring This Year's 9/11 Tribute in Light Was Safe for Birds

Katherine Chen and Dustin Partridge, PhD | Sep 18, 2022
The Tribute in Light is a stirring and fitting reminder of the tragic events of 9/11, but it can also be a hazard for thousands of migratory birds that travel through the City at night; birds can get trapped in the beams of light and become disoriented, making them more likely to suffer collisions with buildings. For the 21st consecutive year, last weekend NYC Audubon was stationed at the Tribute from dusk to dawn in partnership with 9/11 Memorial & Museum to make sure this touching memorial did not unnecessarily harm birds, as well as further our research on artificial light's effects on birds.
CONTINUE READING

The Javits Center: Leading from the Rooftops

Suzanne Charlé |  Sep 15, 2022: 
Read about the Javits Center's increasing role as a leader in New York City's sustainability efforts and its ongoing partnership with NYC Audubon to transform the Center into a haven for wildlife.
CONTINUE READING