Hi!
My name is Quinton Singer, and I spent this semester investigating the birds of the Ramble! I have written this guide to help you investigate the birds of the Ramble too.
The Ramble is as about as “natural” as you can get in Central Park. It is wooded and has a couple ponds. There are many bird species to be found here. Let's see who we can find.
The Ramble is full of trees, piles of dirt and dead leaves, ponds, and pathways. Birds can be found in all these places. Try some of the spots below!
KEY:
If you are having trouble finding birds, take a seat on one of the many benches throughout the Ramble and wait until you see some motion on the ground or in the trees.
Oh, what's that?
It's a bird!
Specifically, it is a male northern cardinal. Female cardinals are a light brown with red beaks. Cardinals are pretty common in the Ramble, but not the most likely one to spot! They like to hang in trees and will very rarely land on the ground.
So who are the most likely birds you'll see? Well, after a couple of hours in the park, this is how many of the following species I found!
If you're having trouble finding any birds with your eyes, try and use your ears instead. Birds love yelling.
When I spent a couple of hours in the Ramble, I heard lots of birds. Some of them called out way more often than others. This is who I heard and how many times within a 15 minute period!
If you aren't sure who you're hearing, this handy graph will help you identify them.
Some birds you shouldn't mess with. Others will want you to feed them from your hands. More often than not, birds will run away from you.
If you are unfortunate (or lucky?) enough to fight a fighty bird, make sure you know how to defend yourself.
Wanna find birds with other people? Check out events held by NYC Bird Alliance!
Thanks for learning more about the birds of the Ramble with me! Happy birding.