I went into bioblitz expecting to not enjoy it. My reluctance caused me to sign up late and as a result I was placed in the 6am slot. Upon arrival I was put in the bird group and informed that I was lucky because birds are most active at this ungodly hour, I guess the early bird really does get the worm. My group’s guide Ricky handed us binoculars and we began our nature walk. Surprisingly the further we walked the more I became open to the idea of bird watching, maybe Ricky’s enthusiasm began to rub off on the group.

As it turns out NYC has quite a few birds. We saw sixteen different species and shockingly not one of them was a pigeon. Some of the species we saw were: Blue Robin, Catbird, Mourning Dove, Flicker, Pewee, and most exciting of them all the red tailed hawk. Growing up in Jamaica Bay, I knew that NYC had biodiversity, especially my neighborhood. I attributed this biodiversity to the sheer size of Jamaica Bay and the relatively low human population density. My trip to the New York Botanical garden made me realize the value of maintaining smaller green space.

The type of science we conducted at Botanical Garden was very unfamiliar to me. As a physics major, I’m used to precise calculations and the data we collected seemed far from precise. Understandably it’s the best that can be done in such an open and complex system. I was surprised to learn that taking a thorough census of a relatively small ecosystem like a park was such a large-scale effort. I’ll probably never end up being as enthusiastic about bird watching as Ricky, none the less I ended up having fun. Bioblitz was a pleasant and informative way to spend a Sunday morning. Thank you for the fun event Macaulay.