When you think of the city, nature is the not the first thing that comes to mind.  Instead, the tall buildings, the grimy sidewalks, and the bright lights make up the image of New York City.  When I heard that the sophomores of Macaulay were allowed to explore the biggest park in New York City with specialists, I was proud and excited.  I was even willing to get up at the ungodly hour of 4 am.  A time that looks a lot different waking up than it does going to sleep.  I couldn’t wait to learn about the previously uncharted natural element of New York City.

However, due to a few unfortunate instances and bad luck, I was unable to properly enjoy the exclusive opportunity that was given to me.  The trains are not as frequent as were expected, so instead of getting there promptly at 5:45, we arrived precisely at 6:30.  Despite the timing, the muggy weather and the early hour, my energy was up and I was ready to learn about the birds of New York City.  Unfortunately, the birds were not ready for me.  Due to the rain the night before and the awful weather, most of the birds were somewhere else.  As a result, my group wandered perpetually uphill in search of a morning dove or a robin.

The beginning was promising.  Before we were put with a group, the director of the program led us around.  She was incredibly knowledgeable about the few birds that we saw.  We saw a morning dove, and learned about the origins of the robin and how it came by its name.  Apparently, there is another type of robin in England, with no relation to the one here in New York.  Here, they were originally called thrushes but when people came from England they thought that the birds looked like the robins in England so they named them robins.  This is why every species has its own Latin name as well as a common name, so they are never confused.

Partly due to the lack of birds and partly to the weather and hour, I did not have the exciting experience I was hoping for.  One of the good parts of the very long, uphill journey was that I was able to see the more scenic side of Central Park.  I went down some paths I never knew existed and would have certainly never seen if they had not been directly pointed out to me.  There were a few times where, and this could have been contributed to the lack of sleep, that I forgot I was in the middle of the city, and not out hiking in Long Island, where I grew up.  I saw some beautiful landscapes that I had never seen before, despite having been to Central Park many times.  I saw a turtle, a new experience for me in the city, and some gorgeous ponds.

I think maybe I was unlucky; Mother Nature was against me.  Between the weather and the lack of birds, I was unable to truly get a sense of how much wildlife inhabits Central Park.  I learned a few interesting facts here and there; for instance, many of the birds that live in the park did not originate there.  They were brought over so that the park would have every bird ever mentioned in Shakespeare.  Other than that, my experience was not very eventful.  However, I was able to fully appreciate for the first time the expansiveness of the park.  I never really understood its vastness until that day.  The fact that there is a place in the middle of the city where you can be enveloped by nature is an incredible feat.

I am not usually a nature girl.   However, I can appreciate the miracle of nature and how important it is to maintain it and help it thrive.  I am thankful for Central Park and the wildlife that it brings to New York City.  While I did not have the experience I thought I would have, I did learn to appreciate the natural element of New York City.