It's A Bird! It's Another Bird!
Memes, binocular recs, and more dispatches from the world of bird watching.
Does staring down seagulls count as birdwatching?
Lately, my birdwatching pursuits are limited to the following: grimy Manhattan pigeons, mean seagulls in the Rockaways, and an adorably dumb group of fluffy turtledoves who live in the tree in my backyard. I used to think I needed to live somewhere rural to see birds beyond this list. But armed with binoculars and impressively active group chats, urban birders live in a city of woodpeckers and cardinals.
I realized this when the pandemic hit last year, and my friend Arjun Ram Srivatsa began posting photos of beautiful birds shot through a pair of binoculars. Arjun picked up the hobby right before the start of the pandemic, which ultimately proved to be fortuitous timing.
“It felt like birds took over the city,” he says.
It’s easier to listen for birdcalls in a shut-down city—and easier to find time to birdwatch when alternative activities are shut down too. So Arjun started following local birding Twitter accounts. He even made a group chat, called Birds of New York, where art world folks share sightings and plan outings. (There are also a lot of birding memes involved, which you’ll find embedded throughout this email.)
Hearing Arjun talk about biking to Central Park to spot Barry the Barred Owl (RIP) or looking for the Caribbean martin’s first-ever American appearance in Prospect Park, inspired me to set up an eBay alert for binoculars on the spot. Fall migration is approaching—with flocks of warblers, sparrows, hawks, and other beauties on the horizon—and I want to be out there in the crisp air listening to bird calls, hot toddy in hand. Want to join me? Start by reading up on the basics (in meme form and beyond):
Arjun’s Bird Tips:
Get some binoculars. “I got my binoculars from B&H when there was a big sale at the beginning of the pandemic. They’re Fujifilm and usually $400, but they were on sale for $100.”
Download an app. “The Cornell Ornithology Lab built this app called Merlin, which is the greatest app I've ever used in my entire life. It’s so well designed and user friendly. It can give you a bird ID by having you answer a lot of questions, like is it on the ground or in a tree? There’s a photo ID feature where you upload a picture and they’ll analyze it to tell you what bird it is. Then they came up with a sound ID: You put your phone up into the sky and it’ll pinpoint the different frequencies and tell you if it’s a northern cardinal or a starling.
It’s a free app because you’re basically a field reporter for Cornell logging this info to help them track migration patterns in the area. eBird also allows you to do checklists to say how many you see, which helped me learn to ID much quicker.”
Pick a spot and make some friends. “I like to go to Central Park in the Ramble or Loch. I love Greenwood Cemetery so much because there isn't anybody in there, so there’s less noise. I often find a really nice older person and spend the day walking with them, talking with them, helping each other out. There’s an old saying: ‘When you’re looking for a bird, look for birders.’ I go often with friends who don’t bird and they’re really struck by the amount of community there is around it and how wholesome it is.”
Look and listen. “I find it really meditative to be really still and quiet and train your eyes. If you know a bird is in a tree because you heard the call or someone pointed it out, it’s kind of like looking at a Magic Eye painting. You have to observe the whole tree, notice how the leaves are moving in the wind and look for discrepancies in the movement.”
Play favorites. “As a novice, it’s insane that there are so many birds out there that sound so different. It’s so wonderful to start to learn their characteristics and personalities, like how blue jays are assholes. I wouldn’t know that before, but they’re really loud and mean and overbear everyone. Sparrows are really mean to hermit thrushes, which sucks because thrushes are so sweet and sparrows are invasive. I love to see northern flickers and American kestrels. They’re really hot birds that look really cool, like they just put together a good outfit.”
Pop Culture Potpourri
Joyful bird beats: Following this newsletter theme, I love So Wylie’s bite-sized songs made from bird calls….and so does the Audubon Society.
Menu suggestion: I broke one of my cardinal kitchen rules this weekend and cooked before 11 a.m. Yes, it was brunch! Hoping to minimize the number of dishes I’d be making on minimal caffeine, I consulted my friend Pearl Jones, who is an excellent food stylist and host. She suggested making a few kinds of toast. I went with tomato-basil and peach-mint, both laid atop a thick blanket of whipped ricotta. There was also ricotta cake and a potato skillet, but the toast brought everything together:
Summer Reading: I recommended Crying in H Mart in my previous summer reading newsletter off the strength of author Michelle Zauner’s New Yorker essay alone. Well, I finally got a copy. I devoured it on a reading-while-crying tour of New York City, tearing up mid-chapter in bed, on the A train, and in the dentist office waiting room. It’s guaranteed to make you hungry for galbi-jjim and call your loved ones.
Latest Clips
Summer Produce Mega List: 15 Recipes to Make While You Can (Clean Plates). Produce-forward cooking recommendations for watermelon, tomatoes, and more summer all-stars.
Not much else! I’m on a bit of a summer pitching break to focus on other projects, a.k.a. spending as much time as possible outside. Speaking of which, there will be no newsletter on August 22. I’ll be spending time with family, and back with a camping-focused send on September 5th. As always, thanks for reading.