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Birding close to Brooklyn Bridge (1 Viewer)

pandachris

Well-known member
Hi

My partner is visiting New York for the 1st time on business in mid June. It is likely that she will be staying in an hotel near to Brooklyn Bridge. She won't get much time to watch birds but it's close to the solstice so there should be some daylight hours available. Can anyone suggest any locations within a short walk where she might be able to grab the occasional 30 minutes of birding? We've visited Central America and the Caribbean but have not done any birding in North America.

She's likely to be on her own so somewhere reasonably safe (e.g. where there are other people) would be preferred.

Thanks

Chris
 
Thanks Gomphus. That looks really useful. Her trip has been extended and it looks like she might get a few free hours on a couple of days.

Sadly she will now miss a rather good comedy night in Birmingham. I'll have to go on my own.
 
Hello,

Brooklyn Bridge Park is on the Brooklyn side. If your partner is staying on the Manhattan side, the ferry might be the safer and more interesting way to cross the water.

Happy bird watching,
Arthur
 
I have done some birding in Brooklyn Bridge Park - it is nice enough, but not a shadow on Central Park. If she is in Manhattan, I can't see it taking much longer to nip on the subway and go up to Central Park than it would take to go over the Brooklyn Bridge to visit that park.
 
She's on the Brooklyn side but Central Park is definitely a possibility too. It will depend on how much spare time she gets.
 
Without wishing to scare-monger, I did read somewhere that the park on the Brooklyn side of the bridge can be dodgy. Especially at night time.

My better half is also going to New York with her sister on Thursday for five nights, and she wants to walk across Brooklyn Bridge.

I don't know first hand, but as Jos says, go to Central Park, she won't regret it, even if she splashes out for a taxi to and from.
 
Without wishing to scare-monger, I did read somewhere that the park on the Brooklyn side of the bridge can be dodgy. Especially at night time.

My better half is also going to New York with her sister on Thursday for five nights, and she wants to walk across Brooklyn Bridge.


Can't say anything about night time, but I can't see this park being dangerous during the day (at least, no more so than anywhere else in New York) - it is a small slither of land with good views of the Manhattan skyline and loads of tourists (and I guess locals) are wandering around, sitting on benches eating ice creams, etc.

Walking over Brooklyn Bridge is dangerous however - step over the white line to take a selfie and a cyclist runs you over :)
 
Thanks for the additional comments. I can't see her wanting to do much birding at night, tbh and there's lots of daylight next week. I think her main challenge will be getting out of ideas that her colleagues have for spending non-work time. Sneaking off on her own might be the answer. There could be future visits that are more likely to be solo trips.
 
Delayed flight and over an hour in the taxi from JFK so Grackle and presumed American Crow were her highlights by 6 p.m. yesterday and she was off to a prearranged meal with clients. Full schedule today, but hopefully when I'm off looking for nightjars on Wednesday she will get a chance to use her binoculars.
 
I'm in shock. She was apparently up at 6 a.m. and at the Brooklyn Bridge Park soon after. She walked so didn't have time to get to the areas with the best birding but did get a couple of lifers and a presumed American Robin in a tree outside the office she was visiting. I think she quite likes New York so far.

I can never persuade her to get up at 6 in Norfolk!
 
She walked so didn't have time to get to the areas with the best birding ...

The park is the size of a postage stamp, so I think she probably got close to the best areas. Perhaps the shock of being up at 6 a.m. overwhelmed her and she needed a sit down on the benches near the beginning :-O
 
Have her go out to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge by subway or cab. That's the best spot in the city right now for sure; all of the city parks are dead now that the spring migration of songbirds is through, save for whatever few breeding species they have.
 
She didn't have time for Jamaica Bay but did manage a quick session in Central Park and got a few species with highlights being Sora (heard), Baltimore Oriole, Cardinal, Red-tailed Hawk and a sleeping racoon. We've a few to sort through but I'm guessing about 10 lifers. Not bad for a business trip. From memory I can only think of one lifer on a business trip of mine (American Robin in West Yorkshire about a decade ago) but I've never got out of Europe. I think she was surprised how much she enjoyed New York even though a lot of the time was spent working.
 
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