RECENTLY I was sent a trio of photos of dead birds on the sidewalks near Center Boulevard, one of which is shown above. The sender was inquiring if I knew of, or why, the sudden surge in dead birds? While I wasn’t aware of it, I did know where to go: D-Bird.org, a database kept by the NYC Audubon in order to assist them in Project Safe Flight, which helps birds migrate safely through New York City.
After entering the three photos and location information, I followed up with an email and call to Kaitlyn Parkins, a conservation biologist at NYC Audubon. She told me that there are two main culprits for birds in flight in the city: light and glass. In the Spring and Fall millions of birds migrate at night through here and the bright lights of the city both attracts and disorients birds. Glass facades can either not allow birds to see context and therefore make them think they can flight right through, or they reflect the sky and trick the birds.
There are ways to make glass more bird friendly, either with patterns or lower reflectivity, but I’m not sure developers here in LIC have that as a top priority. In the meantime you can easily make submissions to D-Bird. The database has been in existence since 2014 but the uptake has been slow in the outer-boros. The website has a clickable map to see where and which species were reported, and also aggregate data on which species are most prevalent.
As for the photo above, Kaitlyn identified it as a Northern Flicker.
//WE were also sent a video of a live jellyfish in the East River taken from the shores of Hunters Point (see pic above). Unfortunately, like the dead birds this apparently is not an uncommon local sighting as there are a few other similar videos posted on youtube. Or the apocalypse may be near, you choose.
//LIC-A, aka Long Island City Artists, is an organization that is dedicated to helping the arts prosper in Long Island City through sponsoring art exhibits, education, lectures, and special events that include music, dance, theater and poetry. For the past year they have been housed in a gallery space on 46th Avenue donated by Plaxall (aka The Plaxall Gallery). This is exactly the sort of low-key environment that is really needed for emerging artists to gain exposure. Likewise, it’s exactly the type of organization and space needed for LIC to maintain some foothold in the arts. Now they are running a very modest Kickstarter campaign in order to help pay for their operations and add some personnel to oversee their programs. Please consider making a contribution of any size to show support.
//Indie LIC a new restaurant in Court Square is hoping to open next week according to it’s owner Shaunna Sargent. Shaunna is currently running a similar restaurant near Lincoln Center, and was previously the executive chef at restaurants in Williamsburg and the West Village as well as doing a stint at Del Posto. The new restaurant is located in the LINC Building, 43-10 Crescent Street, check it out!
D-Bird.org – If you find a dead or injured bird, you can make an important contribution to Project Safe Flight by submitting the information through D-Bird
Project Safe Flight – all about the program and why, and contains a clickable map of submissions
Indie Food & Wine – buttermilk chicken sandwich and a glass of prosecco
LIC-A Kickstarter Campaign – includes a 3-minute video all about who they are and what they want to accomplish (warning NSFW, now click away!)
Long Island City Artists – more about the organization
Waheyo Restaurant Coming to Queens Plaza South – modern Mexican
A New Dunkin’ Donuts is coming to Queens Plaza South – sure, why not
This X-rated 24-hour Halloween Party Has In House Counseling – you had me at X-rated …unfortunately I’ll also be asleep
JLL Bringing New LIC Place to Office Market – wow, talk about a warehouse conversion! The only problem will be finding a restaurant nearby
LIC HS Football Takes on Far Rockaway This Saturday – a noon home game for the local 5-1 team!
Kathy says
October 26, 2017 at 5:10 pmIf you find an injured bird please call NYC Audubon at 212 691 7483. They will contact a volunteer injured bird transporter to transport the bird to a care center with licensed rehabilitators.
Anonymous says
November 3, 2017 at 1:22 pmAnother reason to hate glass towers. Poor birds.