New York, City of Birds and Trees

Screenshot of New York City Street Tree Map, Parks Department

With over 300 species identified, New York is a bird magnet. In this lecture and discussion series, you will learn all about our city’s diverse habitats: its 500 miles of coastline that attract shorebirds and waterfowl, its forests preserved in thousands of parkland acres drawing carnivores like owls and hawks, and its human-made bridges, which attract nesting peregrine falcons, the fastest animal on earth, more abundant here than any other place in the world. Discover the changing human relationships with birds over the centuries as we look at how New Yorkers, from the native Lenape people to John James Audubon to current day ornithologists and bird lovers, have interacted with and learned from them. You will learn about both native and introduced species. And you will understand how the anatomy of the most commonly seen bird families are physical adaptations for hunting, foraging, feeding, raising their young, and flying.

Part II of the series moves from birds to trees. Learn about the history of street trees and about the forest of trees that line the streets of the five boroughs. There are hundreds of species of trees in our city, including angiosperms (trees that bear flowers) and gymnosperms (trees that bear cones). Trees have tremendous value to our lives and the wildlife we share the city with. They are essential workers that clean our air, cool our streets in summer, block winter’s wind, bring beauty to our lives, and food to the city’s insects, birds, and mammals. Here, in this two-part lecture and discussion series, you will learn all about the most common tree species one finds on New York City blocks, as well as their botanical and cultural history.

May 10th & 13th (Mon/Thurs), 5-6:30 PM (ET)
$80 (2 sessions, 90 min. each)

Leslie Day is a naturalist, and the author of Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City, and Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and taught environmental science and biology for more than twenty years. Today, she leads nature walks, talks, and courses at the New York Botanical Garden.