LOST AND LOOKING FOR US ON A BIRD WALK? 1.347.703.5554
BIRD WALKS: Thu/Fri/Sat/Sunday/Mon in Central Park - $10 - see SCHEDULE page for info
Email Us (Click) with Questions
Interested in a Private Bird walk or Bird Photography Tour
in Central Park - or anywhere in the tri-state area?
Contact us for more info/details.
Central Park Bird Walks
We invite you to join us to look for and study the approximately 250+ species of birds that either live year-round in Central Park, winter here, or visit New York City during migration in spring (March-June) and fall (mid-July to mid-December). The cost is only $10/person. Pay us at the END of the bird walk as we exit the park. We also rent quite fine binoculars for $10...email us to reserve a pair or simply to ask for more info about the bird walks.
We have fun on the bird walks. Over the last 25+ years in Central Park, people from more than 50 countries have watched birds with us...though we are very much a NYC crew. We welcome people of all abilities and backgrounds. There are experts on our walks, but we like "newbies" the most, because we like to help people learn about birds and the NYC environment. We do our best to have fun, learn and discover something new/different every time out. And we very much enjoy people: a lot of our scientific research is done with folks joining in to help.
The Bob Bird Walks have become a community of people, and many valuable and lifelong friendships have resulted. In fact, many come along as much for the people and camaraderie as for the birds. In addition, we have been publishing a weekly email Newsletter on what we find each week, photos of those birds, and the history of birds dating back to the mid-19th century in Central Park and the entire NYC area. Send us your email to subscribe, and each Wednesday you'll get the Newsletter. That way if you are planning a trip to NYC, you can see what is happening with birds in real time here in the Big Apple.
If you want to hire either one of us for a private bird walk, contact us [rdcny@earthlink.net] - rates are reasonable.
About Birding Bob
Robert DeCandido PhD, better known around Central Park as "Birding Bob", has led guided bird walks in the park for more than 25 years. He is joined in leading the walks by Deborah Allen, a noted New York City bird and nature photographer.
Bob & Deb Allen are both superb educators: Bob got his PhD studying the NYC environment, and has done bird migration research in many parts of NYC, from Central Park by day to the top of the Empire State Building at night, to Southeast Asia (Malaysia and Thailand dating back to 2000) and central Asia (Nepal and Israel dating back to 1999). Deborah Allen is a professional photographer who is completing her book (Columbia University Press) on The Birds of Central Park: their identification and history. She is absolutely the best birder in Central Park for field marks and nuances of plumage. You can see many of Deborah's photos on her web site:
We are the only bird walk leaders in NYC that have extensive field experience with birds in the hand, as well as numerous articles published in scientific and popular journals - and that is for birds and plants both here in NYC and internationally. Your participation on these walks helps fund that research - see and read our publications available for free download on this site: NYC Kestrels; the Empire State Building for night migrating birds, various articles on the birds of Central Park; the flora of Central Park and NYC; raptor migration in Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal...
Read about our latest sightings
What People are Saying
"Hello from grey England, I am the elderly Englishman who came, with his wife, on your Sunday morning walk. I just wanted to record how much we had enjoyed it, and how much we had learnt. We are not merely out-of-towners, more like out-of-continenters. But we were treated with great kindness and patience by everyone when we asked the names of your most commonplace birds. I would like to think that a New Yorker, visiting us here In Suffolk, would be as well received if he or she kept pointing at a magpie or a pheasant and demanded: “what’s that?”. I will follow your reports over the coming months, and will hope to join you again in the Park."
Tim
22 November 2017:
Find out what's happening
We welcome you to sign up for weekly email alerts.
They usually go out at midweek, and include information on the walks scheduled for that week, plus a highlight report on the birds seen on the prior week's walks. We also include historical information and reports on birding in Central Park and all of New York City.
Send us your email to subscribe, and each Wednesday you'll get the Newsletter. That way if you are planning a trip to NYC, you can see what is happening with birds in real time here in the Big Apple.
(Of course, you can opt in and out at anytime, and we never release your email address to any other party.)