Some of the liveliest gatherings in town are BYOB – like bringing your own binoculars.
Gen Z and millennial New Yorkers are eschewing late nights and hungover mornings for 7 a.m. get-togethers to watch sparrows, swallows and finches.
They form birding clubs with unique identities—like the NYC Queer Birders and the Feminist Bird Club—that study migration patterns and mix traditional birders’ clothing with Carhartt beanies, wire-rimmed glasses, and vintage cameras tendency.
“It’s birding on Saturday morning and church on Sunday,” James Gocke, 22, a freelance videographer who lives in Bushwick, in the old The Post.
Gocke started birding last fall when his girlfriend encouraged him to join her at McGolrick Park in Greenpoint. He quickly became addicted.
“We saw a ruby-crowned wren – a very energetic little bird that buzzes almost like a hummingbird. We saw him fighting his reflection in direct light. When he gets angry, the red crown on his head bursts into flames, it was exciting to see him attack his own reflection in the street lamp,” Gocke exclaimed of his early outings. “It’s a cute little bird.”
Michael Lombardo, a 40-year-old Greenpoint-based man who used to work in big tech and now works as a freelance designer, regularly hosts the McGolrick Bird Club meeting. It started a year ago as a self-described group of “neighbors, artists, skateboarders and weirdos” and now has 150 members.
Gocke, who identifies as “sober and curious,” gets up at 7:45 a.m. most Saturdays by Citi-Bike to McGolrick Park for meetings.
Lombardo could review the listings of the European starling, house sparrow, and American robin – all species native to the park – and share wisdom such as “Birdwatching is the opposite of doom scrolling.” or read poems by Mary Oliver.
After just a few weeks of being there, Gocke was able to identify the sounds of various birds, which he now uses as a sort of party trick.
But he said there was a downside to his new passion.
“My friend got pooped by a pigeon once,” he joked.
One of the founders of NYC Queer Birders, which often meets at Prospect Park, Green-Wood Cemetery, The Ramble at Central Park and Fort Washington Park for free rides, told the Post that many of its participants are members of Generation Z looking for sober entertainment.
“Living in New York can be an expensive place, and many social gatherings center around late-night bar culture, so it’s always been important to us to make Queer Birders accessible and inclusive,” said the co-founder Anna Kremer in an email.
Danny DiMarino, a 31-year-old who lives in Prospect Lefferts Garden, got into birding because of the pandemic. He began visiting Barry, a beloved Central Park barred owl who sadly passed away in late 2021.
“I was part of the big owl craze in Central Park,” DiMarino said proudly. “Barry was a big celebrity.”
DiMarino, who works at an urban planning nonprofit, was recently thrilled to spot a red-tailed hawk at 8 a.m. near Green-Wood Cemetery.
“They’re big enough that you can identify them pretty easily,” he told the Post.
But he’s just as happy to spot more common winged creatures.
“I also have a weakness for pigeons. I looked deeper into their evolutionary history and they are really fascinating,” he said. “They’re here to try to make this work in New York.”
New York Post
