SOME RARE URBAN BIRD SUCCESS STORY'S CONTINUED ......

A newly fledged Robin says hello to Manhattan from a chain fence just several yards from a busy downtown avenue, deep inside New York City.  Cell phone photo of Robin by Fritz.

THE AMERICAN ROBIN

An Urban Success Story

by : Fritz Von Ludwigslust



 Ill take Manhattan! . . . . and they have, by storm and popular demand. Possibly the most famous and loved bird in America, the robin (turdus migratorius) was once only a common transient and irregular winter visitor in inner urban Manhattan, nesting only dependably in the suburbs and the largest city parks. New Yorkers would hear their beautiful caroling in the middle of the night echoing in the moonlight in March and April all over Manhattan, but then they would all but disappear from late May until early autumn. But not anymore! The robin phenomenon started around 2003 or 2004, and it seems that any sheltered ledge or light fixture in the smallest possible garden, terrace, or rooftop is open and acceptable real estate for the red breasted thrush. Robins can be seen in almost any urban area of Manhattan now. This was not the case five years before. In a time when so many of our native urban birds, like the common nighthawk and chimney swift are disappearing, robins are not only stable but thriving in a city near you.
 Robins are approximately ten inches long, have a grayish upper body, darker, almost black head, white eye-ring, throat, and belly, and of course, their trademark brick-red breast. They can be found in every state of the continental U.S., every province of Canada, and even down into Mexico (at some time of the year). They are the most well known member of the thrush family and the closest relative of the endangered blue robin (eastern bluebird). Robins have become extremely adaptable, and live in almost any available habitat. They are the state birds of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin, and are featured on the two-dollar Canadian bill.
Their famous nests of mud and straw can be found in an astonishing list of places near human habitation. The list includes sheltered ledges, lamp-posts, busted chimneys, trellises, arbors; even statues, mailboxes and hanging flower pots. They are second only to wrens for their outrageous choice of nest sites. Their beautiful nests are so sturdy that other animals often utilize them after they are abandoned. Everything from dormice and mourning doves to common nighthawks and insects have used the robins former homes for nesting and roosting.

 A song, a story, and a legend . . . the robin has been celebrated in all forms of music and art: e.g. The Ballad of Cock-Robin, Rockin Robin, and, When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-bob-bobbin Along. They even have a color named after themrobins egg blue. Everyone knows that robins are the original harbinger of spring, and are often a childs first introduction to birds and nature. In other words, they are literally the singing, living, lawn-ornaments of America.
They are genuine kings of the turf, and must be appreciated and protected. Its truly exciting for New Yorkers to see this native bird among the starlings and house sparrows. I have watched even the most jaded Manhattanites stop to admire and marvel in disbelief that robins are living in this concrete jungle. They are regal, dashing birds that give the city much needed color and beautiful music.

Winter Melody ....  Robins frequently spend the winter deep inside Manhattan, like this male Robin eating Hawthorn berries, just a few feet from a busy major avenue.  Cell phone photo by Fritz.

 You can attract robins to nest in your area by building a nest shelf. (The instructions can be easily found online). Remember to put the shelf in a quiet sheltered area because it is not an ornament to attract unwanted attention from predators. Dont be surprised if a house finch or morning dove decides to take over your shelf. If you live near water, you may also end up with a barn swallow or a phoebe.
 Planting native fruiting and evergreen trees and shrubs, like eastern red cedar, bayberry, inkberry, hawthorn and mountain ash, both insure the survival of our true wild heritage, and also provide nesting sites, food, and shelter for many species of birds, including robins.


* For my European friends, your blackbird (turdus merula) is probably the closest relative you have to our robin. Juvenile robins look amazingly similar to your field fare (turdus pilaris), with their spotted breasts and light brick-red chests. For my friends in Asia, your brown-headed thrush (turdus chrysolaus) and dusky thrush (turdus nau.) look almost identical to our robin.

SOME RARE URBAN BIRD SUCCESS STORY'S ......

 

An inquisitive pair of Monk Parakeets, living in the Greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City, watch photographer Kazuki and Fritz, watching them.

MONK PARAKEETS
                   IN
             NEW YORK CITY

By : Fritz Von Ludwigslust
Photos by Kazuki





How The Quakers Landed
 Urban legend has it (now documented) that c.1967 a large, live shipment of monk parakeets left their native South American home en route to the pet shops of lower Manhattan. Shortly after landing at JFK airport, the large crates fell and broke, releasing the parakeets who took off in all directions.
 Since then, small, very local colonies of monks have turned up in various areas of the tri-state region: Pelham Parkway, Bronx. Brooklyn College campus. And, the Greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn, NY, which I visited on a cold March day. I had heard and read about these green martians and wanted to investigate for myself. I was accompanied by my friend, photographer Kazuki, who had agreed to take the pictures for me.
 We were immediately taken in by these intelligent, peaceful, and beautiful birds. They built their huge, stick dome nests among the tops of the Gothic cemetery gate, hanging like ornaments on a Christmas tree. They alternated between observant curiosity and, as if we weren't there, oblivion. Some hid and cavorted within the monstrous weeping beeches and thick stands of hemlock and incense cedar. Other monks played and worked together rearranging and rebuilding the nest structures. And (lucky for us) some small groups of five or six monks would fly out from the tower, circle, and land exposed atop the row of small weeping Chinese mulberry trees for head-bobbing meetings.
 Amazingly, pigeons, mourning doves, and even one very cranky, over-territorial mockingbird sat and roosted among the Quakers within inches of the nests in complete harmony, with absolutely no aggression from the obviously much stronger Quakers.

We found this chubby Monk, mumbling to himself, while hiding inside the boughs of a weeping Hemlock tree.

Human De-Conservationism
Extinction and the Starling/House Sparrow Syndrome
 Around the 1900 mark, four of the worst avian ecological disasters possible occurred in the USA. First, the heartless persecution, slaying and ultimate disgraceful extinction of the passenger pigeon and the beautiful Carolina parakeet. (Carolinas were the only member of the parrot family ever to be native to and breed within the USA. They were abundant and even nested as far north as the Great Lakes and the Catskills in New York State.)
 At around the same time, some very ignorant people brought and introduced two of the worst, most destructive agricultural and garden pests in the history of the world. The starling and the house sparrow soon overtook and overpopulated every area from Alaska and Canada south to Argentina and the Falkland Islands. These two non-native birds have been directly responsible for decimating the population of some of the most famous and loved native birds of the USA (which the monks live with in total harmony), including purple martins, eastern bluebirds, redheaded woodpeckers and many more species. They have achieved this basically through hole and nest cavity competition and relentless aggression.
 So what is my point? How is all this pertinent to the monks in New York City? My point is that the monks have shown none of these negative signs of behavior in the almost fifty years since arriving in the tri-state area. They don't compete with other birds for nest sites or territory. They seem very happy to live on tree and weed seeds and buds, and also eat many harmful insects. Monks are no stranger to many of the United States native birds. Long before the colonists arrived such birds as the common nighthawk, kingbird, purple martin, house wren, and many others have been wintering five to six months each year within the native range of the Monks in South America. They have been coexisting and interacting for centuries and obviously the parakeets fit perfectly into the ecosystem here. Most importantly, they maintain very local, contained colonies, and show no signs of taking over the U.S. I also believe that the Quakers are possibly filling the ecological niche of their extinct distant cousins, the Carolina parakeet. Both were native to similar temperate regions of the Americas.
 Kazuki and I left Greenwood Cemetery with an admiration and respect for these wonderful birds. People can learn so much from their intelligent and gentle behavior towards each other and towards other birds, and their loving caring family and social structure. We should welcome these green gems to melting pot of urban America.
 
                         FRITZ VON LUDWIGSLUST New York City

Above left, you can see several Monks in flight, around the Castle-Gate, where there huge dome stick nests are hidden.  To the right a group of Monks having a meeting on an ornamental weeping Mulberry.