New York City Audubon is conducting a breeding bird census in Central Park to provide comprehensive data about the presence, abundance, and distribution of nesting birds within the park. It will be a follow-up to the 1998 Central Park Breeding Bird Census conducted by New York City Audubon and the Linnean Society of New York, and will allow us to see what has changed in the intervening decade. In 1998, thirty-one nesting bird species were observed in the park, and we are hoping that park development and conservation projects will have led to more species nesting in greater numbers.

The survey will take place from May 24th to July 18th, in order to cover early and late breeding species as well as the main June breeding period, and will follow the nesting bird census protocol developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Volunteers (working individually or in small groups) will canvass the twenty survey areas of the park once or twice a week for eight weeks, noting all bird species which are present, along with their behaviors (singing, nest-building, etc.).

The final report will be available to the public and will be useful for park advocates, bird enthusiasts, and scientists alike.

Please click here to find out more about volunteering.