Birding On Top of the Javits Center

                                   

Last week I got a chance to spend some time wandering around the Javits Center rooftop farm and orchard with my camera, seeing what birds I could find. 

From the Javits Center's rooftop farm you can see the Empire State Building in the distance. 

The one-acre farm started operating last year on the relatively new extension building at the north end of the Javits Center. The vegetables and fruits grown there are used to prepare meals during big events and conferences. 

They are very proud of their bird sightings up there. The day before I went, someone had spotted a Ruby-throated Hummingbird for the first time - the fifty-fourth species to be recorded on the roof. I was lucky enough to see 14 different types of birds when I visited. Since then two more species have been added.    

I first learned about the Javits farm last summer at an NYC Audubon event, when I met Julia Widmann, who is now the building’s Sustainability Operations Manager. 

I already knew there was an expansive (seven acre) passive green roof on the main building, known as the Crystal Palace. 

 The Javits Center's Crystal Palace is on 34th Street and 11th Avenue near the Hudson River.

           

The main roof is planted with low-growing sedum plants, which helps boost energy efficiency - with the plants in place, the building absorbs less heat in the summer and loses less heat in the winter. The sedum beds also absorb rainwater, which helps reduce strains on the city's water treatment plants and keeps the river water cleaner. And now there are solar panels up on that roof, as well as an experimental wind turbine. Meanwhile, ceramic dots embedded in the window glass have reduced migrating bird collisions by 90 percent. 

Sedum plants and solar panels on the roof of the Crystal Palace,
as seen through the dots on the bird-friendly glass window

The main roof area has also become an important breeding habitat for Herring Gulls, with active support from NYC Audubon. 

An adult Herring Gull lounges on one of the Javits Center's solar panels.

But I hadn’t known there was a working farm in midtown! I was amazed when Julia took me on a tour last summer. And when I heard about the birds coming there, of course, right away I wanted to be able to take photos of them.

It would be great if other buildings in midtown Manhattan could have working farms too.  

Last week I signed up for a climate conference at the Javits Center, and attendees were free to explore the rooftop farm, so I came prepared with my telephoto lens. 

I started the day with a guided tour for conference attendees led by Dustin Partridge, who is NYC Audubon’s Director of Conservation and Science. He told us there had been several migrating warblers at the farm the day before, along with the newly sighted hummingbird, so after the tour I set out to see what I could find. 

My search began by the sunny farm area, where I looked for migrating warblers. At this time of year, these tiny birds are moving south for the winter along the well-traveled Atlantic flyway, which leads them right over Manhattan. They fly at night, and when it gets light and they see a patch of green below, they drop down to find food and rest.  

I had noticed a Palm Warbler in the corn patch when the tour group passed by. 

So cool to see corn plants on a Manhattan roof. 

Palm Warblers are small but easy to recognize from a distance because they tend to bob their tails up and down when they land. There were several of them in the farm rows, very busy catching bugs for breakfast. Finally one of the Palm Warblers sat down on one of the farm stakes, and I got a clear shot. 

A Palm Warbler surveyed a crop row on the farm, looking for insects.  

My next catch was a Northern Parula carefully examining the tomato vines for tasty insects. I saw some movement in the leaves and waited for a while until this very colorful bird came into view.      

A Northern Parula explored a row of tomatoes. 

I also saw a pair of Common Yellowthroats flitting around the farm. They are interesting because the males and females look so different. The male has a bright yellow breast and black bandit mask across his face, while the female has more subtle yellow and brownish coloring and a sweet-looking face. 

A male Common Yellowthroat warbler looks very bold with his dark mask.

Female Common Yellowthroats seem very demure in comparison.

Over in the orchard, it was shady, with a cool wind coming off the Hudson River. 

Deep soil beds in the orchard area allow the apple and pear trees to put down roots.  

I saw a striking Black-and-White Warbler on the ground in between the apple trees, which were full of ripe fruit. There was also a female Black-throated Blue Warbler down in the leaves, but it snuck off before I could get a clear photo of it.  

Black-and-White Warblers are quite fashionable visitors to the city. 

A dark-breasted American Robin flew into the orchard while I was sitting there hoping for more warblers to show up. Some robins will go a little bit further south for the winter, but others will hunker down in the city. Instead of worms and insects, they will switch their diet to fruits and berries. 

This American Robin seemed quite puffed up. 

Soon a Northern Mockingbird stopped and stared at me from the orchard wall. They are wonderful mimics, but this one stayed silent. Like the robins, these birds can eat berries and fruits in the winter, so they don’t have to migrate, though some might shift southward.   

A Northern Mockingbird stared at me until I moved away.

Later a flock of House Sparrows flew into the orchard, gathering at the tops of the trees. They were introduced from Europe, but are now one of the most common species in the city. 

Off the streets, House Sparrows eat seeds and grains, bugs and berries rather than bread. 

The sparrows were joined by a few European Starlings, who have a similar story of being introduced to this country and then dominating the available habitat. 

This European Starling looked oddly scruffy around its head. 

When I was going through my photos, I saw that one of the sparrows was actually a wild, native bird - a Swamp Sparrow. They breed in wetland areas in the northeast US and Canada, and many of them move down to the southeastern states for the winter. The House Sparrows stay in the city all year. 

A Swamp Sparrow stepped into the light at the orchard.

Back near the farm, several Mourning Doves were hanging around, looking for seeds on the ground, or perching on the greenhouse roof. They nest all around the city, on roofs and windowsills, sometimes several times during the summer. A few also spend the winter, but many move south when the weather turns cold.  

This Mourning Dove calmly surveyed the rooftop scene in midtown. 

Overhead I saw five American Crows sitting on the roof’s light poles, scuffling with each other for position, then flying around the buildings. 

This crow spread its wings majestically in the sunny morning light. 

A few adult Herring Gulls also flew over. 

 

Earlier I had seen some young Herring Gulls from this year’s nests sitting in the sedum on the roof of the main building. There can be as many as 150 nests in the summer, and in July, NYC Audubon staff members put identifying legs bands on the young gulls. It takes four years for the gulls to be old enough to breed, and during the tour Dustin Partridge reported that some of the banded birds come back to nest at the Javits Center when they are ready.  

Juvenile Herring Gulls have mottled gray and brown feathers.  

I was surprised to hear that one of the banded birds from last year went off for the winter and ended up way out west in Vancouver. I don't think all of them leave town though, since I have seen Herring Gulls in Battery Park and New York Harbor in the middle of the winter.     

It was great to see so many birds using, or passing by, the Javits Center roof, and  I am hoping to have a chance to go up there again to look for more. Meanwhile, I wish more New York City buildings could be so bird friendly. 

If you want to take a tour yourself, go to https://javitscenter.rezdy.com/496420/tour-of-the-javits-center

Gail Karlsson

karlssongail@gmail.com

gailkarlssonbirdsnyc.blogspot.com

Late Summer Birds at The Battery

Migration season has started, bringing early-moving warblers to city parks - including American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats and Northern Parulas. Hard to see but fun if you can find them. 

Sometimes they will perch in the open where they are easy to spot, like on the fence by the Battery farm, or in low branches nearby. 

The Redstarts don't sit still for long. Like most warblers, they are hunting for insects, and will fan out their tail feathers as they flit around in the trees, startling their prey out of the leaves, or sometimes just grabbing bugs out of the air. Occasionally they might investigate some berries.     

American Redstart female

Common Yellowthroats usually look for insects lower down in the bushes or on the ground. The females clearly have bright yellow on their throats but are otherwise mostly brownish, while the males have distinctive black bandit masks. 

Common Yellowthroat female

Common Yellowthroat male

Northern Parulas tend to forage on tree tops, hopping around in the leaves looking for bugs. Their varied blue, green and yellow coloring makes for good camouflage, as well as a charming appearance to humans. Males have a brown breast band but otherwise look similar to the females.

Northern Parula

You might also see somewhat larger birds like American Goldfinches munching on dried flower seeds in the bushes. The brilliant yellow and black ones are males in breeding plumage. The females and non-breeding males in winter plumage are beige colored. 

American Goldfinch male

Cedar Waxwings usually travel in groups, and are especially happy if they can find some berries. 

Cedar Waxwing

Red-tailed Hawks hunt in the park year-round and are large enough to spot without binoculars. This juvenile one seemed to be practicing its hunting skills, but was fooling around with something that didn't actually seem edible. 

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

There has also been an Osprey circling around the area, high overhead. They nest around the NYC beaches and almost exclusively eat fish -  scanning from above and making dramatic high dives into the water.  This osprey might have been a young one who wanted to check out the city before moving south for the winter. 

Osprey 

Meanwhile some regular Battery residents have been looking a bit raggedy. Many birds regularly replace their feathers, often in late summer and early fall. 

As old feathers fall out and new ones grow in, the birds can look pretty weird, especially when the head feathers come off all at once. 

   

Molting Blue Jay

This American Cardinal on the Battery farm fence looked pretty grumpy about his shaggy appearance, but much less embarrassed than the skinhead Blue Jay.  

Northern Cardinal male