Suresh Subramaniam's post-pandemic passion is birds in New York’s Central Park
An Eastern Towhee. Central Park, New York. April 2022. (c) Suresh Subramaniam
April 25, 2022
Two years ago, Suresh Subramaniam, a New York resident, started photographing birds in the city’s Central Park. “Earlier, I used to take photos of cities and nature during my travels,” he says. “But after the COVID-19 pandemic began, I could not travel. So, I turned my lens towards the birds in Central Park.”
The park is one of the best spots in the United States to watch birds. Designed in 1858, it is an 843-acre rectangle, which stretches north-south 2 ½ miles and east-west half a mile. From about mid-April to end of May, thousands of birds, on their spring migration northwards, stop in the park for rest, water and food - insects, seeds, leaf shoots and berries.
Last week Subramaniam came across a visitor, rarely seen in Central Park, the Prothonotary Warbler, in photo above. The name Prothonotary originates from the description of the official scribes in the Catholic Church, who wore bright yellow hoods, as this bird appears to do.
Often, on a single spring day, 100 or more species are seen in Central Park. A quarter of those are warblers and the rest vireos, flycatchers, swallows, thrushes, and other migrants, according to the New York City Audubon.
Black and White Warbler. April 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Pine Warbler. April 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Yellow Warbler. April 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Another visitor Subramanian came across last week was the White-eyed Vireo. In Bermuda, where the bird is common, it is widely known as “chick-of-the-village,” due to a good rendition of the song, in a distinctive snappy voice, according to the National Audubon Society.
White-eyed Vireo. April 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Blue-headed vireo. April 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.April 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Since the creation of Central Park, more than 280 bird species have been recorded; 192 are regular visitors, such as the warblers, or year-round residents, such as the cardinals; and over 88 are infrequent or rare visitors, such as the Prothonotary Warbler, according to New York City Audubon.
The birds, migrating along the Atlantic Flyway in search of food, stop in the park due to its relatively large size and being an island of forest and wetland habitat, in the midst of a highly urbanized stretch along the northeastern coast of the United States.
The Atlantic Flyway is a major north-south route for about 500 migratory bird species in North America, according to the Cape Wild Life Center. The flyway starts in Greenland and follows the coast of North America to South America and the Caribbean. Migratory birds, like the warblers and vireos, travel the route every year. The flyway does not have mountains to block the route, and has good sources of water, food and cover over its entire length. The Atlantic Flyway is the most densely populated of the four main flyways. The others are the Central, the Pacific and the Mississippi flyways.
In addition to the migrants in the spring, there are other migrant and permanent resident birds in Central Park during the rest of the year. In the winter the birds include various ducks and owls.
“Super exciting time…this afternoon with Great Horned Owl,” Subramaniam tweeted, along with this photograph. February, 13, 2022. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
Common Crackle. 3.27.2002 (C) Suresh Subramaniam
In September, birds of prey are seen on their North-South migration, including broad-winged Hawks, American Kestrel, Ospreys, and Bald Eagles.
Cooper’s Hawk. (C) Suresh Subramaniam
“Bald Eagle fly past…in the evening sun.” tweeted Suresh Subramaniam along with this photo.January 25, 2022.
Suresh Subramaniam, 52-years-old, describes himself as a passionate photographer. He can be seen around the birding spots in Central Park, with a Nikon camera attached to an 18-inch-long telephoto lens and a pair of binoculars on his neck. He, along with a few other Indians, are part of an informal group who share information about bird sightings in Central Park and other parts of New York City.
Subramaniam grew up in Mumbai, in 1990, earning a B.Com. in Accounting and Finance from R.A. Podar College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai University. Two years later, he earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
He has emerged from the COVID-19 lock-down with a new interest: sharing his photos of birds in Central Park and elsewhere. He has more than 1,400 followers on Twitter where his handle is sureshsubra1; his Instagram handle is myeyethrumylens.
Indeed, Subramaniam’s photos show why New York’s Central Park is one of America’s best spots for birding.
Suresh Subramaniam in Central Park, New York, April 2022.
All photos (C) Suresh Subramaniam
