Some of the city’s buzziest gatherings are BYOB – as in bring your own binoculars.
Gen Z and millennial New Yorkers are eschewing late nights and hungover mornings for 7 a.m. meetups to spot sparrows, swallows and finches.
They’re forming birding clubs with unique identities — such as NYC Queer Birders and Feminist Bird Club — studying migrations patterns and mixing traditional ornithologist garb with Carhartt beanies, wire-rimmed glasses and trendy vintage cameras.
“It’s birding on Saturday morning, and church on Sunday,” James Gocke, 22, a freelance videographer who lives in Bushwick, old The Post.
Gocke started birding last fall when his girlfriend encouraged him to join her at McGolrick Park in Greenpoint. He was soon hooked.
“We saw a ruby crowned kinglet – a tiny very energetic bird that almost buzzes around like a humming bird. We saw it fighting its reflection at a straight light. When it gets angry the red crown on its head flares up that was exciting to see it attacking its own reflection in the street light,” Gocke gushed of his early outings. “It’s a tiny cute bird.”
Michael Lombardo, a Greenpoint based 40-year-old who used to work in big tech and now works as a freelance designer, regularly hosts the a McGolrick Bird Club meet-up. It started a year ago as a self-described group of “neighbors, artists, skaters and weirdos” and now has 150 members.
Gocke, who identifies as “sober curious,” rises at 7:45 a.m. most Saturdays to Citi-Bike to McGolrick Park for the meetings.
Lombardo might go over the markings for the European Starling, House Sparrow and American Robin — all native species to the park — and share wisdoms such as “Birdwatching is the opposite of doom scrolling” or read Mary Oliver poems.
After just a few weeks of attending, Gocke was able to identify sounds from various birds, which he now uses as a party trick of sorts.
But, he said there is a downside to his new passion.
“My friend got pooped on by a pigeon once,” he quipped.
One of the founders of NYC Queer Birders, which meets often in Prospect Park, Green-Wood Cemetery, The Ramble at Central Park and Fort Washington Park for free walks, told the Post many of its attendees are Gen Zers looking for sober fun.
“New York can be an expensive place to live, and so many social gatherings are centered around late night bar culture, so it’s always been important to us to make Queer Birders accessible and inclusive,” co-founder Anna Kremer said in an email.
Danny DiMarino, a 31-year-old who lives in Prospect Lefferts Garden, took to birding because of the pandemic. He started visiting Barry, a beloved barred owl in Central Park who sadly died in late 2021.
“I was part of the big craze with the owls in Central Park,” DiMarino said proudly. “Barry was a big celebrity.”
DiMarino, who works at an urban planning non-profit, was recently thrilled to spot a red-tailed hawk at 8 a.m. near Green-Wood cemetery.
“They’re large 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 have a soft spot for pigeons too. I’ve done deep dives into their evolutionary history and they’re really fascinating,” he said. “They’re out here trying to make it work in New York City.”
