Birders spot variety of species during first walk co-hosted by local publications

On Saturday, May 23, the Sunset Park Sun and the Sunset Post co-hosted a birding walk together for the first time, led by Charlie DeWitt, the Sun’s bird columnist, and Nick Dawson, the Post’s bird columnist.

More than 20 people gathered at MADE Bush Terminal and walked along the waterfront, into Bush Terminal Park and through the park’s wooded trail loop.

The Sunset Park Sun is a project of the Library Newsroom Project, an effort launched by journalist and educator Terry Parris Jr. The Sunset Park Sun, like the Sunset Post, shares news and items of interest about Sunset Park. It differs from the Post in that it is entirely volunteer-run and follows the format of a magazine more closely than the format of a newspaper.

“Some might call it a newspaper, a magazine, a zine or a bulletin,” says a blog post from Parris Jr. discussing the Sun.

This was the first birding walk co-hosted by the two publications, but more are planned in the coming months, especially as the weather warms up.

During this first walk, the sky was overcast and rain lightly drizzled, but enthusiasm was high among the birders, who ranged from those who had never birded before to experts who bird often.

One birder, Caroline, who chose not to share her last name, said she was there to hopefully see an osprey, a large sea hawk.

“It’s a really beautiful bird,” she said. On the walk, she was able to spot one, albeit at a distance.

Others joined the walk as a way to get out of the house, explore the area or because they were connected to the Sunset Park Sun.

Maureen Cullen and Carmen Rivera, the Sun’s duo who write the column “What’s behind the menu?” went on the walk because they love all things Sunset Park Sun. They joined the Sun because they both wanted to get more involved with their community.

“I wanted to explore my neighborhood more and I wanted to encourage others to explore the neighborhood,” Cullen said. “This walk is my first time seeing MADE campus, so it’s working.”

During the walk, many species of birds were spotted. Dawson pointed out a pair of ducks, one colorful male mallard paired with a female black duck.

“Mallards have no issues breeding with other species, sometimes to the point of breeding them out of extinction,” Dawson said.

A chimney swift was spotted, which Dawson described as a “cigar with wings.”

DeWitt has been birding, in a sense, since he was a child.

“I’ve been looking at birds, well animals in general, from when I was a baby,” DeWitt said. “I think my first word had to do with animals.”

Dawson became interested in birding during the COVID pandemic.

“After the vaccines came out, I wanted to be outside more, but I didn’t want to be around people,” Dawson shared. “Birding was perfect for that.”

Since then, Dawson has put in his so-called “ten thousand hours” into birding to the point that he can identify many birds by sight without the need for binoculars.

Cynthia Orrala, another writer for the Sunset Park Sun, said she’s particularly enthusiastic about events like birding where people get out into the community.

“This is a library event, and they’re trying to do more events in the community because so many take place inside the library,” Orrala said. “Events like these are about living and seeing.”

Dawson is also hosting birding outings at Bush Terminal Park every Wednesday through June at 8 a.m. For more information and to see and share photos of birds spotted in Sunset Park, join his WhatsApp group.