This family-friendly event is FREE, but please RSVP here

Tennis House, Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Saturday, May 3 (Rain date Sunday, May 4)

Discover the songs of seven remarkable imaginary birds this spring in Prospect Park.

Start your journey at the Tennis House in Prospect Park to meet your guides anytime between 12:45-1:45pm, or between 2:45-3:45pm.

The birds will sing between 1-2pm and between 3-4pm. This is an immersive, experiential program designed with families in mind–be ready to be swept up as you walk and explore! Note that some birds may be audible but not able to be seen.

Feel free to bring a picnic blanket to relax before or after the singing of the birds.

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American Pinkstart

Description: Tiny Warbler. Black back with pink breast and a pink patch on its head.

Habits and habitat: A true tree-top bird, this Warbler can be hard to spot, inhabiting the deeper, less frequented portions of the forest.

Voice: A range of very high, lilting phrases at various speeds centered around a few notes, at fastest speed it turns into a buzzy trill.

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Rufous-Ringed Rock Thrush

Description: Medium-sized thrush, overall a warm tawny brown with a reddish cap and breast, often mottled with black spots.

Habits and habitats: True to its name, this Thrush prefers out crops of rocks in low first-growth deciduous forest.

Voice: A series of gorgeous, flute-like harmonic phrases that ring through the forest, especially at morning and dusk.

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Jewelweed Wren

Description: Tiny, bubbly wren with a big voice. Overall drab brown and yellow with a light greenish cap.

Habits and habitats:Prefers Jewelweed patches.

Voice: Highly variable; ranges from slow soft cooing phrases to long, manic volatile songs.

Frankensparrow

Description: Large sparrow. Gorgeous patterns of brown, tan, and yellow, with a distinctive blue wash on crown and face.

Habits and habitats: Ground dweller in forest edges.

Voice: The only sparrow to mimic other sparrows, the song is a mix of buzzy trills and snatches of sharply-contoured melodies.

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Plumbeous Dogbird 

Description: Slender, active, medium-sized song bird. Overall gray with a black throat patch and greenish cap.

Habits and habitats: Prefers weedy, brushy areas where it can be heard singing nonstop.

Voice: An inventive and endless mix of phrases, some liquid and musical, others harsh and grating. An accomplished mimic, Dogbirds will sprinkle imitations of other songbirds liberally in their own songs.

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Archbishop 

Description: Pale grosbeak with blazing yellow crest, pale red wings, and yellow wash on chest.

Habits and habitats:Prefers wooded deciduous slopes.

Voice: A startling mix of swoops and laser beam sounds, with occasional bursts of strongly rhythmic song, almost dance-like.

Annabelle’s Owl

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Description: Delicately patterned small owl, usually a mix of brown, gray, and subtle streaks. Yellow eyes and iconic black raccoon-like mask.

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Habits and habitats: Nests in cavities, especially above clearings in deciduous woods.

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Voice: A mix of shrieks, swoops, and hooting phrases.

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All of the birds in this piece are imaginary  but they are loosely inspired by real birds, all of which can be found in Prospect Park in May, with the possible exception of the owl.

The closest ‘real’ bird analogues to each are as follows:

Pinkstart = Redstart or some other small active Warbler (ex Pine, Palm, Tennessee, Blue-winged, etc)

Rock Thrush = Wood or Hermit Thrush

Jewelweed Wren = Winter or House Wren

Frankensparrow = a mix of many native sparrows: Chipping, White-throated, Song, Swamp, etc

Plumbeous Dogbird = Gray Catbird

Archbishop = Cardinal or Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Annabelle’s Owl = roughly a screech owl

Created by Brad Balliett

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Flute: Leo Sussman

Eb Clarinet: Ben Fingland

Bass Clarinet: Alec Manasse

Saxophone: Guy Dellecave

Horn: Laura Weiner

Flugelhorn: Paul Murphy

Trombone: Dan Linden