Central Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, July 7, 2003

EXPLORING THE ANIMAL KINGDOM IN NYC PARKS

What kind of wildlife exists in Central Park? If I had a dollar for every time that question came to us! People around the world are especially interested in what wildlife live in Central Park, the most famous, most visited of our City’s parks. There have been many surveys and studies over the years to investigate birds, dragonflies, butterflies, trees, wildflowers, etc. But never, has there been an event like BioBlitz in Central Park. BioBlitz was a 24-hour species scavenger hunt. It began at noon on Friday, June 27, 2003 and ended at noon the next day.

All of the park was fair game for searching and was divided into 7 zones. Nearly 300 scientists from many different scientific disciplines were on hand to inspect every tree, every bush, and every lake and stream for unique plant, animal and insect species they could categorize. A team of 16 SCUBA divers in The Lake by Bethesda Fountain looked for aquatic life. We were fortunate enough to have world renowned SCUBA diver Sylvia Earle of the Explorers Club among the diving team as well as experts from the NYC Aquarium. There were a several teams of herpetologists led by David Karmann from the Museum of Natural History. In the Loch, Harlem Meer and Turtle Pond and they found 5 different species of turtle. There were quite a few groups of botanists and ornithologists scouring the park also.

The fun did not end at sundown. While most of the teams dissolved, there were mammalogists looking for nocturnal activity with search lights and headlamps in the Ramble. One scientist, Roland Kays from the New York State Museum, installed photographic cameras hooked up to motion detectors in the woods to catch the nocturnal critters in action. Perhaps the most excitement came when mist nets were put up in the Ramble over Azalea Pond by bat expert, Rodrigo Medellin of Columbia University. It took a little while but we finally caught four Big Brown bats in the mist nets. Rodrigo untangled them from the nets and had an impromptu show-and-tell lesson for about 20 people who had gathered to see the bats. Our resident owl expert, Chris Nagy of Fordham University, was also on hand to identify several screech owls. With the aid of a CD recording of screech owl calls, he lured a lovely little owl close enough for the group to get a peek.

All in all it was a memorable 24 hours and we now finally have an answer to that popular question, what lives in Central Park? The answer is nearly 850 species of plants and animals, and a great many specimens still to be identified and categorized. So stay tuned for that number to climb.

BioBlitz was organized and run by Parks & Recreation, the Explorer's Club, the Urban Park Rangers, the Central Park Conservancy, NYS Biodiversity Research Institute at the NYS Museum, American Museum of Natural History, NYC Audubon Society, Wildlife Trust, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wildlife Trust, Wildlife Conservation Society and Microsoft.

Anthony Dapolito, a long-time Greenwich Village leader and advocate for parks, passed away on Tuesday, July 1. Mr. Dapolito (1920-2003) ranked as New York City's longest serving community board member after having served 44 years as a member of Manhattan's Community Board No. 2, including an impressive 12 terms as its Chairman. In addition to his local leadership, Mr. Dapolito was the proprietor of Vesuvio Bakery. Among the playgrounds he advocated to be built or renovated was Bleecker Playground and Thompson Playground, which was re-named Vesuvio Playground in honor of Mr. Dapolito on January 11, 2000.

"Counting is the religion of this generation

it is its hope and its salvation."

Gertrude Stein
(1874–1946)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center