Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, December 13, 2000

101 SPARROWS IN CENTRAL PARK

Photo by Amanda (Greenpoint) Tedeschi

All eyes will be on the oft-unnoticed birds of Central Park Sunday, December 17 for the annual Christmas Bird Count.

Novices will learn to spot Pigeons, Sparrows and Starlings, and expert ornithologists will lead the way in counting the Hermit Thrush, Common Grackle, Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, and Mourning doves that elude the untrained eye.

It's a 101 year-old tradition begun by Charles Rogers in 1900 at the age of twelve. In honor of him, children under twelve don't pay when they come with an adult. For everyone else it's $5. Bring binoculars, a pad and a pen, and dress warmly. Meet at the South Pumping Station of the Reservoir at 8 A.M. or at 85th and 5th at 7:50 A.M. To register, sign up in the boathouse bird book or call Jill (Mainsail) Mainelli at (212) 360-1378.

Birds are one of the first groups of animals affected by population and habitat destruction. From the annual Christmas Bird Count, Parks and Urban Park Rangers and the National and New York City Audubon Society will gain valuable information about the health of continental birds and the state of the environment.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON SPACE OUT

Come join Class Ofs at the Museum of Natural History this Friday, December 15th. Come because you told everyone you moved to New York for the museums. It's a great opportunity to visit a cultural institution with a former Parkie, Rob (Conqueror) Vinci, as our guide. We'll see two wonderful exhibits: Fighting Dinosaurs: New Discoveries from Mongolia, and Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, and a space show, gratis. Meet in front of the Arsenal at 5:20 P.M. or at the Museum of Natural History, 77th Street entrance off Central Park West at 5:45 P.M.

Sarah (Ground Zero) Kay, (212) 360-1349

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Wednesday, December 16, 1987)

TUPPER THOMAS HONORED WITH "PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD"

Elected officials, members of the Fund for the City of New York, Commissioner Stern and about 100 Parkies and friends came to the Prospect Park Picnic House Monday afternoon to honor Prospect Park Administrator Tupper Thomas who was chosen as one of five municipal employees to receive the Fund's annual public Service Award.

Since 1980, Thomas has been the administrator of a park Frederick Law Olmsted considered his landscape masterpiece. Monday she was honored by the Fund for spearheading the revival of Brooklyn's 526-acre flagship park. In the seven and a half years that Thomas has been Administrator, the number of annual visitors to Prospect Park has almost tripled. In 1987, the park attracted approximately 4.4 million people.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Outer space is no place for person of breeding."

Lady Violet Bonham Carter, 1981