On a partly cloudy Sunday, April 28th morning, the MSNH gathered in Central Park for a spring birding walk led by Dr. Rachael Joakim, an avian expert and recent graduate from the City University of New York’s and American Museum of Natural History’s doctoral program. Coincidentally, our walk occurred at the same time as a large marathon in Central Park, and although the noise from the marathon was a bit disrupting, it worked in our favor as many birds steered clear of the noisy Homo sapiens, and were pushed closer towards our direction. Our walk began at Oak Bridge, went through the Ramble, and ended close to Belvedere Castle, at which point the sun had fully emerged. With our eyes and ears pointed above, we searched and listened carefully for our avian friends. All in all, 30 bird species were observed either by eye or sound with some special highlights including, a black-and-white warbler, a blue-winged warbler, a Louisiana warbler and wood thrushes. A complete list of the birds we observed can be found on ebird.
A special thank you to Dr. Joakim for leading the walk! To view more photos from this event, please visit our gallery. All photo credit goes to Stephanie Loria. To learn more about Dr. Joakim and her research, please visit her website.
Dr. Rachael Joakim is a recent graduate of the City University of New York Ph.D. program and American Museum of Natural History doctoral fellowship. Her research focuses on tropical avian communities and their microbial symbionts, and her dissertation analyzed data collected on 5 expeditions to remote jungles on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. In addition to avian research, she organized a birding competition amongst her fellow AMNH employees, which is now in its 7th year. She also participates in many forms of STEM outreach, including an after-school nature class in her neighborhood of Inwood, in the hopes of providing opportunities for young people to explore their interests in science and nature. She has been accepted into Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)’s postdoctoral program beginning this summer, where she will continue her successful collaboration with Indonesian scientists to research avian evolution and address immediate conservation efforts as an employee of the government of the world’s 3rd largest democratic nation. She will be making the move with Zeus, her trusty 9 lb chihuahua mix, and looks forward to spending more face-time with her Indonesian work family!