Sat, 11/22: The Early Bird Catches the Bird

(Photo of the Dark-eyed Junco bird courtesy of Wikipedia)

Dillon de Give, an artist living and working in Brooklyn, extends an invitation to everyone to attend a free and very creative protest/birdwatching event this Saturday, 11/22/08. To send the message about how detrimental it will be for our local birds for six artificial grass turf soccer fields to be put in place at Calvert Vaux Park (a.k.a., Dreier-Offerman Park).

The event is entitled “Hello My Name is Dark-eyed Junco” – A Birdwatching Adventure and here is how it is described in the press release on the Implausibot website:

Junco examines the identity of the bird watcher in nature. The play will begin in a decentralized fashion at various stations around the park that humorously “teach” people about birding- transforming the entire area into a kind of military base configuration of psychic avian awareness. The audience will then come together and use the skills they’ve learned in an actual bird-watching tour.

Check for details about these events after the jump.

While researching Calvert Vaux Park’s exact location, I found out that it is on Gravesend Bay, near Coney Island and Bensonhurst. If any of you know where the now-closed Nellie Bly Kiddie Amusement Park once stood, then you might know where the park is located. The park is named after the great architect, Calvert Vaux, who with Frederick Law Olmstead helped develop many of New York City’s beautiful parks.

The park appears to be also identified as Dreier-Offerman Park on some web map searches. So, don’t be surprised if you see a sign with this name or both.

While browsing the NYC Parks Department website for information about the 11 a.m. Dark-eyed Junco event, I happened upon another bird-watching event to be held at Marine Park at 8 a.m. If you you’re an early bird, you just might be able to make it to both events.

Here is the information for both Brooklyn events:
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Early Birding – The Urban Park Rangers will teach you everything you need to know to get started and try out your new skills on the trails. .
Time: 8 a.m.
Marine Park
Salt Marsh Nature Center
At East 33rd St & Ave U

“Hello My Name is Dark-eyed Junco”- A Birdwatching Event
Time: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Dreier Offerman/Calvert Vaux Park
‘D’ train to Bay 50th St