WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT: Life in the Big City

Words and photo by f LoBuono

Birds are known to be arboreal creatures. If you are lucky enough to have a bunch of trees surrounding your house or apartment, I'm sure that you must spend some time in delighting in the music of their calls and the antics of their behavior. I am indeed fortunate to have that be the case at the place I call home.

So, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, how do you explain the many thousands of birds that populate large cities like New York, with its steel and glass canyons and dearth of trees? But, they ARE here, often in the most unlikely of places.

For example, I was making some photos as I often do from the rooftop of the CBS Broadcast center on W57th St. in the heart of midtown Manhattan. Suddenly, a small, flying black object that was moving west to east down 57th St. caught my eye. At first, I thought that it might be a black plastic bag that had gotten caught in the steady breeze blowing towards the river. But, as I looked more closely, I saw that it was a bird, a raven or crow, steadily flapping his wings as he continued to gain altitude. He had a large twig in his mouth and was making steady progress, going higher and higher, apparently heading for the taller building across the street from my location. I was on a building 10 stories into the air and the one that he was aiming for was twice as tall.

Two things struck me: the bird's flying seemed almost effortless as he climbed higher and higher, heading for the roof of that high-rise. I assumed that the twig was in his mouth to use for constructing a nest with his partner there and, apparently, proved no nuisance. It was as if the skyscrapers were merely canyons of glass to him.  Next, 57th is virtually devoid of trees. There are a few that line the street but they might be described more as saplings than full fledged trees. In fact, the closet mature ones inhabit Central Park, about a quarter mile away.

Yet, here was a black bird, far from his natural habitat, obviously still doing what birds do everywhere - building a nest to ensure future generations of his kind. This one just happened to be on a steel, brick, and glass monolith. After watching for a few minutes he disappeared somewhere on the roof.

Perhaps, you have to be a New Yorker to truly appreciate this, but, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, doesn't that bird represent what we all feel about living here? We all find a way to make it work. From the birds, to the bees, to the horse drawn Hansom cabs carting tourists through Central Park EVERYONE is part of a larger whole, living, working, and making New York the Greatest City in the World.