Two warblers peeped over the scaffolding. Our guide pointed out the vibrant orange coat and black crown of the Blackburnian warbler and the gold neck and white “eyebrows” of the yellow-throated warbler.
The warblers weren’t in trees, though. They were in murals.
Viewing bird murals in Manhattan is not entirely dissimilar from birding: You never know exactly what you’ll find. A mural could be hidden by scaffolding, or a new one may suddenly appear, or one you expect to see may be gone.
My wife, Carol, and I experienced all the joys, discoveries and challenges of birding on our walking tour of the Audubon Mural Project in Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights, vibrant New York neighborhoods of low-rise apartment buildings, corner produce markets, street vendors and people enjoying a sunny Sunday morning. On the streets, car horns and roaring engines mixed with the sounds of lively music.
This project, a joint initiative of the National Audubon Society and the Gitler & _____ gallery, pronounced “Gitler and,” funds artists to create murals of North American birds facing catastrophic habitat loss hastened by climate change.
“Birds are like the proverbial canaries in a coal mine,” said Jennifer Bogo, the National Audubon Society’s vice president of content.
At this writing, 102 murals depicting 140 species were on view: Some are massive and painted on the sides of buildings, some are spray-painted onto security screens, and others pop up in unexpected corners. And all of them appear in the neighborhood where John James Audubon spent the last 10 years of his life.
Leigh Hallingby, who offers tours of the mural project, said all the murals we would see that day were of birds threatened by loss of range, depletion of food sources, or habitat loss due to climate change. The walk would take us up Broadway from West 148th Street, crossing over to Amsterdam Avenue, then back to Broadway. We ended at West 164th Street east of Broadway. In all, the tour took a little over two hours.
One of our first stops was at a pediatric clinic at 3612 Broadway, where Australian artist Jacinta Stewart’s mural celebrates baby birds.
On the corner of West 149th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, an enormous grosbeak emerges above the treetops on the wall of an old movie theater, now a church.
Artist Louise Jones, known as Ouizi, used a bucket truck to paint this mural. She chose birds that represented different sections of the country, underscoring the fact that loss of habitat is a national problem. Heading back toward Broadway, we came upon a giant mural on the side of an apartment building featuring male and female hooded warblers perched on a bird’s-foot violet plant. The mural — by artist Gera Lozano, also known as Geraluz — is styled like a page from a volume of Audubon’s paintings, complete with title and identifying numbers.
New murals by artist Marthalicia Matarrita on West 149th Street in Manhattan, seen on June 26, 2022, replaced ones damaged by graffiti. Credit: For The Washington Post/James F. Lee
We made our way back to Broadway and West 149th, where two new barn swallow murals by Harlem artist Marthalicia Matarrita had replaced ones badly damaged by graffiti.
Nearby, another mural by Matarrita, this time painted on a security screen, celebrates an unpopular bird: the black vulture. The bird plays an essential role in the environment, as the artist notes in the mural, “Bird That is Often Misunderstood.”
A blue pinyon jay painted by Vermont artist Mary Lacy perches at 3668 Broadway in Manhattan, seen on June 26, 2022.
Credit: For The Washington Post/James F. Lee
My favorite mural was on the wall of an apartment building on the east side of Broadway between West 151st and West 152nd streets, a huge blue pinyon jay perched on a pinyon pine that was visible from the tree-lined median strip dividing Broadway. The artist, Mary Lacy of Vermont, painted the bird in mosaic-like patterns.
At 575 W. 155th St., my jaw dropped when I saw the gigantic mural of a swallow-tailed kite by artist Lunar New Year covering the side of a five-story apartment building.
Across the street in the Trinity Church Cemetery, we paid our respects at Audubon’s grave.
Walking-tour guide Leigh Hallingby points out details on a mosaic of trumpeter swans by Carlos Pintos and John Sear on West 163rd Street in Manhattan on June 26, 2022.
Credit: For The Washington Post/James F. Lee
On West 163rd Street west of Broadway, Guatemalan artist Juan Carlos Pinto and Brooklyn artist John Sear have created a mosaic of trumpeter swans using recycled glass, mirrors, tiles, porcelain and other materials. The swirl of whites, yellows, reds and blues evoke movement and flight. Leigh pointed out details such as shards of willow ware and a snaking row of dominoes embedded in the sky. “There’s so much going on here,” Carol said.
Painted by artist BlusterOne, this mural at 3898 Broadway in Manhattan, seen on June 26, 2022, was inspired by the Bob Marley song “Three Little Birds.” Credit: For The Washington Post/James F. Lee
After coming back from near extinction, trumpeter swans face drastic habitat loss from climate change. We saw a sign of hope painted on a security screen at 3898 Broadway, where a mural by James Alicea, a.k.a. BlusterOne, depicted a blue-headed vireo and two northern parulas. “Every Little Thing Gonna Be Alright,” it reads, invoking the Bob Marley lyric from the song “Three Little Birds.”
Over the past eight years, the mural project has grown beyond expectation, extending now to Vashon Island, Washington, and Rockford, Illinois. Project co-producer Avi Gitler has come a long way, too.
“I don’t look at birds the same way I did before,” Gitler said.
Nor do I. I thought of the diversity and sheer beauty of the birds we saw, and the talent of the artists. Our planet would be barren without them.
INFO Audubon Mural Project tours are typically offered one Sunday a month, from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The tour passes through an urban neighborhood over flat terrain. Expect to see about 30 murals. Limited to 20 people. Costs $30, or $20 for NYC Audubon members; nycaudubon.org.
