{"id":186565,"date":"2026-04-05T20:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T20:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/186565\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T20:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T20:36:08","slug":"nyc-park-project-could-push-local-extinction-of-birds-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/186565\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC park project could push local ‘extinction’ of birds: critics"},"content":{"rendered":"

A project to transform a birder\u2019s paradise into a children\u2019s playground and garden in Prospect Park<\/a> could help lead to the local \u201cextinction\u201d of already-suffering migratory fowl, critics say.<\/p>\n

The $37.5 million plan to revitalize the dilapidated and overgrown Vale in the northeast corner of the park would take away precious shelter for millions of warblers, sparrows and thrushes during their biannual voyages \u2014 simply to indulge humans, birders argue.<\/p>\n

The Vale in Prospect Park is currently a birder\u2019s paradise, especially during migration season. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see the habitat disappearing slowly \u2014 a little bit here, a little bit there \u2014 it adds up to becoming a real danger for the survival of our migrants, which is very troubling,\u201d said Tom Stephenson, a Brooklyn bird guide and Princeton University bird lecturer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumans are not in danger of extinction, but birds are in danger of extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Prospect Park Alliance, in tandem with the city Parks Department, broke ground<\/a> on the project last month, announcing it would bring the Vale back to its former glory after it has been left virtually untouched for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n

The 8-acre corner of parkland was originally designed in the 19th century as a children\u2019s playground and later became a rose garden, which has deteriorated into overgrown foliage today.<\/p>\n

The planned restoration would add such things as restrooms, a pollinator meadow, a revival of the historic Children\u2019s Pool and a play space while removing invasive plant species that have taken hold in the area.<\/p>\n

But birders worry the upheaval will destroy crucial layers of vegetation between the forest floor and canopy that species such as ovenbirds and warblers cannot survive without.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumans are not in danger of extinction, but birds are in danger of extinction,\u201d said bird expert Tom Stephenson. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are ground feeders, period,\u201d Stephenson said of the species. \u201cThey do not see trees as an opportunity to feed and rest. That\u2019s just the way they have evolved, so you need a range of habitats to help these species survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The birders are also extremely concerned<\/a> that the project\u2019s planned Nature Exploration Area, a \u201cnature-based play area\u201d to be surrounded by plants, trees and shrubs, which will help support local wildlife, will be trampled soon after it is established.<\/p>\n

A similar incident has already happened: The Brooklyn Bird Club donated about $20,000 to plant a native garden at the southern end of the Vale in 2009, but the site was destroyed as kids walked through and ripped out sections meant to serve as a haven for birds.<\/p>\n

The Nature Exploration Area will be a \u201cnature-based play area\u201d surrounded by plants, trees and shrubs. NYC Parks \/ Daniel Avila. Renderings c. Prospect Park Alliance<\/p>\n

\u201cThat area is devoid of birds now. That was a very rich habitat for low canopy warblers, and they\u2019re essentially not there anymore,\u201d said Dennis Hrehowsik, president of the\u00a0Brooklyn Bird Club.<\/p>\n

The Prospect Park Alliance insisted that the surrounding woodlands will be protected by \u201cstrategically placed shrubs\u201d and mesh fencing, as well as wood chips and a timber deck.<\/p>\n

The bird club was invited to provide input on the Vale restoration project \u2014 and is ecstatic over features such as birdbaths and the inclusion of fritting on bathroom windows to prevent bird injuries \u2014 but feels the final plan still does not prioritize fowl.<\/p>\n

The $37.5 million project will mark the first restoration of the Vale in more than 50 years. NYC Parks \/ Daniel Avila. Renderings c. Prospect Park Alliance<\/p>\n

Bird populations in the US have been declining for decades because of habitat loss and climate change. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n

Bird populations in the country have been plummeting in recent decades because of climate change and habitat loss, with the 2025 US State of the Birds report <\/a>finding that a third of the American bird species are in need of conservation action.<\/p>\n

The Prospect Park Alliance claimed that it considers preserving the Vale as a habitat for birds and other wildlife crucial to its project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWoodland restoration is in our DNA and part of our founding mission,\u201d said Deborah Kirschner, a rep for the alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Vale, our architects and designers worked closely with our landscape management team to create a design using native plants, trees and shrubs that will provide rich habitat for birds and other wildlife. This includes \u2026 groundcover, shrubs and small trees.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A project to transform a birder\u2019s paradise into a children\u2019s playground and garden in Prospect Park could help…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[17781,98,57,9,197,56,63,65,64,14182,15739,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-186565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-birds","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-metro","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city-life","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-nyc-headlines","16":"tag-nyc-news","17":"tag-parks-department","18":"tag-prospect-park","19":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}