Pirates, Parrots, & Pigeons: A Birdwatching Parley

​Hoist yer binoculars, our motley crew of dreamers and dawdlers. The Pirates for the Planet are joining forces with Magpie Mike of the McGolrick Park Bird Club for a Saturday morning quest to spot the most ancient creatures still flying the earth.

​That's right, ye scallywags. While the rest of the Jurassic period went extinct, the dinosaurs survived. They got smaller. They got feathers. They learned to sing. And every spring, they pour through Brooklyn by the millions on their great migration north, dropping into places like McGolrick Park and the wild industrial edges of Newtown Creek to rest, refuel, and remind us that the age of dinosaurs never actually ended. We just stopped looking up.

​Magpie Mike, founder of the McGolrick Park Bird Club, will be leading the charge with binoculars, field guides, and a treasure trove of knowledge about what sings, hunts, and soars along New York's most contaminated and surprisingly alive waterway. Perhaps we'll spot some spring warblers in the treetops, herons stalking the creek's edge, or ospreys patrolling the skies, and yes, the noble pigeon, which we hereby declare the most underrated dinosaur of all time.

​Ye shall encounter:

• ​🦜 Living dinosaurs in all their feathered glory

• ​🌊 The unlikely wildlife of a Superfund site

• ​🗺️ Stories of how the creek lost its life and is slowly winning it back

• ​☠️ Pirates with binoculars

​What to bring:

• ​Binoculars if ye have 'em (a few spares will be afloat)

• ​Water, comfortable shoes, and a sense of wonder

• ​A pirate hat, eyepatch, or feathered finery (highly encouraged, not required)

• ​Yer best birdcall (there may or may not be a prize)

​The creek may be a Superfund site, but the birds don't care. They've been here longer than us, and if we play our cards right, they'll be here long after.

​Free. All ages. All skill levels. All manner of nautical riffraff welcome.

​Sea ye there, mateys. 🌎🏴‍☠️🦅