Product Description

Central Park is an 843-acre oasis in the middle of Manhattan's vast network of steel, concrete, and glass. It is also, according to the New York City Audubon Society, one of the top ten birding spots in America. More than 200 species pass through the park on their migratory routes each spring and fall, close to one third of the bird species found in the United States. For the past two and a half years Cal Vornberger has been in the park every day photographing these feathered park residents. The best of those images are now collected in this gorgeous volume.

Vornberger's photos capture birds engaged in all types of activities: feeding, bathing, caring for their young, flying, singing. Among the more than 100 species featured are warblers, egrets, herons, kingfishers, a boreal owl, and hawks (including the famous Pale Male, whose eviction last December from its ritzy Fifth Avenue perch sparked nationwide news stories). Packaged inside the book is a removable foldout pocket guide. Vornberger's spectacular photography, interspersed with his comments about birds, the park, and photography, will appeal to all bird-watchers, nature lovers, photography aficionados, and visitors to New York's Central Park.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #262979 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

From Scientific American
The surprise here is that New York City's Central Park is one of the country's top birding sites. The 843-acre park is a magnet for more than 200 species on their migratory routes. Author/photographer Vornberger has caught the birds in action and interaction; he includes information about how he got some of his spectacular shots and a small pocket guide.

Editors of Scientific American

From Booklist
Central Park's 843 acres--with its ponds and lake--is one of the top birding spots in the country. Vornberger, a wildlife photographer who also wrote the informative text, has captured the beauty and elegance of the park's birds in 175 stunning color photographs. He divides the book into four seasons, telling readers--for instance--which species can be seen during spring migration or which ducks stick around during the winter after moving south from their summer breeding grounds. Summer is the nesting season for birds that breed in the park; fall is again migration time, and many species stop by on the way south. The photos include a great blue heron feeding on a crayfish, a mallard sharing a pond with a turtle, and Canadian goslings in their nest. There is a removable foldout pocket guide of color photos of the birds, and a colorkey indicates the primary season during which each bird can be seen in the park. Birdwatchers will be captivated. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Cal Vornberger is a professional photographer who lives in New York. When not in Central Park pursuing his passion for wildlife photography, he can be found teaching digital photography at various schools around the city.

Customer Reviews

Fabulous Book
If you like birds, you'll love the unbelievable photographs. If you like Central Park, you'll enjoy the map on the front and back flats which help you identify where the pictures were taken. Glad I purchased this book.

More than just pretty pictures.
I'm not an ornithology buff, but I am a serious amateur photographer. I also happen to live in New York City and do a lot of shooting in Central Park.

I've seen Cal Vornberger a few times as he was going about his business and intensely bringing his huge 600mm lens to bear on some unsuspecting bird.

Until purchasing the book, my exposure (no pun intended) to Vornberger's work was limited to a few looks at his website.

While there are some standard "bird on a stick" shots, they do not by any means make up the majority of the photos. Frankly, anyone with a long lens can take a picture of a perched bird.

What sets Vornberger apart is his knowledge of each species and having the patience to wait for his subjects to be doing something interesting. His shots of so many different species going about the business of feeding, nesting and simply interacting with each other are outstanding.

The printing is excellent and the essays by Vornberger and Marie Winn are informative and very well written. I spend a lot of time in Central Park shooting general nature subjects, but Vornberger's maps led me to discover some areas of the park that I'd never before explored.

If you have any interest in birds, Central Park or photography, this is a must buy.

From a non-New Yorker
I have not yet heard from my sister and brother-in-law, who were the recipients of this Christmas gift. They have an apartment on Central Park, but also have a place in Key West and may not yet have received the present. I thought it was a handsome book.