Country in the City
A bald eagle and coyotes are among the wildlife spotted in Manhattan parks
| 31 Jan 2020 | 10:54
The bald eagle in Riverside Park. (
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The eagle in flight. (
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Screenshot of NYPD Central Park's Twitter advice about coyote encounters. (
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Manhattan residents are now sharing their green spaces with some non-urban creatures: specifically, coyotes that have been spotted in Central Park and a bald eagle that paid a visit to Riverside Park recently.
The bald eagle was the subject of an email news alert on Jan. 22 from Dan Garodnick, President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy. "Conservancy Gardeners first saw the 'stoic' eagle flying above the Park yesterday before it settled on a perch at 113th Street, near the Forever Wild Woodland, seemingly unruffled by the enthusiasm of several spectators," Garodnick wrote. He also noted that park users on Twitter had seen the eagle flying over Grant's Tomb at 122nd Street later that day.
The eagle may or may not have been the same one spotted flying into Brooklyn last week.
Meantime, the NYPD's Twitter feed had several references to coyote appearances in Central Park. One noted that there had been sightings on a weekly basis. Another urged residents not to feed the wild animals and to "protect your pets."
The Manhattan Bird Alert chimed in appreciatively: "We're glad that the NYPD and NYC Parks are encouraging people to accept Central Park coyotes, respect them and coexist with them. They have caused no harm and they link us to the "wild north" - Westchester and the Bronx (!) - whence they come."