Crowds have been forming daily at Bryant Park for the last few weeks. They’re not there for a demonstration or performance — at least not one by fellow humans.
“It's the way they walk. That's what the main attraction is,” said self-described amateur birder Sheeba Garg, 54.
Garg, a California resident, was in town to visit her son, but made sure her itinerary included a stop at the Midtown park to catch a glimpse of the American woodcock. The bird stops in Bryant Park every year during its spring migration — and it’s got a funky stride. It bobs back and forth as it walks, like it’s grooving to an ornithological orchestra the wingless aren’t privy to.
Garg, like many in the crowd, had a camera with a long, telephoto lens. One person brought her binoculars. Most recorded with their phones.
Videos of the bird, some edited to music, have been all over TikTok and Instagram this year, and have drawn even more people than usual to the park. Liz Riegel, operations analyst and bird walk guide at Bryant Park, said it’s the most attention the woodcocks have ever gotten — with likely thousands of people stopping by for a glimpse so far this year.
“For the past couple weeks, at any given time we might see 50 people or more gathered around one of the woodcocks,” she said. “The crowds build on themselves, attracting people who haven't seen the videos and are just curious about what everyone is looking at.”
Crowds at Bryant Park take pictures and gawk at the American woodcock.
Gabriel Willow, a nature educator who has been leading woodcock walks in various locations for around 20 years said he’s thrilled about the excitement for the bird, though maybe a little anxious that too many people will show up for his upcoming tours.
“There's just a lot of aspects of woodcocks that are entertaining, I guess, and unusual, and that really seems to have captivated people,” he said. “I feel vindicated because I've been spreading the woodcock gospel since I was a kid and now everybody's really coming around.”
The American woodcock is a nocturnal bird from the sandpiper family that is well-camouflaged by its brown feathers. Bryant Park officials say they’re usually found in marshes (hence the 'bogsucker' nickname) or on beaches, but they’re the “landlubbers of the shorebird family.” The plump and round avians have “huge doe-eyes and ridiculously long beaks” that can just open at the tip to grab worms even when they’re plunged underground.
Willow said the birds are also present in other parks throughout the city, but are more easily seen in Bryant Park, which could explain why the ones there have been spotted more often. Those with untrained eyes might walk right by, if not for the constant crowd.
Deven Williams said he knew nothing about the bird, but spotted the crowd on his way to lunch with a friend, and then recognized it from a video he saw on social media.
Brooklyn birder and retired college professor Donald Thea had never seen the woodcock at Bryant Park until this month.
“It’s really funny. I woke up this morning and I went on Instagram and I saw a reel about this bird, I swear to God,” he said. “And so I saw this crowd around here and I saw the bird. It’s a complete coincidence.”
For Brooklyn birder and retired college professor Donald Thea, 72, it was a chance to add another bird to his “life list” — a record of every bird species a person has identified in their lifetime. He's traveled the world for birds but only needed to travel to a neighboring borough to find the woodcock. He said he went to the park after seeing the bird in the news, and was awe-struck at the sight of it, taking a seat at a chair nearby to watch it.
“ I've been [birding] since I was 10 years old, and I've been doing it all over the world," he said. "I've been to Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Central America — it's the first time I've seen this bird. ”
