I recently had the opportunity to go birding in Central Park with famed birder Christian Cooper. It was exhilarating to see more than 25 species of birds just zipping around the park and singing their various melodies. It is somewhat surreal to live in one of the busiest cities in the world and also be able to walk just a few feet into a park and see gray catbirds chasing one another, cardinals with their mates, a lone heron flying above, or a Baltimore oriole nest just resting in a tree above.
My walk with Cooper was to discuss his new show, “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper,” which will premiere in the United States on Saturday, June 17, on the National Geographic Wild channel, and will be released on Disney+ in the summer.
Many of you may remember Cooper from an incident that made national headlines after a white woman asserted she would tell the police that, “an African American man was threatening her life” simply because she was asked to leash her dog. As Cooper videotaped their interaction, the world was witness to a type of racial animus that is still very present in big cities and small towns across this country.
What many people who followed this disturbing story did not know was…Christian Cooper has been a lifelong birder and frequently explores Central Park with his binoculars in tow. Therefore, to see Cooper with his forthcoming show is a nice taste of sweet justice. Cooper now gets to travel the country doing what he loves—finding birds, connecting with people, and spreading the gospel about the joys of birding and the outdoors.
I began birding during the pandemic and have found it to be a salve on the busiest days. Just a few minutes of walking in nature changes my mood and gives me a level of peace and happiness I have not previously known. Even when I am on a stroll without my binoculars, it is amazing how my eyes (and ears) are now trained to see even the tiniest warbler flitting about.
I am so excited about Cooper’s new show and what his presence as a Black man will mean for future birders. I am equally excited about his forthcoming book, “Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World” (Penguin Random House), where he delves deeper into what birds can tell us about life.
Be sure to check out “Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper” beginning June 17 on the National Geographic Wild channel. And if you haven’t done so already, take a quick walk in your neighborhood and see how many birds are living around you. Maybe you’ll see a sparrow, a starling, a seagull, and of course, lots of varieties of pigeons!
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and the co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio.
