PLAYING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
By ANDREA KANNAPELL
Published: March 12, 1995
CENTRAL PARK Seeking the First Of the Songbirds
In the last few years, March has seen both foot-deep snowfalls and 70-degree days. "The fuel of the weather machine is the sun," explained Paul Knight, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University. "The Northern Hemisphere is getting more fuel than in any of the other winter months, yet the oceans are near their coldest temperatures." It is this contrast that produces the month's changeable weather.
But March 20 marks the vernal equinox -- the passing of the sun across the equator -- and the official beginning of spring. And the birds are getting the signal. The annual migrations from Central and South America have begun, and some of the advance guard are already moving through the New York area. "This is an exciting time of the year, because you just don't know what you might get," says Starr Saphir, who, with 49 years of birding experience, is a regular Audubon Society guide.
On Tuesday morning, Ms. Saphir will be leading a gaggle of Homo binocularus through the wilds of Central Park, where a half-dozen or more migrating species are expected to join the usual 22 (the height of spring may see as many as 60 species). New arrivals could include some of the earliest of the songbirds: the golden-crowned kinglet (above), the eastern phoebe (right) and the rusty blackbird.
"If we're lucky," Ms. Saphir says. Most songbirds are still moving through Florida and the Carolinas. The (pardon the expression) early birds time their arrival to coincide with the first tasty blooms of the season; the main army shows up when the nutritious insect population ripens.
"We try to see the whole movement from South America to Central Park," Ms. Saphir says. "It gives you a different sense of time."
Meet southwest corner of Central Park West and 81st Street, Tuesday. Tour leaves promptly at 9 A.M., returns at noon; $2 for Audubon Society members, $4 for nonmembers. If weather looks iffy, call (212) 304-3808 after 7 A.M. Tuesday morning for recording. And bring binoculars. BRONX PARK Strolling in the Gardens Ahead of the Crowds
At the New York Botanical Garden, early bulbs are blooming, including 150,000 snowdrops, and the silver-barked red maples are sending out reddish twigs. In the wetlands, the pussy willows are starting to open up.
Wayne Cahilly, who manages the arboretum and grounds, says March, with its gentle signs of growth, is one of his favorite times at the garden. "The first nice day in April, this place is packed with 10,000 or 12,000 people," he says. "Now, things are still quiet. It's a good time for real gardeners to come, people who appreciate the architecture of the plants and the layout of the formal gardens."
Today the garden is having its Maple Sugar Sunday, a kind of spring kickoff. Parks workers will tap a sugar maple, and you will be able to taste the sap.
On Tuesday, the T. H. Everett Rock Garden opens, featuring thousands of alpine plants gathered from six continents (Which one doesn't have any? Antarctica) and a waterfall laced with young plants.
The rest of the week, it's time to cherish the quietude.
The New York Botanical Garden, 200th Street and Southern Boulevard, Tuesday through Sunday, 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.; hours extend to 6 P.M. in April; (718) 817-8700. UPPER WEST SIDE Celebrating Purim With a Samba
For Judith Turner, Purim enlivens all of March. "It is like the greatest holiday for us," says Ms. Turner, the program coordinator at Temple Ansche Chesed. "Everything goes." Ansche Chesed is greeting the holiday with its annual Purim spectacular for children, featuring a samba band (a typically unconventional touch), dancing and a reading of the megillah, which tells the story of Queen Esther.
251 West 100th Street; Wednesday, 6:30 P.M.; $2; (212) 865-0600. ANDREA KANNAPELL