Hearken to the birds on this mural!
Painted: 6/13/2025
In regards to the Mural: On this mural created by artist Kristy McCarthy (aka D. Gale), a Nice Crested Flycatcher and Yellow-rumped Warbler stand out towards a richly coloured background lush with native vegetation resembling black-eyed Susan, butterfly milkweed, and New York fern. As a part of the Audubon Mural Project—a public-art initiative drawing consideration to birds which might be susceptible to extinction from local weather change—NYC Parks’ Artwork within the Parks program and NYC Parks GreenThumb labored with the Nationwide Audubon Society, Gitler &_____ Gallery, and native artists to design murals in group gardens throughout the town. By a collaborative course of between the companions, artist, and backyard group, every mural was designed to characteristic climate-threatened birds in addition to native plants that birds depend on for meals and shelter. By creating vibrant city inexperienced areas, group gardeners present important assist for birds and folks. Discover extra murals from the collaboration here.
This mural was created with Jardin la Roca, a group backyard in Melrose bursting with coloration. Artist McCarthy shares that she was closely pregnant whereas engaged on this mural. Although portray was extra of a problem than regular, “it was actually heartwarming to have a lot assist and encouragement from the group,” she says.
In regards to the Birds: The Nice Crested Flycatcher is a big flycatcher that swoops via Jap forests in quest of insect prey. It’s identifiable by its brightly coloured accents—together with a yellow stomach, clear grey chest, and reddish-brown wings—in addition to its buzzy, rolling calls. In the meantime, the Yellow-rumped Warbler is a well-known sight throughout the continent, flashing its distinctive yellow patch and letting out sharp chek calls because it flies via conifer forests.
Each of those species have secure populations at the moment. However a altering local weather poses threats: If warming continues at its present tempo, each birds are projected to lose greater than a 3rd of their present summer time ranges, in accordance with Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking motion to restrict warming might help guarantee these birds can thrive throughout wider swaths of habitat. Plus, sustaining pockets of inexperienced area like group gardens, and filling them with native vegetation, can provide birds the areas they should relaxation and refuel.
In regards to the Artist: Kristy McCarthy, who paints underneath the identify D. Gale, is an expert muralist, educating artist, and group organizer primarily based in East Harlem. She makes use of artwork as a strong software to construct group, increase consciousness about social and environmental justice points, and heal collective trauma. As a trauma-informed educating artist, she has led varied collaborative mural tasks with youth, seniors, and adults dwelling with psychological well being situations, partnering with NGOs and establishments resembling Groundswell, Thrive Collective, and the New York Division of Well being. She is a founding member of the Harlem Artwork Collective and co-producer of Fiesta de Colores, a socially engaged artwork competition that takes place yearly in Ecuador. She is presently working in the direction of her PhD in Environmental Psychology, researching the political ecology of murals.
McCarthy has beforehand painted works for the Audubon Mural Mission as nicely, together with grate work in Hamilton Heights that featured a Calliope Woodpecker, Shiny Ibis, and Lewis’s Woodpecker. For her backyard mural, McCarthy says she was drawn to species with brilliant colours and exquisite songs. “I hope this mural brings individuals pleasure and a way of awe at the great thing about nature,” the artist says. “My hope is for the mural to brighten individuals’s day and to boost consciousness concerning the endangerment of those birds.”
