Matthew, age 46, showed me around The Ramble in Central Park, where he introduced me to the tufted titmouse and I spotted the first red tail hawk I've ever seen in person. Be sure to check out his wonderful website that details his naturalist observations, Backyard and Beyond.

“My mother became a bird watcher when she and my father moved to Nantucket. This was in '79. So I finished high school there, and went off to college, and I would hear reports about how she was taking a class with some local naturalists and learning a lot about the island..."

SEE AND READ MORE IN BIRDWATCHERS...

Ashira, age 27, sees some similarities between the Lubavitch Hasidic community she was raised in and the bike messenger community she's adopted.

“I grew up in California until I was like 14, and then I lived in Massachusetts. I went to a boarding school there for wayward Hasidic girls—I'm not observant now, but I'm Hasidic in my heart..."

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• Rooftop Pigeon Coop Guys

• Puerto Rican Bike Men

• Bike Messengers

• Subway Musicians

• Park Anglers

• Urban Gardeners

• Bird Watchers

• Model Sailboat Salts

• Dance Roller Skaters

• Circle Drummers

• Amateur Astronomers

• River Swimmers

• Curry Contestants

• Scuba Divers

• Kite Flyers

• House Boaters

• Carnival Costume Designers

• Cricket Players

• Park Artists

• Radio Control Jet Pilots

• City Knights

• Street Performers

• Fashionphiles

• Mushroom Hunters

• Animal Lovers

• Contact