Urban Park Rangers Save the Day!

By S. C. Samoy, RISE Director of Operations & Communications

When a live something from the outside comes inside, who you gonna call? For RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity), it is Queens Urban Park Rangers!

A White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) zipped into the firehouse on Rockaway Beach Boulevard when Farm Share was happening on Wednesday. Maybe it was all the fresh organic produce: spaghetti squash, rutabaga, Japanese sweet potatoes, Korean moo radish. Or it could have been the friendly staff and volunteers: Juvie Anne Alfeche, Diane Kololyan, Ramona Munoz, Dan Holland. They, along with the community-supported agriculture members who were picking up their shares, were enamored with the bird, but when it would not leave at closing time, things got a little stressful.

All the advice on the internet said it is best to let a bird find its way out. Turn off all the lights, except the one by the exit. When that did not work, everyone left the building except the sparrow.

The next day, it was in the mezzanine and still would not fly out the three open doorways. That is when RISE called and e-mailed NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, specifically Queens Urban Park Rangers. M. Moshen and E. Vool responded in less than one hour and came with a net and extension pole. With a couple of ladders, a broom, and some gentle nudging, the sparrow flew from the mezzanine to the main open space and landed on the concrete floor. That is when RISE operations swooped the net down on the bird, which was let out the front door, on to Rockaway Beach Boulevard. Mission accomplished.

So who you gonna call? Queens Urban Park Rangers!