Pigeon Fest

Step right up and join us at the Coop Carnival! From ring-a-wing ring toss, to worm-in-the-hole mini golf, to pin-the-beak on the pigeon, and more. If you’re lucky, you just may win a prize at the prize booth!

It’s a party and you’re invited! Join High Line teaching artists to collaborate on the creation of a community pigeon piñata. Contribute colorful tissue paper to our piñata sculpture or make your own mini piñata to take the party home with you.

Iván Argote’s sculpture Dinosaur is a monument to the humble New York City pigeon. Which unsung hero would you honor with a monument? Show your ideas for who, or what deserves a monument by exploring the Alternative Monuments guide created by teaching artist Julia Rooney and the High Line Fellows from the High Line Fellows: Emerging Leaders Program.

Show your love for NYC’s most iconic avian residents by joining the Pigeon Fan Club! Visit the PFC station to decorate and make a pigeon button and look “coo” cool with face painting. Don’t forget to express yourself at our Pigeon Post station by writing a letter to a loved one and adding it to our carrier pigeon mailbag. Keep an eye out for The Quest to Learn CASA Afterschool Pigeon Performers.

Join us for storytime at the New York Public Library book mobile station or just peruse the curated selection of books for visitors of all ages that engage with the themes of pigeons, urban ecology, and monuments. Storytime will take place at 3pm and 4pm. You can also sign up for a library card, browse a small collection of books, speak with a librarian for reading recommendations, reference services, and more, and return and renew books.

12:30 – 1:30pm
Join the High Line’s senior director of horticulture, Richard Hayden, for a bird and pollinator-centered tour of the High Line habitats. Learn about the best shrubs and plants to support our fine feathered friends and the types of birds and pollinators that call the High Line home.

The Birdsong Project is a community dedicated to the protection of bird life, and to the celebration of the joy and mysteries of birdsong. We believe that birds – no matter feather or flock – are precious and inspiring and fundamental to our world. That a world without birds would be a world without freedom and flight and song. We believe birds matter. Are endangered. And need our help.

Celebrate the everyday beauty of migration, resilience, and community with the Center for Book Arts at Pigeon Fest on the High Line! Inspired by Dinosaur—a tribute to the humble, often overlooked pigeon—our table invites you to join a zine-making activity that explores personal stories of home, movement, and belonging. Browse a curated selection of artists’ books that highlight overlooked voices and unique forms of storytelling. We’ll also have handmade prints and limited-edition publications available for purchase. Whether you’re making or exploring, stop by to connect, create, and reflect on the shared experiences that shape our city.

Stop by to say hi to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We’ll have information on how you can contribute bird observations for science, take bird-friendly actions in your neighborhood, and how to identify birds with the free Merlin Bird ID app. Learn about our core participatory science programs like eBird, the Great Backyard Bird Count, Project FeederWatch, and our educational tools like Bird Academy and All About Birds. Pick up some activities for the kids and enter free drawings, where we’ll be giving away items like Zeiss binoculars, bird feeders, Bird Academy courses, and more!

We shared information about the LES Ecology Center’s programs, including composting, e-waste recycling, environmental education, and stewardship initiatives. The LES Ecology Center has pioneered community-based models in urban sustainability since 1987. They provide unique composting and e-waste services, environmental stewardship opportunities, and educational programming to all New Yorkers to create an equitable, resilient, and sustainable city.

Lights Out Coalition is a diverse alliance of 60 member organizations and distinguished professionals across a broad spectrum with varying missions yet all united in their dedication to protecting New York’s wildlife. We achieve this in two ways: {1} through advocating for laws that achieve exactly that. In our short existence we have already gotten three laws passed unanimously in the City Council, the latter which is named Flaco’s Law after the beloved Central Park owl who died as a result of man’s built environment; and {2} by endorsing compassionate candidates for office who are committed to making animal protection a priority. We strive for meaningful change that benefits the interconnectedness of animals, humans, and the environment. Our motto: If it’s good for animals, it’s good for human health and the planet.

Participants visited local independent bookstore Lofty Pigeon Books for an array of books and gifts for all ages that focus on, feature, and celebrate the pigeon. Look out for favorites like A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! as well as unique gems not found anywhere else. The wide selection of gift items includes socks, stickers, postcards, and artwork, many made by local artists. Store merch like tote bags featuring the beloved Lofty Pigeon Books logo and mural were avaiable.

Participants learned about the important work of The Mayor’s Office of Urban Agriculture (MOUA). MOUA leads New York City’s efforts to increase access to and production of locally grown food, while strengthening climate resiliency, and spurring economic activity throughout the five boroughs. Through research, policy development, advocacy, and community outreach, MOUA aims to address the climate, health, and food disparities in our natural and built environments. MOUA advances urban agriculture on several fronts including gardens, urban farms, food sovereignty, workforce development, and building a green, resilient economy.

Visitors stopped by Monument Lab’s table to explore resources that spark new ways of thinking about monuments and public memory. They offered free publications on civic engagement, art, and history in public spaces, as well as information about our upcoming projects across the country. Participants learned how artists, communities, and researchers are reshaping the ways we remember, reflect, and build together.

Welcome to Mother Pigeon’s Workshop Table. Here participants found all of Mother Pigeon’s famous work featuring her handmade birds and rats as well as our new story book, illustrated by Mother Pigeon. We also have our cassette tape featuring Frankie The Pigeon and Mother Pigeon with 10 original songs!

NYC Bird Alliance works to protect wild birds and their habitats across the five boroughs through science, advocacy, and engagement. Stop by to learn about birds, how you can make NYC safer for birds, upcoming events, and more!

Pat McCarthy presents a dozen issues of his fanzines about raising pigeons. The zines chronicle 13 years of flying pigeons from rooftop coops in Brooklyn, as well as in the Catskill Mountains upstate. Each booklet is entirely handmade and printed by the artist. His fanzines are included in the collections of many international museums and libraries.

Participants stopped to learn about the only wildlife rehabilitation center in New York City.he nonprofit Wild Bird Fund treats more than 12,000 patients a year, from 200 species, all with the goal of returning them to the wild. Patients include red-tailed hawks and peregrine falcons, as well as gulls, robins, songbirds and, yes, lots of pigeons! Squirrels, opossums and groundhogs too. WBF also provides urban wildlife education to school children throughout the city.