Ned Boyajian

Mallards, the Pool, Central Park, taken in late October, 2013. Foliage from some the Park's 80 acres of woodlands float in the water. Not only an essential sanctuary for human sanity amid the bustling city, the Park was designated an Important Bird Area in 1998 by the Audubon Society. It shelters thousands of birds of 275 species during the year and in an era of vast human development is an important reminder that habitat enriches our human experience also can let other species thrive, even in an almost entirely artificial, built environment.