Dancing Bird Sets Off Social Media Frenzy in Bryant Park

The beloved American woodcocks returned to Bryant Park and set off a birding frenzy to watch the dancing wobbler, also known as a timberdoodle, do his little mating dance and greet the excited watchers.

The migratory bird was clearly the star of the spring season when Straus News stopped by on April 3, drawing interest from paparazzi and tourists alike as he nestled under a few bushes just near the subway exit on 42nd street. Even with dozens of eager people taking photos at a respectful distance, the American woodcock seems to feel right at home. Bryant Park was hosting special birding tours on April 3 and April 8.

Once a year, this bird will make a pit stop in Bryant Park for a few a week before continuing its northern migration. Passionate bird watchers and TikTok scrollers came together for this special moment in NYC.

Many of his fans posted videos of the dance set to the tune of music such as the 1983 Men with Hats hit “The Safety Dance” which opens with the classic line: “We can dance if we want to.” Others posted to “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.

Bryantparknyc posted a widely viewed video of the small feathered celebrity in a standoff with another resident, a city rat.

Joyce Sun, one of the young girls standing taking pictures of the adorable plump bird, said that she had discovered it on social media. She started seeing videos of the bird on her TikTok feed. “If I had to guess, I’m assuming many people also had the same experiences,” she said.

Her statement seemed to prove true, as the majority of the crowd, which was mainly people in their early twenties, had also become enamored with the cute bird and its wobbling mating dance after seeing countless videos.

“I’ve been seeing so many TikToks about this bird...a lot of them have a video of the bird doing its little mating dance, and then it will say ‘meep’. That’s it’s little noise.” said Montana. She works across the street from the park at Blue Bottle cafe and clocked out of work to go see the bird who became a social media sensation. “When I saw that this bird was in Bryant Park, I was like ‘I need to go see this little baby’.”

Even if someone had no idea what made the American woodcock so special, which it is, social media gave it its fame. “People are like really obsessed with how cute this bird is,” said Montana eyeing the She mentioned that she had no knowledge of the bird before seeing it on her TikTok feed. After every ten videos that she would scroll through, there would be one of the bird. “It’s like a superstar.”

The American woodcock, while not an endangered species has seen its population decline since the 1960s as its preferred scrubby brush habitat disappears from many areas in the northeast.

With hundreds of people perched around the bird, it can definitely be said that this American woodcock is the celebrity of the spring season. In the midst of the midtown noise and bustle, he has found a happy refuge in a small patch of greenery in Bryant Park and delighted his growing base of fans before resuming his northern journey to Canada.