Andy Denemark: For The Birds

It wasn't until Andy Denemark bought a vacation house in rural upstate New York, far from the glare of city lights, that his hobby really took flight. Today, as an ardent birdwatcher and "eco-tourist," he can sense the arrival of summer in ways that most of us are unaware: by the arrival of the Scarlet Tanager.

"I know we all grew up with these images of Jane Hathaway of the Beverly Hillbillies and her hiking shorts and binoculars. The association is not the coolest thing in the world," admits Denemark, executive VP of programming for United Stations Radio Networks in Manhattan. "But when you think about it in terms of preservation and the ecology and rainforests, it is pretty cool."

Denemark and his wife, Jodi Serota, have traveled far and wide from their getaway home (near New Paltz in the valley beneath the Shawangunk Mountains) in search of specific winged creatures, including a trek to Trinidad to see humming birds, toucans, and other tropical birds seldom seen outside South America. "We put on the shorts and mosquito repellant and go after the rare species," he says.

The couple also makes an annual trek to Moosehead Lake in northern Maine (pictured above; the arrow indicates a moose in the photo): "We fly to Portland and then drive four hours north. It's wilderness like the Eastern U.S. must have resembled before the white Europeans came. We stay in cabins that are 10 miles from the general store on dirt roads and there's so much nature, including Cedar Waxwings and loons and birds we just don't get [in New York state]." Denemark has also sighted Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska, egrets and herons in Florida, and studied migration habits in coastal Cape May, N.J. He's even observed specific owl and falcon breeds in New York's Central Park.

Denemark says that his love for nature is a logical response to the pace of life in New York: "This has nothing to do with music, radio, or writing"—which occupy his days, along with a burgeoning independent film company, Burnt Davish Productions. "When you live in the city, a vacation is not to go to another city; it's to go to the beach or the woods, where you can clear your head and relax."

When he and Serota bought the summer home in 1987, he put a birdfeeder up and "started to see all of these colorful birds. I realized they weren't all sparrows or pigeons." That led to the purchase of a copy of Roger Tory Peterson's ubiquitous Field Guide to Eastern Birds, allowing him to discover the difference between a robin and, say, the Tufted Titmous. He also has birding software on his computer and subscribes to two monthlies, WildBird and Birder's World.

"It's a very pleasant diversion to get a little connected to nature, even if it's a little nerdy," Denemark says. "It's good to remember that these things are out there. The planet is one big organism, and we don't see these things every day in the concrete jungle."



CHUCK TAYLOR