Remembering birder Alex Pirko

To the editor,

It is with much sadness that I recently heard the news that Bronx resident Alex Pirko has passed. Alex was an avid birder and a gentle soul that touched the lives of many nature enthusiasts in Van Cortlandt Park, which he frequented. Alex was always willing to share sightings and behaviors of birds, butterflies, and other wildlife that he’d encountered. He was an elderly man who moved slowly, taking in the natural world with binoculars and photographs.

His advocacy for preserving the Putnam Nature Trail continues to resonate. As an elder, he said he preferred to take a fall on an earthen surface rather than asphalt. It made no sense to him to pave the trail with asphalt and disturb nature by cutting down trees and underbrush where wildlife feeds, breeds and hides from predators. Observing the natural world brought Alex great joy, and he spread that joy to others.  

Speaking on behalf of preserving nature on the Putnam Trail, Alex appears on YouTube video called “Alex Pirko a long-time birder marvels on the Putnam Nature Trail.”

“And sometimes there’s something out of the ordinary that pops up that is amazing, and people come from all over to see it,” Alex said in 2013.

Debbi Dolan