Meet Robert DeCandido, PhD
​(Aka Birding Bob)
Bob's Story
The Bob is from NYC - he was born in the Bronx, not so long ago. In the late 1980s he began the first autumn raptor migration study at Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx (1988-1991), and later in Central Park at Belvedere Castle (1995-2002). He earned MS and PhD degrees studying the flora of NYC, while working full-time as a biologist for the NYC Department of Parks.
His bird walks began in spring 1992 and have continued each year since then. Bob worked on the reintroduction of the Eastern Screech-owl to Central Park (1996-2002) and various breeding bird surveys of the park, including studying a Peregrine Falcon nest on Central Park West (2014-2017).
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In between these research projects and the bird walks, Bob began raptor migration research projects in Nepal (starting in 1999) and Thailand (starting 2003); both sites have become globally significant bird migration hot spots.
These days Bob lives in the Bronx with Deborah Allen in a house they own with a garden outside and tropical fish inside...and he remains an independent voice for the importance of urban parks and green spaces for birds and people.