Lindsey Nichols

Review of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenw...

Modern sculptures, organic horticulture, and beaut...

Modern sculptures, organic horticulture, and beautiful foliage in downtown Boston - what's not to like? Well, the traffic - if you walk through at rush hour, it's a headache - honking and sirens, the air acrid with car exhaust. But if you visit early-EARLY in the morning during spring or fall bird migration, the RK Greenway is a little big magical. The gently curving design of the park must resemble a river from the air, because it reliably attracts birds usually seen near rivers or willows: yellow-bellied sapsucker, Lincoln's sparrow, swamp sparrow, and Northern waterthrush. It's also a magnet for migrating hermit thrush, ovenbird, and common yellowthroat. Every now and then, a yellow-breasted chat ends up here as well.

Beware the lunch rush during the work week; it's a great time to buy some pork and scallion dumplings, but not a great time to see birds in this lovely little urban greenspace. For the non-birders, there's a beer garden, a weekly farmer's market, food trucks of course, and reliably great food in Chinatown (Dumpling Cafe! Suishaya! Shojo!) within easy walking distance.