Baltimore Oriole by Marthalicia Matarrita
Location: St. Nicholas Miracle Garden, 330 St Nicholas Ave, New York, NY 10027
Listen to the bird in this mural!
Painted: 6/5/2025
About the Mural: In this mural painted by artist Marthalicia Matarrita, Baltimore Orioles perch amid a cluster of native purple coneflowers and sunflowers. As part of the Audubon Mural Project—a public-art initiative drawing attention to birds that are vulnerable to extinction from climate change—NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program and NYC Parks GreenThumb worked with the National Audubon Society, Gitler &_____ Gallery, and local artists to design murals in community gardens across the city. Through a collaborative process between the partners, artist, and garden group, each mural was designed to feature climate-threatened birds as well as native plants that birds depend on for food and shelter. By creating vibrant urban green spaces, community gardeners provide essential support for birds and people.
This mural was created with St. Nicholas Miracle Garden in Manhattanville. Neighbors have put in a lot of effort to revive the space, a small patch of green just off a busy street in central Harlem, which just a few years ago was “pretty much a junkyard” that had been used for dumping construction waste, says garden president Judi Desire. Today, the garden is home to a solar-powered greenhouse where members are growing microgreens, a farm stand selling produce from partners, and a range of events including educational workshops and musical performances. The new mural has already caught the attention of the garden’s many avian visitors, which “walk around like they own the place, as they should,” Desire says. It's also inspired further projects: Garden members are now planning to create a pollinator garden on the roof of the newly painted shed, cultivating real native plants on top of the painted versions.
About the Bird: The Baltimore Oriole flashes its brilliant colors from high up in the trees of open woods and groves in the East, singing out in clear whistles as it forages for bugs, berries, and nectar. Female birds are known for weaving complex nests that hang down from high branches. The artist, who included both male and female orioles in the mural, says she was drawn to the species’ bright plumage, noting that in color theory, orange represents “enthusiasm, creativity, and warmth.”
Though the species remains widespread today, it’s seen declines in recent decades, in part because Dutch elm disease has devastated its favorite nesting trees. Climate change poses further threats: If warming continues at its current pace, Baltimore Orioles are set to lose 57 percent of their winter range and 18 percent of their summer range, according to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking action to limit warming will help ensure the species can thrive across a wider spread of habitats. Meanwhile, maintaining patches of green space like community gardens can help offer the birds crucial spots to rest and fuel up on native plants and insects.
About the Artist: Marthalicia Matarrita is a Costa Rican and Dominican artist born in New York City. Growing up, she and her siblings created artwork together while enduring poverty and homelessness. She studied art at the famous LaGuardia High School in the city and completed her BFA at SUNY New Paltz in 2003. Now a mother of two boys, Matarrita has continued her work in New York, including participating in live art performances, painting murals, and publishing several children’s books.
Matarrita, who used a virtual reality headset to help design the garden shed mural, says she wanted to create a piece with a strong contrast of colors. She hopes the vibrant mural can bring joy to those who visit the garden and inspire them to pay attention to the wildlife around them.