Blackpoll Warbler by Yukiko Izumi
Location: Stockholm Street Community Garden, 143 Stockholm St, Brooklyn, NY 11221
Listen to the bird in this mural!
Painted: 6/2/2025
About the Mural: In this mural painted by Yukiko Izumi, male and female Blackpoll Warblers pop amid a tangle of native plants: black-eyed Susan, elderberry, New England aster, blue wild indigo, and tall boneset. 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 Stockholm Street Community Garden in Bushwick. Neighbors transformed the area—formerly an abandoned and trash-filled lot—and reopened it as a garden space with GreenThumb in 2023. For this mural, garden members joined the artist for a community painting day to create the piece together. “I think it add so much beauty to a place that’s already one of the few green spaces that we have,” shared one garden member who helped create the mural. “To have everyone come out and work on it together makes it even more beautiful and meaningful.”
About the Bird: The Blackpoll Warbler is a petite songbird whose rapid, high-pitched song rings out across the boreal forest in the summer. Despite its small size, the species is known for its incredible migratory journey: In the fall, Blackpolls fly all the way from Canada’s forests to South America—some of them enduring a marathon nonstop three-day flight over the Atlantic. For Izumi, the tiny bird’s impressive journey is symbolic for a neighborhood that is home to vibrant immigrant communities. “This bird represents resilience, strength, and hope—qualities deeply tied to the immigrant experience,” Izumi says.
Today, Blackpoll Warblers are still numerous, but have been in steep decline for the past few decades. Like other long-distance migrants, they’re at high risk from habitat losses across their far-reaching pathways. Climate change poses a major threat: If warming continues at its current pace, the species is on track to lose 44 percent of its summer range, according to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking action to limit climate change can help the species survive across a wider spread of habitats. Meanwhile, maintaining pockets of green space like community gardens can help offer these travelers much-needed spaces to rest and fuel up for their journeys.
About the Artist: Yukiko Izumi is a freelance muralist and graphic designer based in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Japan, she holds a B.A. and M.A. in Interior Design and Living Environment Study from Bunka Gakuen University, and an M.A. in Industrial Design from Designskolen Kolding in Denmark. With a mural career spanning three years, her experiences living abroad have deeply influenced her passion for overcoming language and cultural barriers through her murals, which aim to build cultural bridges. Yukiko's artistic style focuses on the simplicity of Japanese design, utilizing bright and fresh colors that resonate with local residents. She actively collaborates with various community organizations to create murals that bring joy and unity to her neighborhood. Her murals, predominantly located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, aim to beautify and revitalize the neighborhood, enhance safety, and foster community connections.
For this mural, the artist featured Blackpoll Warblers in both male and female plumage to represent her frequent creative collaboration with her husband. Izumi says she was struck by the peaceful nature and dedicated craftsmanship of the garden when she first saw the space. “I felt that the garden itself—where various native plants coexist—serves as a beautiful metaphor for the relationships and cultural exchanges nurtured within this shared space,” she says.