NEW YORK – Tina Trachtenburg gives me a new outlook on pigeons. Walking through Washington Square Park on a superlative spring day, I noticed a group of them gathering in front of a bench, relaxing in the sunlight, much like their mortal enemies, cats. Usually this would be enough to make me run screaming in the other direction (despite a lifetime in New York City, I side with the cats) but there was something different about these pigeons.

Their eyes were a little bigger and somehow more welcoming, their feathers more vividly colored and plush than the average New York City rock dove. They were nibbling on pizza, one of my favorite foods. More importantly, they weren’t moving. Why? Because these birds, as well as the pizza, were made out of felt, a creation of artist Tina Trachtenburg.

Tina Trachtenburg, slide show superstar of the delightful Trachtenburg Family Sideshow Players, a family band and multimedia act that includes her husband and daughter, has long been in love with pigeons. She’s also known for creating the Sideshow Players’ merchandise, and saw a recent break in touring and playing shows as an opportunity to combine her artistic skills, with her love of pigeons. As she told The Examiner in a recent interview, she wanted to do something nice for pigeons, to get more New Yorkers to appreciate them.

If you’d like to become one of these New Yorkers, visit the bird’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/tinatrachtenburgartist. I saw the birds in Washington Square Park, but she’s brought them to Williamsburg and Central Park, among others. You can also follow the hashtag #flashflock on Instagram.

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