The East River may not be pristine (far from it), but it’s a lot better than it used to be. The evidence is all the bird life that has returned and is being shown off by the Audubon Society and New York Water Taxi. Among the birds seen during a preview tour attended by the NY Times: cormorants, egrets, herons and American oystercatchers. They apparently hang out on islands in the river, including North and South Brother Islands, between Rikers Island and the Bronx, and Mill Rock, just north of Gracie Mansion.

The tour includes the mouth of Newtown Creek (our second-favorite body of water in NYC, between Number One–The Gowanus–and Number Three–the East River), the site of that nasty oil spill bigger than the Exxon Valdez. The sunset Audubon eco-cruises will be taking place every Saturday between June 3 and August 5 at 7PM.