"Spring has sprung; the grass is riz; I wonder where the birdies is?" Office bound on the first day of Spring, my mind wandered to an old schoolyard chant. Then I started hearing bells. DART's office is just a few yards north of the Flatiron District, and the closest church, the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava, doesn't have chimes. A few minutes later, the radio announced that the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park had opened for the season, so off I went for a seasonal celebration.

As I approached the northwest entrance to the park, the sound of a giant flock of birds swelled to a freakishly loud pitch. A minute or so later, it gradually faded back to the relative silence of traffic noise and lunchtime banter. Then the chimes struck the hour. Just when I thought I might be a little bonkers, I spotted a handout box of brochures with the park's signature MadSquareArt, designed by its good neighbor, Pentagram.

The birdsong again swelled to a sonic envelope of architectural scale as I read the program for what turned out to be Bill Fontana's sound sculpture, Panoramic Echoes. Specially commissioned by the Madison Square Park Conservancy, which has been presenting world class art installations for the last few years, the soundscape includes the long-silent Met Life Clock Tower bells ringing every 15 minutes between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. Photo, left: A birdwatcher stopped in her tracks. © Peggy Roalf

To create the piece, Fontana attached speakers to each of the four bells in the clock tower. The sound is wirelessly transmitted to his mixing system, which creates cascading sonic layers that include the live bells and the recordings. The chimes, as well as birdsong he recorded all over the world, are projected from giant parabolic speakers placed on the tops of buildings around the north end of the park. Visitors to the park are engulfed in an unmistakably altered panorama of sounds that ebb and flow throughout the day.

When I finally ordered lunch, I discovered that the Shake Shack has something new this year. Wireless transmitters, handed out with receipts, enable diners to settle in at their tables while the orders are filled. When the sensor shakes, just head back to the Shack to pick up your lunch.

Panoramic Echoes is on until May 1. To hear an interview with Bill Fontana, go to WNYC's SoundCheck.