Figuratively speaking, of course.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Debbie Becker has been The New York Botanical Garden’s resident bird expert for over 25 years, and continues to lead her popular Bird Walks on Saturday mornings throughout much of the year.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Each year, The Audubon Society holds a Christmas Bird Count (CBC) in which bird watchers throughout the country volunteer to count birds in a specified area, setting out at dawn and closing their notebooks at dusk. This year in the Bronx, birders will bring their binoculars to The New York Botanical Garden, Van Cortlandt Park, Pelham Bay Park, City Island, Bronx Park East and other local parks and coastal areas. Based on the counts they come up with for each bird species seen, tallies will be pooled to represent each of the five boroughs.

The purpose of the final count determines the climate of the bird population, as species representation can fluctuate due to disease, weather, habitat destruction, and food supply. At the NYBG in particular, there have been some remarkable numbers observed in the last 10 years. For example, the population of American Crows at the Garden was once counted at over 500. Today, we are lucky to see just one or two. This is owed to the arrival of the West Nile Virus, which has decimated crow populations in our area.

Tufted Titmouse

Likewise, declines among the Tufted Titmouse, Chickadees, and the House Finch have struck hard. Populations of these small visitors were explosive in the 1990s, but conjunctivitis–an inflammatory eye disease–has caused them to dwindle since the late 2000s. In this case, however, the cause is more easily tackled; dirty bird feeders quickly pass the disease from bird to bird, so cleaning your feeders with soapy water each week can prevent the epidemic from spreading. Already, numbers of these bird species are slowly rebounding.

Then there are the new species which have been observed, those we hope will stick around long enough to be counted. Red- and White-winged Crossbills, rarities to the NYC area, have been observed around the NYBG and throughout many other locations in the city. Weather and food-related problems further north have driven these pine cone feeders south and into our vicinity.
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The smallest prince presides over his domain. But aren’t all frogs a little snooty with their noses in the air like that?

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Peahen sighted! The subdued colors of the female aren’t so easily recognizable as the flamboyant frill of the male peacock, but the slight tinges of blue-green color (not to mention those Dr. Seuss-esque head feathers) should give her away.

What few realize is that these birds really can fly, though they’re often kept in open-air aviaries–it’s just easier to stay put than leave a reliable food source. Another fact, somewhat more hilarious: peacocks are used as “guard dogs” by some, as they have a tendency to let out deafening squawks at the approach of strangers. Just don’t expect them to tackle an intruder with any efficacy.

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Live in New York City? I’ll hazard a guess you’re not starting your day with a cup of chicory and a thumb through the latest farmer’s almanac (Brooklyn’s urban agriculturists notwithstanding). But for mainland growers in the Empire State’s west end, a crawling menace on the horizon makes for an ugly forecast. Some wheat farmers are already seeing the fallout of this hungry pestilence, blown up from–where else?–the south.

Bear with me. Being a southerner, I get free license to poke fun at the legacy.

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A bee bumbling through a graceless moment, or enjoying the revelation of flower petal as recliner?

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Not quite a honey bee, is it? But this little syrphid fly, also known as a hover fly, is as good for a home garden as the buzzing insect it impersonates. Trade-off being that you won’t get any honey out of it (though the lack of a stinger makes up for the missing sweet stuff). Not only will the hover fly pollinate your flowers as it scoots about in search of nectar, but its larvae have a penchant for snacking on the aphids that would otherwise ruin your plants.

All told, stay your swatter if you happen to see one!

Syrphid fly on Lobularia ‘Snow Princess’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Debbie Becker has been leading weekly Bird Walks at the NYBG for over 25 years. You can often find her on Saturday mornings, guiding new and veteran “birders” alike through the Garden’s 250 acres with binoculars in tow.

While leading my weekly Bird Walk at The New York Botanical Garden I observed a large woodpecker flying by me. I was able to see its wings with their black feathers and white markings. My first and only thought was that I had just seen a Pileated Woodpecker.

After leading birdwatching tours at NYBG for 27 years, the one bird that has always remained elusive is the Pileated Woopecker. Although they are common just miles north of the Garden, not many of these birds have ever been spotted south of Westchester County. But after careful research, I discovered that males wander during the month of April, presumably seeking new territory. It was on May 5 that I had what I hoped was a Pileated–the first for NYBG in decades.
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What’s a forest without the chatter of songbirds, or a pond without a curmudgeonly duck or two? Tom Andres, an Honorary Research Associate at the NYBG, won’t even consider the possibility. He’s too busy snapping pictures of our avian population.

It’s no great secret that The New York Botanical Garden is a northern birder’s paradise, home to owls, hawks, herons, and woodpeckers. Debbie Becker’s Saturday Bird Walks remain a staple at the Garden, now over 25 years since she began guiding groups of amateur and veteran birdwatchers alike through our 250-acre landscape. Even so, populations change with the seasons–migrants flood the Garden with song and color one week, only to disappear the next.

Tom doesn’t let the fickle nature of the birder’s obsession hamper his photography, much less his fascination. “The Garden plays an important role for feathered visitors,” he writes, “especially as a refueling point during migration season.” The Bronx River Corridor–winding through the Garden–is a major draw for neotropical birds migrating toward northern breeding grounds, or heading south for warmer climates. This explains the sudden influx of loud and bright warblers arriving early in spring, making a much-needed pit stop before they move on.
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Look to have a bird-brained afternoon as we set aside this beautiful Thursday to celebrate the treetop tweeters of The New York Botanical Garden! We’re flora people, yes, but there’s a majesty (and, at times, comedy) to the diverse fauna of the Garden. Nothing speaks of elegance and grace quite like a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk fumbling its lunch all over Tulip Tree Allée.

If you’re looking to get better acquainted with our feathered friends, stop by on Saturday mornings for the weekly Bird Walk with resident expert Debbie Becker! Binoculars, cameras, and gasps of awe welcome.

Photo by Pat Gonzalez