The New York Botanical Garden is, first and foremost, a world-renowned collection of flora. But you’d be hard-pressed to spend more than a few minutes walking under the boughs without recognizing the sing-song notes of our most gregarious residents. The birds of the Garden represent some of the most varied fauna in New York City, and not only are we a haven for passersby making the trip to cozier climates, but we’re further home to a menagerie of year-round species in all shapes and sizes.
It so happens that we get the best of both worlds in the fall. Migrating species gather up for the flight south while the locals buckle down for the coming winter, and Debbie Becker, binoculars in hand, is always there to see it; join her for our in-depth NYBG birdwatching course beginning in October and you’re sure to walk away with a new skill.
While the herons and egrets are soon to take flight for the season, and the hummingbirds already have their eyes on the clock, few realize how abundant the wildlife is here in the autumn. Thankfully, Becker has the roll call down pat. She’s been leading Saturday Bird Walks at the NYBG for over 25 years, making her one of the area’s foremost experts on NYC’s winged things. And while newcomers are always welcome to glean what they can from her weekend walks, motivated beginners won’t want to pass up Becker’s primer on birdwatching fundamentals. read more »
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. read more »
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. read more »
Debbie Becker’s ever-popular Bird Walks return this Saturday with a hunt for those tiny gems of the garden; hummingbirds! The walks begin at 11 a.m., leaving from the Reflecting Pool in front of the Visitor Center. A limited number of binoculars are available for loan at the Visitor Center Information Booth, so if you have a pair, bring them along, and be sure to wear sturdy shoes.
The diverse habitats of the Botanical Garden offer bird-watchers a chance to see dozens of species of birds throughout the year. The Garden’s magnificent 250-acres of outdoor gardens and collections, open meadows, native forest, and waterbodies such as the Bronx River and Twin Lakes entice birds migrating through the area in spring and fall and those that stay to nest in summer or to spend the winter.
We talked to some visitors and staff about their favorite birds and why they love birding at the Garden.
Upcoming Bird Walk themes include:
- In Pursuit of Hummingbirds September 10
- Great Hawk Migration September 24
- In Search of the Great Horned Owls November 19
- Annual Bird Count December 10
- Great Backyard Bird Count February 18
Tell us (by leaving a comment): What is your favorite bird? Have you had a great birding experience at the Garden?
We talked to some visitors and staff about their favorite birds and why they love birding at the Garden. Take a look, and then tell us (by leaving a comment): What is your favorite bird? Have you had a great birding experience at the Garden?
NYBG Member and photographer Laura Meyers sent this picture in to us. She says, “This nest is right off the bridge between the Twin Lakes. Took the picture this Friday, May 13. The Garden looks soooo beautiful this time of year.”
Debbie Becker leads a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center. Photos by Debbie Becker.
Every April, birders’ fingers start to twitch. They step a bit more lightly and are strangely polite. They are gracious to their loved ones, work harder than ever at their jobs, and make sure everyone is satisfied and happy. They whistle while they work, and perhaps when no one is looking, they will take a cloth and carefully wipe down the lens of their Nikon Monarch binoculars. At night, while everyone is sleeping, they secretly open Peterson’s Guide to Birds East of the Rockies, slip a CD into the player, and sit quietly listening, careful not to wake anyone, to the bird calls emanating from the speakers. It is April, which is followed, naturally, by May, and that means only one thing to the obsessed birdwatcher: The warblers are coming! The warblers are coming!
Suddenly, birdwatchers’ wives are widows, children wonder what happened to their parents, teachers are marking students absent, and employers anxiously eye the empty desks of their employees.
I know birders who plan entire vacations around the last two weeks in April and the first two weeks in May. They don’t get into a plane or drive across the country. They don’t even visit a beach. The birders park themselves in The New York Botanical Garden, Central Park, Pelham Bay Park, Riverside Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Rye Nature Center, or anywhere else that is green, and then they wait. They spend all year anticipating the spring migration of the warblers.
Warblers are tiny colorful birds that migrate from South America up to the Canadian border during our spring. Their brilliant plumage is for breeding purposes, but not only do they attract a mate, they also attract the eyes of millions of birdwatchers as they work their way up the eastern seaboard. The Garden is a flyway for these little critters, and birders turn out in the hundreds to see the orange glow of the Blackburnian warbler or the brilliant yellow of the Prothonotary warbler. The Black-throated blue warbler is majestically blue and a woodland warbler. The male’s call is hypnotic and can be heard from quite a distance away. The chatty Common Yellow throat and Yellow warbler often nest at the Botanical Garden and can be heard chanting their mating song while working the new maple leaves for insects.
The Pine, Palm, and Prairie are early warblers and can easily be seen before all the trees leaf out. This year, NYBG was lucky to have an early Prothonotary warbler show up at Twin Lakes on April 14th. The sunny yellow bird hung around for about a week and then continued his migration north. Many birders crowded the banks of Twin Lakes scouting out the precious little bird, and all were rewarded for their efforts as the Prothontary put on a spectacular show.
So far we have seen Northern Waterthrush, Black and White, Yellow Rumped, Palm, Pine, and Prairie warblers. Other spring migrants include: cat birds, orioles, kingbirds, indigo buntings, gnatcatcher, kinglets, vireos, tanangers and thrush.
Spring is alive at the Garden with song and color, so come join us as we rejoice and bathe in the warmer temperatures and put the snowy, cold winter of 2010/2011 behind us.
The New York Botanical Garden is, first and foremost, a world-renowned collection of flora. But you’d be hard-pressed to spend more than a few minutes walking under the boughs without recognizing the sing-song notes of our most gregarious residents. The birds of the Garden represent some of the most varied fauna in New York City, and not only are we a haven for passersby making the trip to cozier climates, but we’re further home to a menagerie of year-round species in all shapes and sizes.
