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. She maintains Birding Around NYC, where readers can find photo galleries of recent NYBG bird walks and up-to-date lists of species seen during each outing.
An Osprey makes off with lunch
As the end of summer draws near, deep sighs can be heard from school children and cries of delight from parents. The pleasures of the warmer months are shared by many in different ways. For those of us who are naturalists and birders, we endure the summer months dreaming about the end of August, because it signals the most exciting seasonal change: the great fall bird migration.
Our plants and trees—it is their time to shine—have spent the summer producing berries and seeds to nourish the migrating birds. The fruit of the crabapple, dogwood, and viburnum become ripe with juicy berries for Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, while the sweet gum tree offers nestled seeds—in sticky balls—to American Goldfinch, Pine Siskins, Red-winged Blackbirds and Purple Finch. Cedar Waxwings will also partake in harvesting berries for sustenance. Eastern Kingbirds use the ripe berries as lures to catch insects attracted to the sweet nectar. Birders and photographers fancy themselves capturing these scenes over and over again and flock to NYBG to enjoy the fall bird migration.
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.
Least flycatcher
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is the best place to bird during the fall migration. With its diverse habitats it offers birders unique and spectacular views of migrating birds.
The great fall migration begins with the movement of shore birds in late July. The shores of the Bronx River and Twin Lakes often become a good stopover point for spotted and solitary sandpipers. They bob along the shoreline grabbing small insects and crustaceans. In the wetlands, Wilson’s Snipes stop to search for food and temporary shelter.
Warblers, ruby-throated hummingbirds, tanagers, and grosbeaks begin to arrive in late August and remain through early October.
The warblers are headed south with their immature offspring and many are no longer in breeding colors. Some are brown or olive green with one or two wing bars. This gives credence to the phrase “confusing fall warblers.” It is often a challenge to identify some warblers which adds a bit of mystery to birding.
Although I have been photographing wildlife at The New York Botanical Garden since 2008, March 17th, 2012 was my last sighting of a Great-horned Owl. Since that time, during my frequent forays into the Thain Family Forest I could clearly hear them hooting, but have had zero luck in spotting them. But then this April, they made their reappearance when it became clear that one of the female owls had hatched two owlets.
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.
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.
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.
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?
