Big, small, fierce, or cute, the birds of prey that live out their lives in the northeast are an uncommon cadre of sharp-eyed hunters, though seldom seen by your average park wanderer. Here in the New York Botanical Garden, our most popular visitors are definitely the Red-tailed Hawks that patrol the skies around our grounds, as well as the occasional Great-horned Owl, but the many local species that you might not always see are equally fascinating! And I admit they’re also pretty adorable if you’re not a squirrel or a chipmunk.
As part of our Fall Forest Weekends events and activities, which kicked off this past weekend and run through the next, our friends from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center stopped off at the Garden with a few clever companions in tow, among them an American Kestrel, an Eastern Screech Owl, and a Barred Owl—some of which you can see hunting around our grounds if you’re lucky. Many of the birds in the Audubon Center’s care are rescues, brought in to be rehabilitated after sustaining injuries that won’t allow them to survive back in the wild. But they do plenty of good in their downtime, educating people about the importance of raptors for a healthy, diverse ecosystem.
Pat Gonzalez is back this week with a fresh highlight feel from her adventures in the Garden, something I always eat up. As both a guest and a Visitor Services Attendant with the NYBG, Pat has spent the past five years documenting the lives of our raptor residents through the lens of her camera, creating a timeline of activity among the Great-horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Kestrels, and other winged wildlife that crosses her path. While I’m sure she’ll laugh off the comparison, I like to think of her as our very own Jane Goodall of the bird world.
Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” is a nice touch, I think, that highlights the streamlined elegance of these birds. Though a brief look back into Pat’s Plant Talk postings will show you just how well it belies their hilarious clumsiness at times. There’s something about seeing a young hawk divebomb a park bench in its efforts to figure out hunting that I can’t help but laugh over.
For the birders and animal lovers out there, Debbie Becker’s long-running Bird Walk returns from its summer hiatus on Saturday, September 7, giving you ample time to prep your notebooks, binoculars, and cameras for some time wandering the Garden. It’ll go a long way toward helping you understand the joy that Pat feels each time she happens across one of her feathered friends.
It was a little after noon on February 26 of 2009 that I enjoyed one of the most amazing experiences of my life. By that time, I had already been shooting photographs at The New York Botanical Garden for a year, and it seemed like every creature living in the Garden had cooperated with my camera except for one species: the Red-tailed Hawks which often hunt throughout the NYBG. I had been able to get a few shots, but always from a distance and far overhead.
Other times, I couldn’t ready my camera fast enough and my subject matter would disappear into the sky.
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.
It’s a rare day when you can step out under the trees of The New York Botanical Garden without the cry of a Red-tailed Hawk ringing overhead. We usually owe the pleasant racket to Rose and Vince, along with the many hatchlings they’ve reared since setting up shop in the Bronx years ago. And Pat Gonzalez–Member and Friend of the Garden–can point out that a solid number of the hawks hunting in the skies over our 250 acres are directly related to the celebrity pair.
But Rose and Vince aren’t loyalists–while the birds may hunt at the NYBG, they tend to waffle on which site they call home. In the past, the two have occasionally settled down in the upper reaches of the Garden’s architecture. Fordham University across the way has often been called home, as well.
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?
In part one, I encouraged shutterbugs who love shooting wildlife to visit The New York Botanical Garden and shared one of my encounters there. Today, I’ll give you some tips on how to make the most out of your visit.
Dress comfortably and efficiently
A typical outing at the Garden can last me anywhere from three to six hours, so it’s important to dress comfortably. During my adventures, I always wear cargo pants (BDUs) and boots. Cargo pants because they are loose-fitting and have lots of pockets for your gear and boots for the terrain. If you really want to better your chances of encountering wildlife, then no visit to the Garden would be complete without exploring all the Native Forest trails as well as the path that runs along the Bronx River. These paths can get pretty muddy, especially at the entrance to the individual trails, so hiking boots are strongly recommended. In winters like this past one that brought mega-blizzard after mega-blizzard, you’ll need snow boots.
Bring an extra battery
This might seem like a silly suggestion, but I’m always hearing this “I would have taken more shots, but my battery ran out, so I went home.” You’d be surprised how quickly a day can fly by. Always bring an extra camera battery and keep it someplace where you can reach for it quickly when your on-screen indicator starts flashing. I keep a fully-charged spare in the outside pocket of my camera bag.
Where to find the hawks
Everybody with a camera wants to get a shot of one of the beautiful red-tailed hawks and other raptors that hunt at the NYBG. Although Rose and Vince have their nest on the nearby Fordham University Campus, the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden are all part of their hunting grounds. Younger red-tails believed to be Rose’s offspring hunt regularly at the Garden along with cooper’s hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and the two resident great-horned owls. So, where in the Garden can these winged hunters be found? The answer is: Everywhere. Hawks pretty much go where they want and there is no specific all-year-round spot. However, I’ve had some very good luck lately in the Native Forest on the trails that border the Azalea Garden, and near the Library Building.
Have patience
Let’s say you’ve been walking around for several hours and you’re beginning to feel like you haven’t seen anything. Instead of leaving, take a break. Why not head on over to the Visitor’s Center Café? I survived my freezing winter treks on their most excellent hot chocolate. Enjoy your drink of choice while enjoying the nice view. After about a half hour there, I’m refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to continue on. Once you head out, re-trace some of the ground you covered earlier. One time, I had walked around non-stop for nearly five hours, hoping to shoot one of the red-tails there. I got nothing, but came back a half hour later and took the photo you see above. It was definitely worth heading out for a second look.
Want to photograph wildlife all year? Then join the Garden. A Garden Membership will get you and your camera unlimited entry to the grounds, the Conservatory, the exhibits in the Library Building, and to all the wonderful events that take place throughout the year.
You do not have to leave the five boroughs of New York to see wildlife. In fact, you’re only a train, subway, or bus ride away!
For the last three years that I have been a Member, I have had the pleasure of photographing different members of the animal kingdom at The New York Botanical Garden. The garden is a wildlife photographer’s dream. Within the Garden’s 250-acres you will find a forest, wetlands, streams, and two lakes–each one home to all manner of creatures–from cardinals to wild turkeys, from rabbits to red-tailed hawks, from mallards to muskrats. One can easily go through an entire camera battery (or two) trying to shoot them all (with your camera, of course).
Here is an example of one of my recent mornings taking photos at the Garden:
Several weeks ago, I was walking down Azalea Way which is one of the garden’s main roads with camera in hand. To my left was the edge of the Native Forest and to my right the Azalea Garden. I was talking on my cellphone when I noticed the distinctive silhouette of a red-tail hawk on a tree to my right, just before Azalea Way meets with the Stone Mill Road.
I told the person on the other end that I’d have to call them back and switched my phone to vibrate so that if it rang, the sound wouldn’t scare the hawk away. I tip-toed ahead to a point where the sun was to my back and began shooting. The hawk stayed there for a bit and pretty soon I was right below him. I kept on shooting. After about five minutes, he crouched down and I knew he was going to take off. He then leaped right over me. For the second that it took him to do that he was only about four feet above my head. He glided on to the other side of the road, over the wooden fence with his talons extended, and landed on the forest floor with a light thud. I assumed that he had caught something, so I waited for the meal to begin. When a red tail captures prey, they will typically begin looking around, darting their head left and right. As the hawk was doing this with has his back to me, I slowly moved in closer all the while shooting between the fence posts.
Sometimes a young hawk will mistake an inanimate object for prey, which is what I think happened here. Eventually realizing that there was nothing there, he took a few steps and scrunched down as if to fly off again. Instead, he hopped on to the fence. I eased closer until I was about 15 feet away. That’s when I shot this. Ladies and gentlemen, look into the eyes of the natural world. He was even nice enough to let me shoot some video. As you can see, vehicles and distant sirens don’t seem to phase him either.
I shot about 50 photos while he was on that wooden fence. I’d never been this physically close to a red-tail before. I could see the color of his eyes, the detail in his feathers, his talons. I was truly in awe of this winged hunter. Further up Azalea Way I could see a group of four talking loudly. The hawk turned his head to look at them and I knew he was about to leave, so I just kept shooting. Seconds later he took off. I then ran home to look at the photos on my computer. It was there that I noticed the blood on his beak, most likely from a previous meal.
This was just one of the many events of nature that I’ve been blessed to witness during my photographic adventures at the Garden. Looking into the eyes of that magnificent raptor is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I encourage all photographers–amateur or pro, wildlife or scenic–not just to visit the Garden, but to become a Member. For the cost of an annual membership, you get unlimited entry to the grounds, the Conservatory, the exhibits in the Library Building, and all the other wonderful events that take place there throughout the year. Just don’t forget to bring your camera!
Next up: Pat gives us some practical tips for getting the most out of your photographic safari at the Garden. Stay tuned!
Big, small, fierce, or cute, the birds of prey that live out their lives in the northeast are an uncommon cadre of sharp-eyed hunters, though seldom seen by your average park wanderer. Here in the New York Botanical Garden, our most popular visitors are definitely the Red-tailed Hawks that patrol the skies around our grounds, as well as the occasional Great-horned Owl, but the many local species that you might not always see are equally fascinating! And I admit they’re also pretty adorable if you’re not a squirrel or a chipmunk.
