In what has become an annual holiday tradition, a group of intrepid bird watchers gathered at The New York Botanical Garden early on the day after Christmas (and just ahead of the Boxing Day Blizzard) to survey the Garden’s avian residents. Led by Steve Nanz, the group fanned out over the Garden’s 250-acres to count our feathered friends. In the end, the annual census was called early on account of the snow.
Despite that, the group still managed to spot 36 species, and a few rare birds, the highlight being a beautiful little Saw-whet Owl (pictured at right).
Does your New Year’s resolution include more exercise? The Garden’s forest is a wonderful place to take a walk in any season. And we just reopened the Spicebush Trail. So pull on your boots and hat and come take a walk!
A little late on the eye candy this morning. Apologies. Now, to the point: We were reading about ‘Abstract Expressionism New York‘ on the way into the Garden this morning, and thought this beautiful yucca somehow captured a bit of the spirit of Rothko, de Koonig, and Callahan. What do you think?
Yucca recurvifolia ‘Variegata’ (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)
In England, the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. In New York City, at least in 2010, it was Blizzard Day. The city was socked-in by a massive storm that brought not only several feet of light, fluffy, powder snow; but also thunder, lightning, hurricane-force winds, and five-foot high snow drifts.
The Garden was supposed to be open for a rare holiday Monday, but due to the conditions and the dangers they posed to both visitors and staff, the decision was made to close. (If you had tickets to visit the Holiday Train Show on December 26, see exchange details here.) Despite the closure, some staff did come to work for the day, including intrepid photographer Ivo M. Vermeulen. See some of the stunning images Ivo captured in the photo essay below.
In what has become an annual holiday tradition, a group of intrepid bird watchers gathered at The New York Botanical Garden early on the day after Christmas (and just ahead of the Boxing Day Blizzard) to survey the Garden’s avian residents. Led by Steve Nanz, the group fanned out over the Garden’s 250-acres to count our feathered friends. In the end, the annual census was called early on account of the snow.
