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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Weekly Wildlife

Weekly Wildlife at the Garden: After the Hunt

Posted in Wildlife on March 8 2017, by Patricia Gonzalez

Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.

I was at the right time and the right place for this one. After snapping a number of photos, I noticed a trace of blood on the hawk’s feet, which would explain why it sat for so long. After successfully capturing prey, hawks often rest on a perch, grooming themselves and sometimes standing on one foot, as you can see here.

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) in the Thain Family Forest – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Weekly Wildlife in the Garden: Late for Thanksgiving

Posted in Wildlife on December 14 2016, by Patricia Gonzalez

Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.

Some of my best wildlife sightings at the Garden this year have been right before I check in for work. Earlier this week, I saw a wild turkey just outside our offices at the Visitor Center. She was standing on one of the planters, looking right at me!

Wild turkeys are a common sight at the Garden and other green spots during the winter. The framing could not have been better! She soon jumped down and walked on the lawn—one more for the books.

Wild turkey

A wild turkey at the Visitor Center – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Weekly Wildlife at the Garden: Raptor in Profile

Posted in Wildlife on October 19 2016, by Patricia Gonzalez

Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.

I was on my break and headed to the Watson Building when I spotted this young Red-tail just off the Rock Garden. It was very much on the hunt and scanning some nearby squirrels. It didn’t seem to mind my presence one bit, which made for a most excellent photo opportunity. You can see more in this video I shot of the encounter.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk near the Rock Garden – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Weekly Wildlife at the Garden: Stealing the Show

Posted in Wildlife on November 24 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez

Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.

This is Hooter, the Great-horned Owl, one of several non-releasable birds of prey that reside at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, which is a non-profit nature reserve in Quogue, NY. Hooter had a lot to say last Sunday at the Garden’s Live Birds of Prey event. So much, in fact, that he was given his own microphone! See him in action here.

Hooter

Hooter the Great-horned Owl during a demonstration at NYBG – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Weekly Wildlife at the Garden: Birds of a Feather

Posted in Wildlife on November 11 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez

Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.

Red-tailed HawkNot only does The New York Botanical Garden serve as a home for lots of wildlife, but this past Sunday, I got to get up close and personal with live birds of prey (as part of the Garden’s Fall Forest Weekend Programming) from the Volunteers for Wildlife Hospital and Education Center. They are non-profit wildlife hospital and education center based in Locust Valley. I got to meet a Screech Owl, Kestrel, Great-horned Owl, and Red-tailed Hawk.

See a slideshow of photos and a brief video from the event below, and don’t miss our second Fall Forest Weekend—complete with live birds of prey in attendance—this Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15!

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