{"id":10519,"date":"2011-04-22T13:00:42","date_gmt":"2011-04-22T17:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nybg.org\/plant-talk\/?p=10519"},"modified":"2011-06-16T12:31:45","modified_gmt":"2011-06-16T16:31:45","slug":"nybg-for-the-wildlife-photographer-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2011\/04\/wildlife\/nybg-for-the-wildlife-photographer-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"NYBG for the Wildlife Photographer: Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
Patricia Gonzalez<\/a> is an NYBG Member and avid amateur wildlife photographer<\/a>. She is especially fond of taking photographs at the Garden.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In part one<\/a>, I encouraged shutterbugs who love shooting wildlife to visit The New York Botanical Garden<\/a> and shared one of my encounters there. Today, I\u2019ll give you some tips on how to make the most out of your visit.<\/p>\n

Dress comfortably and<\/em> efficiently<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a>) 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\u2019ll need snow boots.<\/p>\n

\"Pat's<\/a><\/p>\n

Bring an extra battery<\/strong><\/p>\n

This might seem like a silly suggestion, but I\u2019m always hearing this \u201cI would have taken more shots, but my battery ran out, so I went home.\u201d You\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n

\"Native<\/a><\/p>\n

Where to find the hawks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everybody <\/em>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<\/a> have their nest on the nearby Fordham University Campus<\/a>, the Bronx Zoo<\/a> 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\u2019s hawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and the two resident great-horned owls<\/a>. 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\u2019ve had some very good luck lately in the Native Forest on the trails that border the Azalea Garden<\/a>, and near the Library Building.<\/p>\n

\"Last<\/a><\/p>\n

Have patience<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve been walking around for several hours and you’re beginning to feel like you haven\u2019t seen anything. Instead of leaving, take a break. Why not head on over to the Visitor\u2019s Center Caf\u00e9? 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\u2019m 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<\/em> worth heading out for a second look.<\/p>\n

Want to photograph wildlife all<\/em> year? Then join the Garden<\/a>. A Garden Membership<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You might think taking wildlife photos at the Garden is a matter of show up and start shooting, but some preparation is needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1171,146,34],"tags":[363,4662,1360,4633,1159,4648,4619],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph0lU-2JF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10519"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11496,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10519\/revisions\/11496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}