Garden Bird Walk Leader Celebrates 25 Years

Posted in People, Wildlife on September 1 2010, by Plant Talk

It’s Been a Hoot for Debbie Becker, Who Launches New Season on Saturday

Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden, and Nick Leshi is Associate Director of Public Relations and Electronic Media.

Every Saturday at 11 a.m. throughout most of the year, a few dozen people gather at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center with binoculars and high hopes. They’ve come to go on a walk in search of the birds that live at the Botanical Garden either year-round or temporarily during migration periods.

The tour leader, Debbie Becker, who this season marks her 25th year conducting bird walks at the Garden, knows all the nooks and crannies, and all the favorite spots of many of the nearly 200 species that have been recorded in the Garden over the years. In other words, if someone wants to see a particular bird—say, the resident great horned owls or the aberrant white-winged crossbills—Debbie can deliver.

“The habitat dictates what kind of bird you’re going to see,” explains Debbie. “And in the Garden’s 250 acres of diversified habitat, you can see a lot of birds. You can walk from a forest, to a meadow, river, waterfall, ornamental garden, and native plant garden in just a couple of hours.”

Debbie was born and raised in the Bronx but became interested in wildlife and nature by spending time at the Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, near where she lived. Her fascination with birds started by chance, on an outing to Marshlands Conservancy in Rye, N.Y., where she saw colorful little birds flying around. “I thought, ‘Where are these birds from? Did they escape from a zoo or something?’ I just couldn’t believe it.” She went out and bought herself a field guide and found out that the birds she saw were warblers, which migrate through the area in spring and fall on their way to and from nesting and wintering grounds.

“I started to systematically check off all the birds I saw and began a life list. I bought a pair of binoculars and would take my little book and go birding every day all day long. It became a hobby that turned into an obsession.”

One day while bird-watching on the Fordham University campus during a break from class, she was approached by someone affiliated with the Botanical Garden who invited her to give bird walks at the Garden. “I began teaching people how to bird and showing them the birds at the Garden, while pursuing a degree in Scientific Journalism. I had a lot of environmental knowledge that I was sharing, telling people about birds, their nests and about predator–prey relationships, habitat destruction, global warming, and water pollution and air pollution, which were new buzz words in the early ’80s.”

Since that time bird-watching has become much more popular. “It’s become such a hobby that singles go on bird-watching dates to meet other singles and people center their vacations on tours to exotic birding hotspots. The selection of binoculars has expanded, as have the number of field guides.”

Over the years Debbie has also noticed that certain bird species, such as the American robin, seem to be staying in the area and not migrating to more southern climes during winter, which she attributes to climate change. She’s even seen them eating berries even though they primarily eat worms.

Her most memorable sighting occurred about 15 years ago, while leading a walk for students from an ornithology class she was teaching at Mercy College. “I told them that at the Garden we would be able to see an eagle, and they didn’t believe me. As soon as we entered the gate, we saw a golden eagle. I could have reached out and touched it, that’s how low it was, flying right over our heads. My students dropped their books, looked up, and I could see their mouths open! They didn’t believe that there were eagles in the Bronx, and here’s this golden eagle with its 7-foot wingspan.”

Even though she has seen nearly 400 species of birds in her lifetime, there are many other birds Debbie would like to add to her life list. But that would entail travel. “I have a teenager, a job (she teaches Women’s Literature and Nature Writing at Touro College and runs a small advertising company). “I wish I could take off birding around the world, but for now I am very happy to lead bird tours for the Botanical Garden.” She’s found enjoyment helping others see life birds for the first time during her Garden walks. “An experienced birder may come on my walk and say to me, ‘I need a great horned owl; I’ve never seen one.’ And I will take them into the Forest and give them their life bird. They’ll hug me and jump on me, and I understand how exciting it is for them.”

When Debbie starts the new season (which runs from September through June) of Saturday walks at the Garden on September 4, it will be the beginning of fall migration. And the Garden, which is situated within the Atlantic Flyway, the primary pathway for birds moving from northern breeding grounds to southern wintering sites, is a great location from which to view this annual phenomenon. Participants on the walk will be treated to seeing many types of hawks, eagles, vultures, falcons, owls, and more. “To me, fall migration is the most exciting time. You get to see so many beautiful birds—and eagles—flying over the open sky, over Daffodil Hill. The birds take advantage of rising heat thermals and just spread their wings and glide—right over our heads. It’s amazing.

“The Botanical Garden is always great,” Debbie says. “You can see owls, hawks, warblers, ducks, even shorebirds. You get a little bit of everything at the Garden. Twenty-five years of doing something that I love at a place that I absolutely love is so rewarding, and very exciting.”

Join Debbie Becker on a free bird walk at the Garden every Saturday from September through June from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. beginning at the Reflecting Pool in the Leon Levy Visitor Center.