Chilling Out At the Garden: Wildlife

Posted in Wildlife on July 26 2011, by Thomas Andres

Thomas C. Andres is an Honorary Research Associate at the Garden.

Humans weren’t the only ones suffering during last week’s record-breaking heatwave. The Garden’s plants and animals were also feeling the heat. And while the plants relied upon human-intervention to maintain their cool, the Garden’s feathered and fluffy residents were able to take matters into their own hands, paws, and wings.

Coping Mechanism One: Cool Off the Belly On a Mossy Tree Trunk

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Coping Mechanism Two: Sip a Mimosa

Tiger Swallowtail feeding on the nectar of a Mimosa tree, Albizia julibrissin

Coping Mechanism Three: Snack On Some Fruit

Blue Jay eating a fruit from the flowering crabapple, Malus ‘Dolgo’

Coping Mechanism Four: Head For the Water

Great Blue Heron over Twin Lakes

Coping Mechanism Five: Take a Nap

Male Mallard on the banks of the Bronx River

Coping Mechanism Six: Splash Around In A Cool Spring

Gray Catbird in the spring that feeds Twin Lakes

Coping Mechanism Seven: Take A Bath

Female Baltimore Oriole

Coping Mechanism Eight: Hit the Old Swimming Hole

Double-Crested Cormorant in the Bronx River

Coping Mechanism Nine: If All Else Fails, Drastic Measures May Be Necessary

Muskrats in Twin Lakes

All photos by Thomas Andres.