Inside The New York Botanical Garden
Posted in Wildlife on March 9 2016, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
A shy chipmunk is caught unawares on the pre-spring Garden grounds.
Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) along the Mitsubishi Wild Wetland Trail – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
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 the Great-horned Owl during a demonstration at NYBG – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on November 11 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
Not 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!
Posted in Photography, Wildlife on September 23 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
Black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on September 2 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
A male American Goldfinch looks like he got caught red-handed while snacking in the Perennial Garden.
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) in the Perennial Garden – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on August 18 2015, by Debbie Becker
Debbie Becker has been The New York Botanical Garden’s resident bird expert for over 25 years, and continues to lead her popular Bird Walks on Saturday mornings throughout much of the year. She maintains Birding Around NYC, where readers can find photo galleries of recent NYBG bird walks and up-to-date lists of species seen during each outing.
As the end of summer draws near, deep sighs can be heard from school children and cries of delight from parents. The pleasures of the warmer months are shared by many in different ways. For those of us who are naturalists and birders, we endure the summer months dreaming about the end of August, because it signals the most exciting seasonal change: the great fall bird migration.
Our plants and trees—it is their time to shine—have spent the summer producing berries and seeds to nourish the migrating birds. The fruit of the crabapple, dogwood, and viburnum become ripe with juicy berries for Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, while the sweet gum tree offers nestled seeds—in sticky balls—to American Goldfinch, Pine Siskins, Red-winged Blackbirds and Purple Finch. Cedar Waxwings will also partake in harvesting berries for sustenance. Eastern Kingbirds use the ripe berries as lures to catch insects attracted to the sweet nectar. Birders and photographers fancy themselves capturing these scenes over and over again and flock to NYBG to enjoy the fall bird migration.
Posted in Wildlife on August 18 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
Of all the insects that I’ve photographed at the Garden, the hummingbird clearwing moth is easily the most challenging to capture. At first glance it resembles a shrimp with translucent wings—each one bordered in red—making it a real stand-out among the wildlife that calls NYBG home. The Home Gardening Center is one of the best spots to see these insects, which are often mistaken for hummingbirds.
A hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe) in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on July 21 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
One of the things I love about this time of year is that all of the outdoor gardens surrounding the Haupt Conservatory—the Home Gardening Center, Perennial Garden, Seasonal Walk, and Ladies’ Border among them—are teaming with bumblebees doing their important work. But my personal favorite place to shoot them is Daffodil/Daylily Walk. The blazing oranges, purples, and other colors serve as a fantastic backdrop to my winged friends.
A bumblebee (Bombus) along Daylily Walk – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on July 14 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
A monarch butterfly takes refuge beneath some leaves along Seasonal Walk.
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in Seasonal Walk – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez
Posted in Wildlife on June 30 2015, by Patricia Gonzalez
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
A European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) in the Ross Conifer Arboretum – Photo by Patricia Gonzalez