Wildlife of the Gardens
Garden Wildlife
Rotary Botanical Gardens is more than just a place to admire the beautiful flower and plants we call part of our collection, they’re a thriving habitat with many different creatures. From hummingbirds sipping nectar to dragonflies zipping by, there’s always a different critter to see. Butterflies flutter between blooms, birds call from the trees, and chipmunks dart along the paths, every visit holds a new discovery.
These creatures act to help keep our gardens thriving. Bees pollinate our flower, while birds keep insect populations in balance. Beneath the soil earthworms quietly recycle nutrients, enriching the ground so new life can flourish. Together, they form an interconnected web that supports the health and beauty of the gardens.
By welcoming and protecting these creatures, we not only create a more vibrant, living landscape but also ensure the long term health of our gardens. Every buzzing bee, fluttering butterfly, and singing bird reminds us that the garden is alive, connected, and ever changing.
When you visit, take a moment and see what you can find, below are just some of the wildlife you'll see!
American Robin
Scientific Name: Turdus migratorius
Though known for being worm eaters, robins have varied diets. Research shows that American Robins mostly eat fruits in the fall and winter, and include more insects and worms in their spring and summer diets.
Red-Winged blackbird
Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceus
Red-winged Blackbirds understand the vocalizations of other birds. When researchers played a warning seet call used by Yellow Warblers to signal the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird was in the area, Red-wings reacted and mounted their own defense.
Ruby Throated Humming Bird
Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris
A hovering Ruby-throated Hummingbird beats its wings around 50 times a second. Hummingbirds are the only bird family capable of hovering for extended periods of time. Their specially adapted wings rotate from the shoulder in a horizontal figure-eight motion to generate lift while remaining stationary in the air.
Eastern Phoebe
Scientific Name: Sayornis phoebe
The Eastern Phoebe is a loner, rarely coming in contact with other phoebes. Even members of a mated pair do not spend much time together. They may roost together early in pair formation, but even during egg laying the female frequently chases the male away from her.
Cedar Waxwing
Scientific Name: Bombycilla cedrorum
Cedar Waxwings with orange instead of yellow tail tips began appearing in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada in the 1960s. The orange color is the result of a red pigment picked up from the berries of an introduced species of honeysuckle. If a waxwing eats enough of the berries while it is growing a tail feather, the tip of the feather will be orange.
Cardinal
Scientific Name: Cardinalis cardinalis
Cardinals get their trademark red plumage from their food. While they are mostly granivorous, or grain and seed eating, cardinals also eat insects and a wide variety of fruits like wild grapes, dogwood berries, and mulberries. These fruits contain carotenoids that can create the reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks found in avian feathers.
American Goldfinch
Scientific Name: Spinus tristis
Goldfinches are among the strictest vegetarians in the bird world, selecting an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallowing an occasional insect.
Canada Goose
Scientific Name: Branta canadensis
The distinctive V-pattern Canada Geese fly in while migrating actually has a purpose—it helps the birds maintain their energy and improves communication. Each bird flies above the bird in front of them to reduce wind resistance. And being able to see the other birds aids overall coordination. When the lead bird gets tired, it moves to the back of the group for a much-deserved rest.
Eastern Chipmunk
Scientific Name: Tamias striatus
Weighing in at 1 to 5 ounces (28 to 142 grams), chipmunks are among the most diminutive members of the squirrel family. That means these pocket-sized rodents are also related to woodchucks and prairie dogs, which share a branch on the squirrel family tree as well.
Cotton Tail Rabbit
Scientific Name: Sylvilagus floridanus
Their excellent sense of smell helps them avoid predators. They have about 100 million scent receptors in their noses, which they twitch to expose as many of the scent receptors as possible to sniff out danger. An eastern cottontail rabbit can twitch its nose between 20 to 120 times a minute.
Red Admiral Butterfly
Scientific Name: Vanessa atalanta
A habitat generalist, the Red Admiral can be spotted almost anywhere. It is, however, a very familiar sight in gardens where the adults feed on nectar from garden flowers and Ivy blossom. But it’s not just flowers that are loved by the Red Admiral, it can also be spotted enjoying fermenting fruit – which can have some intoxicating side-effects, sap runs from trees, and even animal dung.
Monarch Butterfly
Scientific Name: Danaus plexippus
Adult Monarch butterflies typically live between 2 to 6 weeks, except for the last generation of the year, which can live up to 8 or 9 months. There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly, beginning with the egg, then developing into a larva, pupa, and eventually, an adult.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
Scientific Name: Papilio glaucus
Swallowtails are very large insects. When basking in the sun, their outspread wings can be 8 to 14 cm (3 to 5.5 inches) from tip to
Carpenter Bee
Scientific Name: Xylocopa virginica
Because carpenter bees chew through wood, adding a layer of paint over the top can help keep them away. They typically look for bare wood, so as long as you keep your paint up to date, you can lower your chances of dealing with carpenter bees burrowing into your home.
Honey Bee
Scientific Name: Apis mellifera
Honeybees have a dance move called the ‘waggle dance’. It’s not actually a dance move at all, rather a clever way of communicating between themselves to tell their nestmates where to go to find the best source of food. It took the researchers at Sussex University two years to decode the waggle dance.
Bumble Bee
Scientific Name: Bombus sp
Bumblebees make a small amount of honey, just enough to tide them over a few days of bad weather. They can maintain about a week’s worth of food in their bodies, so they need to forage regularly to survive.
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly
Scientific Name: Celithemis eponina
Halloween Pennant Dragonfly's distinctive flight pattern and coloration are thought to mimic wasps, serving as a deterrent to potential predators that might mistake them for stinging insects.