News from the Friends of Reinstein

Family Fun at the 2019 Christmas Bird Count for Kids

There were six teams of participants for this years’ Christmas Bird Count for Kids, which was held on Saturday, January 5. This program is modeled after Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, which is a census of birds by volunteer birdwatchers. Before heading out on the trail, families learned how to use binoculars and how to identify birds. Each group led by a guide, explored trails at either Reinstein Woods, Stiglmeier Park or Como Lake Park in search of birds. We recorded 25 different species of birds and 367 individual birds. Some notable birds include an Eastern screech owl, pilleated woodpecker, Cooper’s hawk and red-tailed hawk. Afterwards everyone enjoyed pizza for lunch and a quick presentation of the findings of each group. You can view the bird data collected here.

Thank you to everyone that participated, especially for our volunteer guides Brian Engler, Daniel Mlodozeniec, Brittany Rowan, photographer Paul Bigelow, and DEC Biologists David Malinowski, Jacquie Walters, and Ann Wilcox-Swanson.

Christmas Bird Count for Kids

Christmas Bird Count for Kids

Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve will be hosting a Christmas Bird Count for Kids! A great way to start your new year outdoors with the whole family. This event is held throughout the United States and Canada during December and January to provide a kid-friendly alternative to the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, a century-old citizen science program that collects information about birds. It is aimed at kids age 8-16, although younger siblings are welcome.

This event will begin at Reinstein Woods on Saturday, January 5, 2019 at 9:00am. Teams of 4-6 children and chaperoning adults will sign-in and then disperse to different sites in the surrounding area. At these sites, teams will spend about 90 minutes exploring a designated trail for birds.  Afterwards the teams will return to Reinstein Woods to share their discoveries and enjoy a pizza lunch and prizes.

This event is Full