I admit it: I hate heat. I hate hot weather the way many people hate snow. I’d rather throw on an extra layer than sweat through a 90 degree day.

Like it or not, our planet is getting warmer, and that is changing the climate- the general pattern of weather upon which our food and water sources depend.  The thought of it can be overwhelming, enough to make you sweat even in winter.

While we can’t change what’s already happened, we can change our behavior to affect the climate of the future. The most important thing we can do is make our voices heard to those in a position to create policies that will have a positive long term effect. Beyond that, try a few small actions in honor of Earth Day 2016:

Turn it off. Look around right now. How many lights are on that aren’t really being used? What about a TV? Lighting can be more than 10 percent of your electric bill, while the fossil-fueled power plants that provide the electricity are adding to the planet’s warming. Get in the habit of turning lights and other electronics off. Everywhere you go- does that TV really need to be on in the empty waiting room?

Plant a Tree or Native Plant. Trees take one of the main climate change culprits, carbon dioxide, out of the air. So planting one helps. How do native plants help? Come to Lyn Chimera’s talk on May 22 and find out.

Recycle. Do you throw things out at work that you’d put in a recycling bin at home? Could you bring them home? If you aren’t sure what to put in a bin, check out the City of Buffalo’s guide– just type in an item and it will tell you if it’s recyclable. Remember Reinstein Woods  accepts:

• sneakers for reuse,
• used clothing and bedding for reuse or recycling for Hearts for the Homeless
• hair care, skin care, and cosmetic product packaging through Terracycle.

Volunteer. On May 7, volunteers will gather at Reinstein Woods to remove invasive species, plant native plants, and even search for geocaches while picking up trash at Earth Day in May.  If you can’t make it to Reinstein Woods that day, check out the I Love My Park Day website to find a park near you and volunteer.

Get Out. A growing body of evidence suggests that kids who spend time outside are happier, healthier and do better in school than kids that don’t. Bonus: they are far more likely to grow up to support environmental causes, which is good for the future climate. To help a kid experience the outdoors, you can donate to Friends of Reinstein in support of scholarships for the Kids in the Woods Summer Day Camp or the Pat Taeger Field Trip Fund.  For more info, call (716) 683-5959 or email info@reinsteinwoods.org.

And get outside today too- it may not be hot, but you will feel happier and healthier too!

Silver-spotted skipper. Tapioca slime. Blue vervain. Nodding ladies’ tresses.

These are just a few of the species that have been recorded at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve over time. But they are just the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to biodiversity at Reinstein Woods. And the upcoming BioBlitz, May 13-14, will try to capture as much of that iceberg as possible!

A BioBlitz combines citizen scientists  with actual scientists to locate and identify as many species as possible in a given area in a short period of time, usually 24 hours. The first BioBlitz  took place in 1996 at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Biological Service, scientists counted more than 900 species despite the park’s urban setting.

More than 600 species have historically been recorded at Reinstein Woods, but that’s counting migrating birds and some species not seen in many years.  It also excludes large groups of animals, like soil-dwelling insects and many freshwater invertebrates. So the potential is there to add hundreds of organisms to the list of species residing in the  292 acres of Reinstein Woods.

You can join the fun! We’re looking for nature enthusiasts to join Field Teams to hunt for different types of organisms at Reinstein Woods, such as birds, trees, and bats. Each team will work for about two hours, finding and identifying as many species as possible.

For those not interested in joining a formal team, there will be family activities from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday. Kids and adults can explore mini-blitz stations to explore what’s living in different habitats, participate in a photo scavenger hunt, or hunt for warblers on a bird walk.

To join a Field Team, you must register, but Saturday’s family activities don’t require registration. For more information, visit the BioBlitz page or call (716) 683-5959.

Meet Clementine and Clover, Reinstein Woods’ newest permanent residents!   After their owner passed away, these turtles were found under a rug in a home in Clarence. Because both of these turtles are native to New York State, it is illegal to possess them without a permit. Because they had been living in captivity for an unknown period of time, it was not safe to release them into the wild. Thus Reinstein Woods adopted them to serve as ambassadors for their species.

Clover is a female painted turtle. (To identify the sex of a turtle, look at the shape of the bottom shell—flat for females; concave for males).

Named for the yellow and red markings on their head, legs and edge of their shell, painted turtles are the most common turtle at Reinstein Woods. The lower shell of Clover has a dark central blotch, which indicates she is a subspecies called the Midland painted turtle. (The Eastern painted turtle has no mark).

On a walk through Reinstein Woods, look for “shiny black rocks” on logs laying in Lily Pond and Green Heron Pond. Those “rocks” are actually painted turtles basking in the sun. Sometimes the turtles will stack right on top of each other!

Clementine is a wood turtle. Wood turtles take their name from their preferred woodland habitat, as well as the prominent rings (annuli) on their back that remind some of wood.  These colorful turtles spend most of their time wandering the woods along the edge of streams, searching for berries, mushrooms, insects, worms, and small aquatic creatures to eat.

Wood turtles are a Species of Special Concern in New York State. “Special Concern” means an animal could become threatened or endangered in the future due to several factors. In the case of wood turtles, habitat destruction is a major concern. Records from the  herp atlas, an effort to identify where reptiles and amphibians live in New York State, indicate that wood turtles are uncommon in most of Western New York, but have a broader distribution downstate. To learn about efforts to help wood turtles deal with habitat disturbance downstate, check out the “Tiny Turtle Bridges” video from NPR’s Science Friday.

And be sure to stop by the Reinstein Woods’ classroom to meet Clementine and Clover on your next visit to Reinstein Woods!

A spider, a beaver and a caddisfly walk into a bar….

It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but these animals do actually have something in common: they all are incredible builders, capable of making amazing homes for themselves.

The beaver lodge at Reinstein Woods is one of the most popular stops on a trip around the Lily Pond. This pile of sticks and mud may appear random, but the beavers know how to build a house that provides them with protection from predators and the weather- even in the deepest winter, it provides both a constant temperature and adequate ventilation to sustain the life inside. 

The lodge provides habitat not just for beaver, but also for other animals: snakes can often be found basking in the sun atop the lodge; Canada geese may nest on top of it, and mink are frequent visitors.

More important than their lodge home, the dams built by beavers create wetlands that sustain a variety of wildlife, making them one of only three species that can create completely new habitats capable of sustaining a variety of organisms (can you name the other two?).

You can explore the woods and learn about some of the other master builders (including spiders and caddisflies) living in Reinstein Woods at “Nature’s Engineers,” a walk and talk at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 23. To register, call (716) 683-5959.

Happy National Environmental Education Week! Reinstein Woods is excited to be part of this national effort that encourages and celebrates environmental learning across the United States. To celebrate, this week we’ll be highlighting some interesting nature sightings and activities at Reinstein Woods!

Recently a deer passed away in Reinstein Woods, we think after being hit by a car. Since in nature everyone is someone else’s lunch, we were curious who would visit the carcass. Naturalist Intern Heather Rutherford mounted a trail camera at the site of the carcass and recorded the visitors over four days in early March. The camera revealed visitors that you are likely to see on a stroll through Reinstein Woods, and also more reclusive creatures that call Reinstein Woods home.

The first visitor was a red-tailed hawk. The most common hawk in New York State, the red-tailed hawk is often seen sitting on telephone posts along roads, searching for small mammals in the grass below. This raptor will take advantage of carrion like this fresh deer. 

This or a different hawk visited the carcass on each of three successive days, showing off the red tail that gives it its name. 

The next visitor was a white-tailed deer who may have wandered in out of curiosity, or just by chance.While white-tailed deer are most active at dawn and dusk, their abundant local population makes them a frequent sighting on walks through Reinstein Woods.

Within a couple of hours, a coyote appeared on camera. These much misunderstood animals live at Reinstein Woods but are seldom seen. They will scavenge on deer carcasses but don’t often kill adult deer, preferring instead to hunt for smaller animals like rabbits, mice, voles, and other small mammals. They will eat insects and berries at certain times of year as well. (Humans are not on their list of preferred dinner items).

The coyote stuck around for only a few minutes on this first visit, but as soon as the coyote was finished with its snack, a red fox stepped in for a meal (note the time on the photo below).

These smaller members of the canine family will also feed on a dead carcass, but their diet mainly consists of small mammals, birds, eggs and fruit. Fox enjoy the mix of habitats provided by suburban neighborhoods, so it is not unusual to encounter one at twilight at Reinstein Woods or to spot one in the surrounding neighborhood.

Over the next couple of days, the camera captured several visits by coyote and red fox. Interestingly, in the early hours of March 9, a fox was enjoying a meal…

When it was interrupted by not one…

but two coyotes!

Painted turtles are basking on floating logs with the return of warm weather. Leopard frog’s snore-like call can be heard along some of the ponds. Two common loons have been on flattail lake for almost a week now. One of them continues to swim around the center of the lake. The leaves of the fragrant water lily make their way to the surface of the ponds. The tender leaves of wild leak are bursting through the fallen leaves on the forest floor. Trout lily leaves are also beginning to appear. Garter snakes are abundant along the sunny trail edges. Listen for them rustle through the dry papery leaves. An occasional dekay’s brown snake can also be seen. Canada geese are now quietly sitting on their nest with a patrolling male close by. It would not be surprising to hear the trills of American toads in the small ponds of Reinstein Woods this weekend. I would also keep an eye out for ruby-crowned kinglets returning north.

National Environmental Education Week is April 17-23, 2016 and we’ve got great programs planned at Reinstein Woods:

INVESTIGATING NATURE: PRIVATE EYE Wednesday April 20 at 4:30 pm
Take an up-close peek at nature with jeweler’s loupes! For kids and adults age 8 and up.

EARTH DAY FULL MOON WALK Friday 4/22 8 pm
Believe it or not, there are a few spots open for this walk! Explore how the full moon affects our environment on this guided nighttime journey.

NATURE’S ENGINEERS Saturday 4/23 10:30 am
Beavers, caddisflies and spiders are a few animals that build remarkable structures to help them survive. Explore the woods in search of some of nature’s finest engineers!

BIRDWATCHING WALK Saturday 4/23 2:30 pm
Search for seasonal birds on this guided walk. Bring binoculars or borrow a pair from Reinstein Woods.

Registration is required for these programs; call to register: (716) 683-5959.
Hurry, programs fill up fast!

2016 Reinstein Woods Photo Contest

Calling all photographers! Have you taken any amazing photos at Reinstein Woods? Then enter them in the first-ever “Reinstein Woods Photo Contest” for a chance to have your photo featured in the 2017 Reinstein Woods calendar! Entry fee is $5.00 per photo. Limit 5 entries per person.

PRIZE: Winners will each receive one free 2017 calendar.

Please visit our photo contest page to participate.

Entry deadline is May 21, 2016.

It’s that time of year when Reinstein Woods comes alive with spring migrants, sprouting flowers and the chorus of Frogs. Every day on the trail will bring a new adventure. The marshy ponds have erupted into a full chorus of spring peepers over the past week. Birds are becoming much more vocal, adding seasonal songs to their repertoire. Male spotted salamanders have been seen locally and are likely at their breeding pools awaiting females. Vernal ponds will soon ripple with their courtship water dances. Look for turkey vultures circling updrafts on warm sunny days. Hooded mergansers and ring-necked ducks have also stopped in for a rest during their migration. Warblers returning from the south will add a splash of color to the forest. Wild blue lupine, wild bergamot, snowdrops and lemon balm are just beginning to sprout in front of the education center. Very shortly the trill of American toads will resonate from small ponds and maybe even the snores of leopard frogs. The honks and quacks of ducks and geese will soon fall silent as they hide away resting on their nests.

On President’s Day, I tried to convince my seven year-old granddaughter that my sister was married to a president (her last name is Kennedy). As I pondered this holiday, I started to wonder: do we have too many holidays in the month of February?

My February calendar has Groundhog’s, National Freedom, Valentine’s and President’s Day. February 2016 also includes the Chinese New Year, Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays, and the Super Bowl (an unofficial holiday), not to mention the presidential debates. I have a hard time keeping up!

To simplify things, I propose merging President’s and Valentine’s Day and renaming the Super Bowl the “Groundhog Bowl,” where at halftime the groundhog comes out of his burrow to make his prediction. I recommend a two- hour National Freedom celebration at which time all presidential candidates come together on mainland China to have one debate and celebrate the New Year. These ideas would help reduce the many holidays and events that we all have to remember in the second month of the year.

One special event that seems easy to remember and is fun for all is the annual Winter Wonderland in the Woods held at Reinstein Woods. This year’s event on February 6 was a great success. Despite the lack of snow, attendance was the best ever. Activities included ice rescue and ice fishing demonstrations, kids exploring an artificial snow tunnel, guided nature walks and live animal presentations by the SPCA, to name just a few. Thanks to the outstanding Reinstein Woods’ staff, the enthusiastic volunteers and all the community participants, the event has become a WNY winter favorite. Maybe next year the Reinstein Woods’ winter festival will become a national holiday! (Just a thought.)

Michael Gettings

Friends President