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

This year’s “Winter Wonderland in the Woods” attracted more than 600 people! Although there wasn’t much snow, there were many activities for people to enjoy on this sunny day. Some of the new additions to this year’s event were a compass course by the Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue Team and an ice rescue demonstration presented by the DEC Forest Rangers. Participants also enjoyed the new “Snow Fun” Stations and “Winter Animal Olympics” activities.

Thank you to the exhibitors and presenters: DEC Environmental Conservation Officers, DEC Forest Rangers, Earth Spirit, Erie County Parks, Niagara Frontier Search and Rescue Team,   SPCA Wildlife Department, and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Special thanks to DEC Operation Staff, Region 9 Office of Communication Services, and all of the volunteers who helped make the event a big success!

Subnivian Tunnel

Snow Station – Blubber Glove

Visitors

Erie County Park Rangers

Subnivian Tunnel

Snow Shoeing for Kids

Warming Station

Warming Station

Snow shoeing for kids

DEC Forest Rangers

DEC Forest Ranger – Ice Rescue Demo

DEC Forest Ranger – Ice Rescue Demo

Track Mold Station

Visitors

SPCA Wildlife Presentation

Niagara Frontier Search & Rescue – Compass Course

Ice Fishing Demo

Winter Crafts for Kids

Snow Fun Station

Earth Spirit – Maple Sugaring

Back in January, Reinstein Woods participated in its first ever “Christmas Bird Count for Kids” with assistance from DEC Wildlife Biologist Connie Adams, Beaver Meadow Audubon Society and the Erie County Park Rangers. This is an educational, kid-friendly version of the Audubon Society’s citizen science project called “Christmas Bird Count”. Citizen science projects such as the Christmas Bird Count provide important data that is used to monitor animal populations.

We are pleased that more than twenty children and their parents showed up to learn how to find and identify birds for this event. Many species of birds were observed, including: Blue jay, Northern cardinal, black – capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, American goldfinch, mallard duck, Canada geese, and more.  A total of 17 different species and 259 individual birds were recorded at Reinstein Woods, Stiglmeier Park, and Amherst State Park. The young participants enjoyed using binoculars and the pizza lunch afterwards. We look forward to even more participation in next years’ Christmas Bird Count for Kids!

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Stiglmeier Park

Looking for Birds

Learning to use Binoculars

Group Picture

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Looking for Birds

Looking for Birds

Listening for Birds

Young Birders

Group Bird Presentation

Group Bird Presentation

Many visitors have come out to enjoy the first significant snowfall of the year. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing has been great with 6 to 8 inches of snow. You can find out information about our snowshoe and ski rentals here.

Song birds have been flocking to our bird feeders with the colder temperatures and snowpack. Birds that can typically be seen from our nature viewing area are: Blue Jay, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, house finch, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, American goldfinch, northern cardinal, mourning dove, tree sparrow, and various woodpeckers. A pileated woodpecker has also been known to visit the feeders occasionally. Gray squirrels are also common visitors under the feeders. Occasionally a meadow vole is seen quickly scurrying about gathering seeds.

The snow reveals a world that is normally invisible and can tell interesting stories. Deer trails become very obvious in the snow. In very light snow you can follow the tiny bounding prints of mice (with their tail drag marks) from log to log. Occasionally you may even see wing prints on the snow where a bird took flight.

It isn’t often you can hear spring peepers peeping in the middle of December. Tomorrow it is supposed to reach a high of 65 degrees! You may hear spring peepers peeping and see painted turtles on logs in the ponds at Reinstein Woods. You may even see a mourning cloak butterfly which overwinter as adults in tree crevices. Many visitors have enjoyed taking pictures of a mink near the beaver lodge on lily pond. Listen for red and gray squirrels gnawing on the hard shells of black walnuts. Look for turkeys in groups scratching the ground for nuts and insects. Dark-eyed juncos are seen in small groups hopping around on the ground in search of seeds. They often flash their white tail feather markings while inflight. Get out and make the most of this warm weather.

Special Thanks to:

Rich Products Corporation    

Yancey’s Fancy, Inc.     

Camellia Meats

Big Ditch Brewing Co.    

Lake Ontario Winery & Vineyards

Long Cliff Winery   

Midnight Run Wine Cellars                 

Rusty Nickel Brewing Co.

It is tradition for Friends of Reinstein to hold a membership meeting in October, the end of our fiscal year. In mid-October about 40 people gathered to hear about our accomplishments in 2014-2015 and enjoy an entertaining “Far Side II” presentation by Dr. Wayne Gall.

We thanked Linda Arndt for nine years of service on the board of directors. A decade ago Linda became interested in Reinstein Woods because of her love of birding, and quickly signed on as a Friends member. She has been active with fundraisers since the first “Tastes at Twilight” event in 2006. During her nine years on the board of directors, she served for several years as Vice-President and one year as President.

Her dedication to Reinstein Woods is laudable: although Linda is leaving the board of directors, she will be continuing to serve on the fundraising committee. Thank you Linda!

Dan Carlson and Charles Rauch were re-elected to the board of directors, and Lori Stilwell and Jeremy Oczek were newly elected to the board. Lori had been appointed to the board earlier in 2015 to replace Deborah Bach, who left the board when she took a job out of state. Active with the fundraising and finance committees, Lori is the Director of Information Technology for Erie County.
Jeremy Oczek is an attorney with Bond, Schoeneck and King. He has enjoyed attending several fall festivals  with his wife and two daughters and is looking forward to getting more involved at Reinstein Woods.
Members heard about accomplishments over the past year, including the success of Friends’ fundraisers, the establishment of the Pat Taeger Memorial Field Trip Fund, and the variety of member programs that were offered over the past year.

Center Director Meaghan Boice-Green shared information about programs sponsored by Friends of Reinstein, including the growth of the Day in the Life of the Buffalo River, a new project to control an invasive plant at Reinstein Woods, and a successful Earth Day clothing drive that recycled more than five tons of clothing collected in Buffalo Public Schools.  The evening also touched on continued partnerships that are bringing nature to more and more children and families in Western New York.

Friends of Reinstein Woods has been honored to receive donations this fall in memory of volunteers Jane Albrecht and Pat Taeger, as well as Grace and Joseph Losi, parents of former volunteer Peter M. Losi.

In Memory of Jane Albrecht:
Dorothy Rizzo and Ken Schmidt
Thomas Schuler
Thursday Couples Club of Cheektowaga

In Memory of Grace & Joseph Losi:

Dennis and Evelyn Adams
Robert and Joan Barry
John and Diane Betz
Gary and Sheila Billingsley
Robert and Karen Billingsley
Paul and Beverly Brown
Frank Ferro
James and Linda Halt
Michael Panzica
Jack and Kathleen Patterson
Charles and Barbara Putzbach
Fay and Beverly Roe
Robert and Michele Scott
Roger and Judith Walter

In Memory of Pat Taeger:

New York Chiropractic College (on behalf of Vicki Baroody)
Scott, Jackie and Michael Baroody
Brenda Baroody and Tom Carr
Mary Anne Desiderio
Angelo DiLoro
Noreen Ehlert
Norma English
Jonathan and Genevieve Federick
Scott and Meaghan Green
Dennis and Nancy Kane
Dr. and Mrs. Edward Kucio
Ron and Jerry McMahon
John and Carol Marrano
Linda McCall and Sol Motola
George and Eleanor Narby
Brian and Mary O’Herron
Mary Margaret Krill Palmer and James Palmer
John and Elizabeth Preble
Michael and Rosemary Rataczyk
Michelle Sanner
Bernard and Suzanne Slisz
Edward and Bonita Salem
C. Michael and Suzanne Taeger
C. Michael Taeger
Wally and Josephine Wilk

The window for vibrant fall colors is closing after the heavy rainfall and high winds yesterday. Many people have come out to enjoy the wonderful fall colors this past week. If you took any photos you would like to share, please post them on our facebook page. You can still find some color out by the champion beech tree. Many of the sugar maples are showing off golden yellow colors. American beech leaves are showing some reddish brown colors, but many are still green. Ducks and geese may drop in for a quick rest in the ponds while they make their way south. An Osprey was spotted in flight over the preserve the other day. Swamp milkweed and common milkweed seed pods are opening and letting their fluffy seeds float away in the wind. Milkweed bugs have been aggregating on milkweed seedpods. Red Squirrels and gray squirrels are busy gathering black walnuts. Look for square-shaped scratch patterns on the ground from wild turkeys in search of beech nuts and insects.