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National EE Week Part 1: Scavengers!
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!
Nature Sightings
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.
Celebrate National EE Week at ReinsteinWoods!
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
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.
Nature Sightings
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.
Holiday Hype in February? A message from the President
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
Winter Wonderland in the Woods Attracts Record Crowds
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!
Christmas Bird Count for Kids
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!
Nature Sightings
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.
Nature Sightings
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.
