Friends of Reinstein members celebrated the holiday season while enjoying homemade chili, soups, desserts and more. Members also enjoyed a special “Birds of Prey” presentation by Messinger Woods. The wildlife care center brought a great – horned owl, barn owl, barred owl, American kestrel, peregrine falcon, and Harris’s hawk. The group of 6 volunteers shared natural history about the birds and their own unique stories about each animal. Following the presentation, members were able to talk with the volunteers from Messinger Woods and get close to the birds for pictures. Santa even got pictures with the birds and passed out candy canes to the kids! Thank you to all that attended. We hope you join us for other upcoming member-only events.

Friends of Reinstein Woods members enjoyed observing a nice assortment of moths, caddisflies, and beetles at our “Bugs by Nightlight” members program. Dr. Wayne Gall attracted insects using a mercury vapor lamp and white sheet. Check for our upcoming member programs here.

Insects of the Night

moths

moth

Virginia Ctenucha Moth

observing insects

Virginia Ctenucha Moth

moth

moth silhouette

moth

moth

moth

moth

moth

Identifying insects

Some of the members enjoyed a morning of canoeing at Beaver Meadow Audubon in Java, NY. We saw many great blue herons, green herons, dragonflies and damselflies. We also watched cedar waxwings sallying from a  perch to catch insects in flight. Check for more of our upcoming member programs here, another benefit of being a member of the Friends of Reinstein Woods.

canoeing at Beaver Meadow

frosted whiteface dragonfly

canoeing at Beaver Meadow