I love this time of year. After the exuberance of summer and the vibrant colors of fall, I’m thankful for the days growing shorter. The nights longer. Temperatures falling. Silhouettes of bare branches against a leaden sky promising snow. All of nature winding down. Encouraging quiet. Reflection. Introspection. [more]
Calling All Citizen Scientists: Help Protect Our Hemlock Trees!
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) is an aphid-like insect, originating from Asia, which is devastating Hemlock trees throughout much of the Eastern United States. This deadly bug has been progressively moving closer to our area, and early detection of HWA is crucial to effectively managing its spread. This winter season we are once again conducting a series of field surveys in which the public is invited to join and work alongside conservationists from RTPI, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and Jamestown Community College to monitor for the...
read moreArtist Dale Weiler Continues to Support RTPI Through Sales of Bronze Owl Sculpture
We are very excited to announce that we are continuing our partnership with artist Dale Weiler to raise funds for RTPI! Learn more about this partnership here: http://weilerwoodsforwildlife.com/conservation_initiat/roger-tory-peterson-institute/ As you may recall, Weiler produced this limited edition bronze snowy owl sculpture in 2017. The bronze, entitled “Elevated Perspective”, is a 9-inch rendering of a snowy owl, one of Roger Tory Peterson’s favorite species to paint and the icon for RTPI. Dale spent over a month creating the original...
read moreRTPI Welcomes New Chief Operating Officer
RTPI welcomed Joni Blackman as their new Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the turn of the New Year. A longtime resident of the Jamestown area, Joni has over 30 years’ experience in leading and managing not-for-profit organizations. She served as executive director of the Fenton History Center for 14 years and is currently board president of the James Prendergast Library Association. Joni has also served on the board of the Das Puppenspiel Puppet Theatre, Chautauqua County Visitor’s Bureau, Reachout Ministries, Inc., and...
read moreShort-eared Owl Camouflage
I can’t understand why the Short-eared Owl has this plumage…it’s really tough to tell from these photos! You can also see the bird did not enjoy yesterday’s late afternoon snow, sleet, rain mix. I’m glad so many people have been coming by to enjoy watching our occasional owl at Stratford Point, and most are being very kind and respectful. Please keep it up! Stay on our trails and keep your distance while letting the owl hunt and fly around. It may end up providing terrific views if you stand in place considering...
read moreThe Search for HWA Begins
Join us this Friday afternoon for our first hemlock woolly adelgid survey of the season! As a part of the Hemlock Conservation of the High Allegheny Plateau Project, led by the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy, RTPI and JCC adopted South Valley State Forest to survey and contribute information to these agencies as well as the Department of Environmental Conservation. Join us as we survey two sites on the state forest lands. We will meet in the RTPI parking lot promptly at 12:30 to carpool and meet on-site around 1:00pm. For...
read moreGrasshopper Sparrow
Here’s another winter treat from earlier this week – a Grasshopper Sparrow! This bird should have been spending its holidays wintering in the southern U.S. or Central America. However, our friend Paul Fusco spotted this little one feeding in open grass along a trail. This was before the major snowfall on Thursday, and conditions have only worsened. We put some seed out for it that the bird was enjoying at the time. Hopefully it kept moving south before the latest storm and found refuge in other locations like this. Grasshopper...
read moreLast Chance to See Rizos Exhibition
“Neil Rizos: The Art of Exploration” is on view through Sunday, January 7th. RTPI will be closed for the remainder of January during new exhibit installation, with the exception of the city-wide event, Doors Open Jamestown on Saturday, January 20th. Be sure to stop in soon!
read moreKeep Cozy and Warm
We hope that you’re keeping cozy and warm, much like Roger Tory Peterson appears to be doing in this photo from our archives! It was taken during a visit to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania ~ 1950.
read moreShort-eared Owl
You have seen a lot of Snowy Owl posts from me during this terrific irruptive season, and they are still with us in early 2018. However, I was lucky enough to enjoy this Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) actively hunting yesterday afternoon at Stratford Point. The bird may have just joined us that day as it was certainly very conspicuous, and it seemed quite hungry – though it was exceptionally talented at hunting with multiple kills! Short-eared Owls are ‘endangered’ in New York and their wintering population is...
read moreSupermoon 2018
Happy New Year from all of us at RTPI! Here was the New Year’s Day supermoon rising out of the water this frigid evening off of Stratford Point. Here’s to a superb 2018 full of gorgeous sights like this one! We have a lot to accomplish this year, and I hope you’ll be with us every step of the way. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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