Unique Fly Fishing Conference for Educators to be Held at RTPI – June 9 registration deadline
In the summer of 2012, we held the first and what remains as the only national interdisciplinary fly fishing conference. The Children in the Stream’s intensive three-day conference continues to be a huge success as it trains adults who are interested in integrating fly fishing into the curriculum in their community, school, organization or company. These comprehensive workshops use fly fishing as the foundation for investigating science, math, English language arts, visual arts and community outreach. This truly unique interdisciplinary approach is possible because of eclectic...
Read MoreCelebrations Set In Stone
If you pay a visit to RTPI this spring, you will find that our flower beds are bedecked with new garden stones. The garden in the circular drive received a stone in honor of, and donated by, the Green Thumb Garden Club, who has tended this garden for many years. A Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “The earth laughs in flowers” adorns this stone, along with the iconic Snowy Owl image as painted by Roger Tory Peterson. The garden at the side of the building boasts a stone honoring the Jamestown Garden Club. This group tends the garden which is called “Eleanor’s Sanctuary” in memory of Mrs. Eleanor...
Read MoreSpring Blooms in Wild America
In the spring of 1953, Roger Tory Peterson and his British friend James Fisher embarked on a thrilling 100 day, trip to explore and document the Wilds of North America. Their excursion took them from Newfoundland to Florida, the heart of Mexico to the dry Southwest, the Pacific Northwest to the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, and the numerous memories of the splendors they encountered were later documented in a book titled Wild America, first published in 1955. Among the many things that Peterson and Fisher recorded along their journey were blossoming spring flowers, and this pen and ink drawing...
Read MoreFluid Dynamics Reincarnated
An elegant sculpture entitled “Well-Feathered Arrow” by Dale Weiler is currently on view in our new exhibition, “The Weilers Evolution; A Father and Son’s Artistic Journey”. But this lovely piece is actually a reincarnation of the original piece entitled “Fluid Dynamics” that was intended to be debuted here as part of the Society of Animal Artists Show in 2015! Unfortunately (or fortunately), the original sculpture was damaged during shipment. Upon its return, the artist found that it could not only be repaired but also improved! In the words of the artist, “The new sculpture has an even...
Read MoreBicolored Antbird
Here’s a catch made during my recent research trip to Costa Rica. Not a neotropical migrant this time, but a local resident species. This unusual-looking fellow is a Bicolored Antbird (Gymnopithys leucaspis), one of several so-called “ant-birds” that are usually found only in the vicinity of army ant swarms. All day long these birds follow the ants -at a safe distance- and expertly capture insects that are flushed, but not caught, by the invading army.
Read MoreBlack-throated Blue Warbler
I finally took a good photo of a male Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) earlier this week! However, it was not without tremendous persistence and many failed attempts, as is the beauty of digital photography. What you cannot see is that I edited out the black-legged or deer tick attached to this poor guy’s face. The tick was engorged just in front of his eye, a precarious place to scratch. Please keep ticks in mind as you go outdoors this season as many people still neglect to take any precautions or check themselves after being outdoors. Some doctors are still...
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