Origins of the Holiday Turkey
With the holidays fast approaching, many folks are beginning to plan their requisite feasts with family and friends. The centerpiece for many a merry meal will undoubtedly be a turkey; indeed, Americans will consume nearly 50 million turkeys on Thanksgiving and about half as many on Christmas. Given that the average American consumes over 15 pounds of turkey each year, I thought it would be interesting to briefly explore the natural history of this ubiquitous bird. The domestic turkey that you buy in the grocery store is the same species as the wild turkeys that you might see strutting...
Read MoreRTPI Presents Traveler and Photographer Jeanne Wiebenga November 28 at 7pm
Jeanne Wiebenga will share photographs and stories from her Antarctic journeys during a presentation at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) on November 28 at 7:00pm. The Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic island of South Georgia are near the top of Jeanne Wiebenga’s list of favorite places. Twice, eighteen years apart, she made the trip by boat from Argentina, most recently in 2016 with a group of photographers under leadership of Dutch National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting. In her mind, nothing on this planet compares to the vast, pristine, untouched Antarctic landscapes...
Read MoreRTPI to host Holiday Open House on December 1st
RTPI invites you to our anuual Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 1, 2018, from 10:00AM – 6:30PM. Visitors will enjoy free admission into our galleries, light refreshments, and a chance to win a gift bag filled with unique items from our museum store. Guests will also have the opportunity to create bird-friendly ornaments (for a $5 donation), take a stroll on a whimsically-lighted nature trail, and roast marshmallows on our patio (from 3-6pm). This event is part of Swedish Market Day in Jamestown – Julmarknad, organized by the Scandinavian Studies Program at Jamestown Community...
Read MoreWinter 2019 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Surveys
Winter 2019 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Surveys Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is an aphid-like insect, originating from Asia, which feeds off of the food storage cells below the needles of an Eastern Hemlock tree and hides itself under white woolly masses for protection. Within only a matter of 4-10 years an individual tree can succumb to an HWA infestation if left unnoticed. This deadly bug has been progressively moving closer to the area as it has spread throughout much of the eastern United States, leaving massive stands of hemlocks dead in their wake. Early detection of this particular pest is...
Read MoreRTPI to host screening of “From Billions to None”
RTPI invites you to join us for a screening of “From Billions To None: The Passenger Pigeon’s Flight To Extinction” on November 8. The screening, sponsored by JCC’s Earth Awareness Club and sustainability committee in collaboration with RTPI, begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. At 6 p.m., artist Alberto Rey will give a tour of his “Extinct Birds Project” exhibition which is now on view in our galleries. The exhibition features 18 original works. Rey is a painter, filmmaker, writer, fly fishing guide, distinguished professor and founder/director of a youth fly fishing...
Read MoreRTPI Joins the High Allegheny Hemlock Conservation Partnership to Offer Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Early Detection Training
Although autumn is just beginning in Western New York and Pennsylvania, the winter season will soon be upon us. The colder months, November through March to be exact, are the best time of year to search the area’s forests for an invasive forest pest known as Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). HWA is an aphid-like insect, originating from Asia, which feeds off of the food storage cells below the needles of an Eastern Hemlock tree and hides itself under white woolly masses for protection. Within only a matter of 4-10 years an individual tree can succumb to an HWA infestation if left unnoticed. This...
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