The transition from January into February is usually one without many colors, though this sunset on the final night of January was spectacular over the water. The pink glow from the sun below the horizon makes me think of everything from Valentine’s Day to the Northern Cardinal males beginning to sing in our yards on the warm and sunny days as they stake out their territories and sound out for mates, if they do not already have one. The same shade reminds me of the House Finch males that have also been calling out their cheery melodies frequently as of late.
This January seemed to move rather fast to me – perhaps because the previous two years had been so frigid for us in the Northeast. RTPI will be feeling some more winter this week as lake effect snow begins once again in a few days, blanketing Jamestown and Chautauqua County and helping our winter trails cell phone tour take life. The middle of February onward looks to be a cold and potentially storm-filled pattern, keeping the bursts of bird life at bay for a while longer yet. Nevertheless, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid surveys continue this week and throughout the month of February, and our Field to Frame exhibition goes on at RTPI through February 28. Waterbird monitoring at Stratford Point continues as a daily effort, and once we hit March we will be off and running with the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds for a fifth season.
This is only scratching the surface of all the exciting Art, Education and Conservation work we have rolling every single day of the year now. I would like to thank all of our hard-working staff, some of whom work weekdays, weekends, nights, early mornings and endlessly to keep all of these tremendous efforts running smoothly. To be honest I am rambling on and belting out this tune because I am very excited for what we have in store in 2016, and like the birds, I can smell spring in the air.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
