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River Currents
December 2009
Greetings Friend,
Happy Holidays! As we celebrated our 20 Year Birthday and Thanksgiving, we could not help but think back on RIVERKEEPER’s incredible victories for Buffalo Niagara’s Great Lakes waterways!! We are grateful to our founders Congressman Higgins, Ken Sherman, Barry Boyer, Lynda Schneekloth and Keith Martin for their unwavering vision for a cleaner, more accessible waterfront! Standing on their shoulders, we look forward to 2010 construction of the Buffalo River sediment clean up, several new waterfront habitat projects and waterfront access improvements along the Buffalo River and Black Rock Canal.
Like the early days, we rely upon members and volunteers to make this vision a reality. As you make your year-end gifts and New Year’s resolutions, please keep RIVERKEEPER in mind. With many hands, we can make light work of protecting our precious water for generations to come.
Thank you for all you’ve done to take care of our water in 2009. We wish you and your loved ones a clean, bright holiday season!
Warmly,
Julie O’Neill, Riverkeeper
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Winter Solstice is the First Day of Spring
Over the past three or four years, I have joined Mike Hamilton, Riverkeeper board member and birder extraordinaire, for the Buffalo Ornithological Society’s spring and fall bird counts. Our assigned territory is Section 7: a 200-square-mile rectangle bordering the north shore of Lake Erie in Ontario, from Port Colborne west to Rock Point Provincial Park near the mouth of the Grand River.
The BOS has been making these counts in the Niagara Frontier region (including New York’s westernmost counties and Canada’s Niagara Peninsula) for over 60 years. In May it is especially worth the effort to get up before dawn and be stationed at first light in a woods whose budding trees glow yellow, green or pink, according to their kind. For bird abundance and sheer beauty, Rock Point is my favorite stop. Songbirds--some who made the Lake Erie crossing the night before—have dropped down here to rest and fuel up before continuing north. You can see and hear them high up in the maples and oaks behind the first set of coastal dunes, feeding on the plumes of insects that rise like smoke as the day warms: orioles, tanagers, flycatchers, thrush, warblers of every stripe.
Closer to home spring comes earlier still. By mid-February the first of the great tribes of diving ducks arrive and sort themselves out among the slabs of ice on the upper Niagara— mergansers, scaup, buffleheads, common goldeneye, canvasbacks, pintails—all ply the river conveyor belt with its load of fish timed to their arrival. By mid-March they are gone.
According to some birders, spring actually begins on winter solstice—December 21, the shortest day of the year, when the sun begins its return to the north. They say that on this day our over-wintering birds—the cardinals, robins, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, wrens, sparrows, finches and even the crows—begin practicing their spring songs (and rattles).
In his new book Birdsongs by the Seasons, ornithologist Donald Kroodsma writes, “It’s winter solstice . . . Longer days lie ahead. I know by my calendar, but the birds know it too, for deep in their bodies lie systems dedicated to knowing these things. It is the length of the day that governs their annual activities, guiding the ebb and flow of hormones and mating activities, initiating the vast migration movements over the globe, inducing feather molt and replacement, indeed affecting almost every feature of their lives.”
By way of testing this hypothesis, he walks his neighborhood in Amherst, Massachusetts for 20 consecutive mornings, from December 11th to the 31st. On any given morning before the solstice he sees and hears a handful of 3 or 4 birds. On December 21st, he counts over 100, including a flock of robins, chasing each other through the treetops and singing. On subsequent days he records them practicing their carols, “tuning up for spring singing.”
Check it out this winter solstice. Who might be singing in your neighborhood?
~ Margaret Wooster
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RIVERKEEPER has jobs available
Are you looking for real-world work experience in the environmental field? Americorps positions with Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER provide young professionals with opportunities to share their skills and apply their fresh ideas to a variety of clean water projects.
- Americorps Citizen Action Volunteer Coordinator: For a job description and application, click here
- Americorps Greenway Coordinator: For a job description and application, click here
Volunteer database entry help wanted. Are you looking for a resume booster? Will you have extra time this winter break and looking for a productive way to spend it? Volunteer for Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER--we're seeking a part-time intern or volunteer to assist with special data entry projects. For a job description and application, click here.
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Please put Riverkeeper on your Holiday Gift List!
We have a selection of very nice items on our ‘Shop’ page, http://bnriverkeeper.org/get-involved/shop/, that you could buy for the special ones on your gift list and help RIVERKEEPER at the same time. Here’s a unique gift idea: A RAIN BARREL! From now until December 31st, rain barrels will only be $89.95 plus tax. Buy one today for that special someone in your life or to have ready for the upcoming gardening season. Purchase on our website or come to our office at 1250 Niagara St. M-F 9-5 to buy one TODAY! For further questions feel free to contact Adrienne Kina, Ak...@bnriverkeeper.org.
Gift certificates are now available for 2010 Ecotours! Give a unique outdoor experience for the eco-friendly person on your holiday shopping list. Good for any hiking, biking, or padlling tours during the 2010 Eco Tour season commencing in June: $15 for hiking and biking and $25 for paddling tours (not including canoe rental). Schedule of ecotour dates will be announced in January.
You could make a donation directly to RIVERKEEPER by going to our homepage, www.bnriverkeeper.org and clicking on the ’Donate Now’ button in the lower left corner, or just mail a check to our office, 1250 Niagara Street, buffalo, 14213. You can also buy a membership as a gift for those on your list – just note the recipient’s name and address when making a donation.
Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER can earn a donation every time you search the Internet. Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! Doing some online shopping this holiday season? GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 30 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you'll be supporting your favorite cause. And if you download the GoodSearch - Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER toolbar, our cause will earn money every time you shop and search online - even if you forget to go to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! Add the Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER toolbar at http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/buffalo-niagara-riverkeeper
A Donation of Sorts
RIVERKEEPER started a program in September of donating rain barrels to high visibility sites. Some of the sites that have received rain barrels are schools, community gardens, churches, block clubs and low-income residents. Don’t worry, there are still plenty more barrels to be donated! If you have a possible location, visit our website http://bnriverkeeper.org/programs/rain-barrels/ to fill out a Donation Request Form and Maintenance Agreement Form to be returned to Adrienne Kina Ak...@bnriverkeeper.org.
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1250 Niagara Street | Buffalo, NY 14213 US |
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