If your neighborhood was graced by carolers during the holidays count yourself as lucky. The singers’ beautiful voices filled the void of silence that otherwise afflicts Western New York’s winters. If your neighborhood is graced by nature’s counterpart to those musical souls you’re just as lucky. Other than some rather basic sounds, most species of birds remain quiet this time of year. It’s a little too cold to focus on attracting the opposite sex and marking territory. That, and their attention is purely on the questions of survival: How do they get the calories they need for this cold weather without expending too many of those energy points that are precious and few this time of year? How do they hide from predators when the trees and grasses are stripped of foliage?    But, there is a bird that thinks differently, acts differently, and sounds differently this time of year. That would be the Carolina wren, the tiny caroler of our winters. The males of these wee creatures si...

Birdwatchers are, in some way, listers. Most keep life lists, counting all the species of birds that they’ve ever seen. Then you have birders who tabulate both species and numbers for various special annual events like the Christmas Bird Count, Feederwatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. And, there are those who take on a competitive Big Year, trying to accumulate as many birds as possible in a calendar year. The North American record is held by John Weigel who saw 840 species in 2019, surpassing his 2016 record of 836. Earlier in this decade, I started something I call the Little Year. By doing so, I keep count of all the species I see in New York State each year. I’m not driven to accumulate as many species as possible, so I don’t go out of my way to gather gull species in the wintry Niagara Gorge, nor do I spy upon wetlands at wildlife refuges in May to get shorebird species, and I don’t chase down rare species whose locations were shared among birders online. My only goal is to...

  If you are working on your resolutions for 2026 and looking for ways to improve both your physical health and your mental health, I have a suggestion for you: Get outdoors, often. I swear by the benefits of being in the wilds on a regular basis. Hiking varied and rugged terrain, or walking on a flat path more suited to age and ability, is an excellent workout. Don’t let anyone tell you have to jog or run – nicely-paced walks which get the heart rate up and try your legs are more than sufficient.   I put on my legs somewhere between 600 and 700 miles every year in the woods and on the trails, a fine companion to what I do on my other days of exercise (going 10 rounds with the heavy bag). In my 50s that has contributed to great cardiac health, impeccable blood work, and other positive factors which health professionals say makes me comparable to someone in their 30s. As excellent as those outcomes are for the body, it’s the mental side of being in the great outdoors that’s m...

  If you are of a certain vintage you will remember how the northern spotted owl created major political and social tension in the 1990s. This rare bird of the Pacific Northwest was added to the endangered species list in 1990, which triggered numerous federal and state responses to the management of old-growth forests, their preferred habitat, none more controversial than the Clinton Administration’s Northwest Forest Plan, which pitted lumbermen against environmentalists, the welfare of workers against the welfare of birds. Fast forward more than 30 years to today. The bird – or more specifically government’s consideration of it – is still a lightning rod for controversy. This time around, due to so much happening in the political sphere, it has attracted far less national attention, although, it should. Many people do not know that the mass annihilation of another owl – the barred owl – is underway to, allegedly, save the spotted owl. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has a plan...

If you are among the many rural readers of this column you are probably a backyard astronomer of sorts. You might find yourself outdoors on a clear night marveling at the countless stars in the heavens. There’s something innate, something primeval, about our love affair with the nighttime sky -- the universe is fascinating, awe-inspiring, and relaxing. To help you get the most out of your skywatching in 2026, here’s a look at some of the nighttime sights (and one daytime sight) on tap for the year. Lunar eclipses Early in the morning of March 3 rd there will be a total lunar eclipse. The timing is such that if you are getting yourself ready for work you will see some of the progression. It will begin just before 4:00 a.m. and reach full eclipse around 6:30 a.m. The moon sets that morning just before 7:00 which means the peak will be impossible to appreciate because the moon will be so low on the horizon during the 6:00 hour (and the sun will be rising at 6:48). Your best time to exper...

  Kids everywhere know that Santa Claus subsists on Christmas cookies. Young, caring souls go out of their way to set aside a plate of the seasonal goodies for Saint Nick every Christmas Eve to make sure he has the energy to work his magic. But, what about his ride? What do his reindeer eat? How do they fuel up for their intercontinental travels? In the Far North of Canada and Eurasia, reindeer moss is an incredibly important food for caribou (also known as reindeer). It has been estimated that it provides 50% of the nourishment for the hoofed creatures in the summer months and 90% in the winter months. Even though it is slow growing at just 3 millimeters per year, reindeer moss blankets the tundra and the understory of boreal forests, even after continual consumption by the caribou. It’s a ubiquitous part of the northern landscape. While we aren’t the Far North, reindeer moss can be found in the higher peaks of Western New York. Its greatest abundance – and even then, it’s quite...