Friends of the Chemung River Watershed, Inc.

Happy Birthday to a great civil rights leader - Martin Luther King Jr.! Today we celebrate and honor the life and achievements of this great American man!

Concrete Old Glory on Chemung River trail by Jim Pfiffer. "You never know what you may see along the Chemung River. We salute whomever painted a US Flag on the remnant of a concrete foundation of a former cottage along the Chemung River Trail in West Elmira. The flag is adjacent to the trail near Curren Road. Does anyone know who painted this and if there is an interesting story behind it?... It’s a cool and patriotic example of community art, and nicely done. This site was once home to a cottage, facing the river, one of many that were built along the Chemung more than 100 years ago. The last of them were washed away during the 1972 Flood. You can still see some of the old foundations along the trail. Our flag represents one nation under all. If there is anything that this country desperately needs right now, its unity and one nation of us all." Thanks Jim! We couldn't agree more! Post a picture below of your nature travels, and tell us why you love our community and our country. Let's come together through nature during these difficult times.

Thank you to the Horseheads Kwanis Club for this fancy mug, for letting us present to their club members last month, and for their generous donation to our mission of protecting, promoting, and preserving our amazing Chemung River!

We are excited for our Annual Meeting, scheduled for tomorrow (Dec. 15th) at 11AM via Zoom! Our meeting is open to our members, and would love to have you meet our new Executive Director, and hear about the exciting programs we have scheduled for 2021! For the zoom link, please send us a message on Facebook. We hope you will join us!

"Happy National Bird Day!!" by Jim Pfiffer Today is National Bird Day, and is another reason to enjoy the Chemung River Trails and celebrate the new year! It’s a great opportunity to get fresh air exercise, burn calories and enjoy the beauty and diversity of some of the more than 10,000 species of feathered friends with whom we share the Earth. National Bird Day coincides with the annual Christmas Bird Count one of the longest running citizen science survey’s in the world t...hat helps to keep an eye on the health of the birds in the U.S. A walk along the river trail, park, meadow or wooded area will let you see, hear and learn about the variety of places that birds inhabit. Bring a pair of binoculars, a camera, a bird identification book and a willingness to frequently stop, listen and watch for movement in the trees, brush or ground a good sign of bird activity. Go slow, be quiet and leave the pet dog at home, as our frisky canine friends easily scare away birds. A walk along the Chemung River takes you through three bird habitats sky, water and land. You will likely see Canada Geese, ducks, Great Blue Herons, scores of song birds, and if you are lucky, a Bald Eagle or a Great Horned Owl sitting motionless high in a tree. Bring a pen and paper to keep a list of the birds you see. You can also see plenty of avian activity in urban areas, as birds are adept at living in close proximity with humans. Bring your smart phone to take photos or access apps to hear bird songs and view bird identification photos. It will give you plenty to "Tweet" about. Below are some interesting bird facts: Ravens are great at mimicking human speech and sounds. Cardinals like to cover themselves in ants to use the formic acid secreted by the ants to help get rid of lice and other parasites. Owls devour their prey whole and regurgitate the undigested bones, fur and teeth in small round pellets. Some ducks sleep with one eye open. Acorn woodpeckers store acorns; drilling holes in trees, fence posts, utility poles, and buildings, and depositing their nuts there. They have been known to store up to 50,000 acornseach in its own tiny holein a single tree, called a "granary tree." Share your pictures and stories of bird watching in the comments below.

Such a beautiful day outside today! Have you gotten a chance to hike on the riverside trails of the Chemung River recently? If so, post your story in the comments below! We are all in this together, and sharing stories of safe and fun outdoor recreation can help us all get through a socially-distant Winter in our region. #getoutside

Today is #GivingTuesday! Please consider supporting us in our efforts to keep the Chemung river safe and fun and clean for all! To Donate, visit our website here: https://chemungriverfriends.org/, and click the Donate button. Even a few dollars goes a long way. Thank you in advance for your support!

"Take a walk today and enjoy a different kind of bird." Posted by Jim Pfiffer Thanksgiving is a great day to walk along the river, get fresh-air exercise and work-up an appetite or burn off some Thanksgiving dinner calories.... Fall is a fine time for wildlife watching because there is little to no foliage to block your line of sight. If you hike along a waterway there is a good chance that line of sight will fall on a Great Blue Heron. These large majestic birds are found all over North America and spend most of their time out in the open along the water’s edge waiting for a tasty fish to pass by. The Great Blue is North America’s largest heron, and one of its most beautiful, with a long neck, grayish blue overall plumage with long black crown and head plumes. The great blue is an amazingly patient angler. It snares its aquatic prey by walking slowly, or standing still for and waiting for fish to come within range. The deathblow is delivered with a quick thrust of the sharp bill, and the prey is swallowed whole. It’s a thrilling event to witness. Look for a Great Blue standing in the shallows near shore. The bird has great eyesight, is wary and won’t let you get too close before it rises into the air, trailing stilt-like legs behind, until it lands in the shallows further down river. A great blue’s menu is a varied as your Thanksgiving dinner. It eats fish, crabs, insects, rodents, frogs, lizards, small mammals and birds - especially ducklings. While today’s turkey is roasting, take a river hike, work up an appetite, and you might come home with a great blue story to tell around the dinner table. Great blue facts: Solitary feeder that will also drop from the air or a tree branch into water to catch dinner. Weigh 4.6 to 5.5 lbs. and are 3 to 4.5 feet tall. Long S-shaped neck. Adult can eat up to one pound of fish a day. Collect into groups for nesting, constructing their spartan stick nests in adjoining trees. Nest in large colonies helps protect the young from predators. Life expectancy of 15 years.

Happy 2021! We hope this year is better than the last, and we can all gather together soon to learn more about our beautiful Chemung River. Let's keep paddling together!

Wishing all our friends, members, donors, supporters, partners, and neighbors a Happy and Healthy New Year! Stay safe out there, and keep following us for information about NEW virtual programs happening in early 2021!

Our friends at Finger Lakes Land Trust will be offering a FREE webinar on Tuesday, November 24th! Join FLLT's Executive Director Andy Zepp for this online presentation to learn about the Land Trust’s latest conservation efforts in the Southern Tier and Chemung River Corridor. Pre-registration is required, click the link below to register.

Yesterday for #FLXGives we raised $3,257 in one-day for this giving challenge! Last night, when we signed off and went to sleep, we still had 30 minutes before the closing of the donations. Right before midnight, we were selected by the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes to get an additional gift!! Thank you again for all who donated; to our individual fundraisers, to the Community Foundation and Corning Foundation, to our sponsor Young’s Tires, to our board, and to all of our supporters who have helped us survive in 2020 throughout COVID-19! We are ready to provide socially-distant programming to you in 2021, and we will continue to promote, preserve, and protect the Chemung River! Happy Saturday!