REALLY COLD!!!

OK, I feel like I've been made to eat my words, since suggesting a list of places to go birding in the cold is surely not the best idea when it's this cold! This morning my trusty farmer's thermometer told me that it was a startling 6F outside. Really? Just how cold is that? Well for those of you using new money, that's -14C - it never got that cold anywhere I ever lived before! And according to the weather websites, the wind chill factor was making it feel like -9F (-23C). OK, I know folks in Canada and Alaska would be just about thinking of putting a jacket on in that temperature but it's all relative and Cape May is not that used to temperatures like this.

So my adjusted advice to you - give the great outdoors a miss for now, catch up on your field notes, update your life list, surf the web for some great summer holiday ideas (dare I mention the choice of NJA Eco-tours here?!) or just dream of great days in the field to come. Above all though, don't forget the little guys outside. If you regularly feed your yard birds, now is not a good time to forget about them, so be sure to keep a supply of food going out there. Just as importantly, remember that there will be no natural water for birds to drink while this cold spell lasts, so if you can supply some water, even just for short spells, it can be a life saver. If I am at Northwood and can do it, I'll pour a fresh kettle full of warm water into a bird bath several times a day to keep the birds going. Remember not to use hot water though!

Of course, if it's not so cold where you are, you are probably wondering what all the fuss about!

The Northwood Center is closed on Wednesdays during the winter, but we shall be open all other days, weather permitting. If you make it down to the point, do come in and see us, tell us what you've seen, find out what's about - or come and treat yourself to something in the store. Now, about that new scope I've been promising myself...