No, We Are Not the Same as RTPI
There will be at least a couple of groups per season that arrive late because they went to RTPI first. RTPI is the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Many people confuse us, or think that we are the same organization. We are two completely separate organizations with different facilities, different staff, different boards of directors, and slightly different approaches to our nature-related missions. Sometimes we collaborate on projects… which probably adds to the confusion.
What’s in a Name?
Pay attention. There will be a quiz later: Jamestown Audubon Society, Inc. is a local chapter of National Audubon Society. The chapter owns and operates the Audubon Center and Sanctuary. This last is a relatively new name that we adopted when we were trying to resolve our identity crisis.
At one time, the building was called the Roger Tory Peterson Nature Interpretive Building, named for Jamestown’s native son who was present when we dedicated the building in the 1970s. Once RTPI became established, we dropped that name to try to minimize confusion.
The Audubon Center & Sanctuary sits on the 600-acre Burgeson Wildlife Sanctuary, named for Gib Burgeson, one of our founding members. Our Herb and Butterfly Garden, also known as “Bob’s Garden,” is named for Bob Hallquist, another founding member. The Ted Grisez Arboretum which is visible from Riverside Road as you approach the main entrance from Route 62 is named in honor of forester Ted Grisez (pronounced griz zay’) who started this project many years ago. The woodland wildflower garden in the center of the driveway circle, Ferd’s Garden, is named in memory of a long-time volunteer at Audubon Ferd Stenta.
There are other spots at the santuary that are named in honor of folks who gave time, money or both to make them happen: Clarke Trail, the Urban Pavilion, the Hugh and Gladys Wood Observation Tower.
Just kidding about the quiz.
P.S. We have a second sanctuary on Bentley Road, off of Fluvanna Avenue in Jamestown. It is called the Bentley Sanctuary.
Trees Are Plants; Insects are Animals
It’s weird. Many people use the phrases “plants and trees” and “insects and animals” as if trees aren’t plants and insects aren’t animals. I don’ t know why they do that. I think they really consider trees to be something different than plants. I notice it a lot when we are discussing food chains. 
I recently asked a group, “What plant does a chipmunk eat?” No one answered for the longest time. Finally, an adult in the group said, “I was going to say acorn… but that comes from a tree.” She did feel a little silly when I reminded her that trees are plants… Still, she didn’t consider trees to be plants when I asked the question… Isn’t that weird?
Woodpeckers Don’t Eat Wood
Woodpeckers knock holes in trees to get insects that are eating the wood. Oh, and by the way… skunks don’t eat Skunk Cabbage, either. The plant has the name because it smells like the animal.
Snakes Don’t Dig Holes
If I had a nickel for every time a child pointed at a chipmunk hole and called it a snake hole, I could probably retire comfortably. Well, maybe not. Snakes may use holes that were dug by other animals, but they have no “equipment” with which to dig a hole themselves.
Snakes and Frogs Don’t Spit
That frothy stuff on plants in late spring isn’t snake spit or frog spit. It is a protective defense of the Spittlebug.
Is it Real?
The other day, a young girl in one of my groups pointed to a taxidermy mount of a chipmunk and asked, “Is that real?”
I said, “Yes.”
She then asked, “Why doesn’t it move?”
I said, “Because, it isn’t alive.”
She said, “You just said it was alive.”
“No I didn’t,” I responded. “I said it was real.”
Technically, I suppose, it isn’t real. In a taxidermy mount, only the fur is real. The tanned hide is stretched over a form or mannikin. The eyes are usually glass. I think from now on, I’ll say, “It’s not alive, but doesn’t it look like it is? It’s kind of like a statue.”
I still haven’t figured out what a child really wants to know when he asks, “Is that picture real?” I think he wants to know if I took the pictures. I usually answer by either saying, “Yes, I took this picture.” Or, “Yes, a friend of mine took this picture.” Or, “Well, I got this picture from a calendar, so I don’t know who took it. But yes, someone took this picture using a camera.”
Did you Kill It?
When children see our many taxidermy mounts, they often want to know – did we kill it? I usually answer by saying, “No, I did not kill them. Some of them were killed by hunters. Some were accidental deaths.”
The longer story is that the heads of moose, deer, elk, and caribou were killed by hunters who donated the mounts to Audubon. Hunters have also donated some of the game birds, such as turkey, duck and pheasant. Many of the birds in our collection were accidental deaths – found next to the road, or by the window. For game animals, no permits are needed for possessing taxidermy mounts. We have both federal and state permits for all the protected migratory bird mounts that are on display.
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