It is a very strange year for birders in this area. Our winter birds are still here, while reports are increasing daily of returning spring visitors. The weather is ideal, with day after day of sunshine and temperatures around 13C (56F). Staying indoors on Sunday was just impossible, so we …
The Mute Swan, a native of Eurasia, was introduced to this continent from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. Due to their graceful appearance on water, these swans were imported to many areas of North America as an adornment to city parks and large estates. All North American Mute Swan …
Birds are an important part of the environment in which we live. By monitoring bird distribution and habitat use, we can assess the health of the environments they inhabit (in essence, our environment). The Prairie provinces support hundreds of bird species during the breeding season, and we need to collect …
Ever wonder what the top of a Sandhill Crane looks like? These huge birds can reach up to 47″ (120 cm) so we don’t normally get to see the top of their heads. This obliging bird walked right underneath the raised viewing platform I was standing on. Taken February 2010 …
For each day of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Bird Studies Canada’s British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator Rob Butler is featuring a different bird species on his Vancouver Sun blog. Every entry includes interesting information about the bird of the day, such as where to find it, what it looks …
Apparently, some things are so ingrained you don’t even realize they’ve taken up residence in your brain. Earlier this month we took a vacation to Florida. In contrast to what we left at home, it was very green, very hot and very wet. Coming from a western Canadian winter, the …
Not all fishing trips are successful. This fish-less osprey is drying his wings in the wind after a failed attempt. Taken in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Florida February 2010.
BirdLife International initiated the Important Bird Area (IBA) program in the mid-1980’s. The main goals of the program were to identify, conserve and monitor the world’s most critical places for bird populations. IBAs are priority areas where threatened, restricted-range, biome-restricted and congregatory birds occur. Birds are the best documented, and …
We took a prairie birding drive yesterday, looking for snowy owls. Naturally enough, this post is therefore about black-billed magpies. This is the countryside where we looking for owls. White owls. Some trips they are easy to find, perched on power poles, fence posts, graineries and hay bales. Some trips …
While I have been birding as long as I can remember, I am relatively new to photographing birds. Now that I’ve finally moved into the world of digital cameras. I’ve become a picture taking fool. Some of my photos are even decent shots, and I love the surprises I get …