Growing up in northern Alberta, I distinctly remember flocks of whooping cranes passing over our house. It was a normal as the sun setting. Little did we know what the future held for these huge, whooping birds. The whooping crane was designated as an Endangered Species in Canada in 1978. …
Funny how the little things are often the most important. Have a look at this website from the National Wildlife Federation, listing 5 Animals Mankind Needs to Survive.
What would you think is the most common bird in Canada? If you guessed Canada goose, you would at least be in the correct family! According to Environment Canada, our snow goose population now stands at over 4.5 million breeding birds, and has tripled over the past 20 years. While …
Happy Spring! Today is officially the first day of spring, and in many parts of the country, it’s been a long time coming. Just after dawn this morning, I was levitated out of my bed by a very loud bird noise in the back yard. At the very least it …
Well I’m a happy camper today. Bird watching yesterday gave me my first look at returning gulls. Granted, they were too high for me to make a species identification, but they were definitely gulls. And right on schedule. As I live next to the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, I’ve …
A study carried out by the Audubon Society has discovered that climate change is pushing North American birds northward, with some finches and chickadees moving hundreds of miles into Canada. As the temperatures across the US have gotten warmer, the birds are spending their winters farther north than they used …
Disoriented by erratic weather, birds are changing migration habits and routes to adjust to warmer winters, disappearing feeding grounds and shrinking wetlands, a migration expert says. Failure to adapt risks extinction. Birds face starvation when they arrive too early or too late to find their normal diet of insects, plankton …
After a cold, snowy, winter most of us are chomping at the bit to get out there and start birding in comfort again. If you’re thinking of a holiday, there’s no better place to be this month than on Vancouver Island, BC. The Brant Wildlife Festival celebrates nature, particularly the …
I was quietly enjoying my first cup of coffee this morning, watching the house finches, black-capped chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches at our feeders. Suddenly it sounded like someone had started a jack-hammer in my living room. Then it stopped. Then started again. Not really at my brightest until I’ve consumed …
Raptors, or birds of prey, are among the most popular species for bird watchers. For the ‘hawk watchers’, it’s a joy to read the reports of returning raptors each spring. Across North America, there are many hawkwatch sites set up, where observations are carried out on a regularly repeated basis …