When I lived in New Westminster my sister-in-law, Pat, fed peanuts to the Steller’s Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) in her urban back yard. At that point I had no interest in birds at all, but I was intrigued by the jays that came by for dinner at Pat’s. So when I …
The Boreal Songbird Initiative and Ducks Unlimited have released a 20 page bulletin entitled 10 Cool Canadian Biodiversity Hotspots. The report highlights ten locations throughout our boreal forest that provide more detail and insight into its special biodiversity and conservation values. Pimachiowin Aki, Manitoba and Ontario Pimachiowin Aki, which means …
By now baby birds are showing up everywhere, squawking up a storm while begging food from their parents. Very cute but very noisy, especially the young crows magpies! Lately I have seen several young Dark-eyed Juncos, Evening Grosbeaks, Spotted Towhees, Pine Siskins, crows and Cassin’s Finches, Black-billed Magpies & Red …
As we move into late spring, this time of year is a particularly enjoyable time as we begin to see more and more new avian offspring and, like most baby birds, they are decidedly cute! Such was the case when after work last week I visited a local pond just on the edge …
The Boreal Songbird Initiative and Ducks Unlimited have released a 20 page bulletin entitled 10 Cool Canadian Biodiversity Hotspots. The report highlights ten locations throughout our boreal forest that provide more detail and insight into its special biodiversity and conservation values. Hudson and James Bay Lowlands, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec If …
One of the more diminutive members of the Owl family is the Northern Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium gnona) which is 6”-61/2” (15-17 cm) in size. These pictures were taken on January 8th, 2009 the second picture shows that it has “Eyes in the back of its head”, this must be very …
The Boreal Songbird Initiative and Ducks Unlimited have released a 20 page bulletin entitled 10 Cool Canadian Biodiversity Hotspots. The report highlights ten locations throughout our boreal forest that provide more detail and insight into its special biodiversity and conservation values. Caribou House, Quebec and Labrador Few locations are as …
The term “biodiversity” appears frequently in journals and popular media. In most cases, it is used to describe the number of species in a region. Scientists now realize that it also includes things like the intactness of the entire ecoysystem, large scale migration, predator-prey dynamics, genetic variability of species and …
A few weeks ago a fellow Gabriola birder confided that some days he wished he didn’t have a nest cam. At first I assumed he was referring to the amount of time he spends watching the screen. (I could relate to that.) But it turned out he wasn’t at all …
