Ah, August…. for me this used to just mean the end of camping season is around the corner and that is NOT a good feeling! These days however, I now know August means the southward (fall) migration of many bird species, including many that in southern Alberta we only ever …
“Hot” is the only way to describe August, much like the whole summer of 2016 here in Toronto, Ontario. Just trying to keep cool and deal with it is what most of us are doing. While it has been rather quiet a few things of interest have happened around our …
It’s a little embarrassing to admit this but when I discovered the BC Breeding Bird Atlas tears came to my eyes. I know. I should get a life. My tears weren’t about sadness, though, they were about so many people, largely volunteers, working together to create this extraordinary resource. Over …
Endangered species come in all shapes and sizes, and the Calgary Zoo is launching an innovative conservation project to save one of the most unique owls in the country — the burrowing owl. Working in partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)’s Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and Alberta Environment …
Hello again! It has most definitely been ‘juvenile bird’ season around here. My yard has been full of an assortment of juveniles: Hummingbirds, Purple Finches, Chickadees, Red Breasted Nuthatches, Grackles, Starlings, Crows, a few Sparrow types, Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpeckers …… The Downies surprised me, actually. I had only been …
My summer has been both busy and relaxing, which normally don’t go together in my world! I had a week’s vacation out in South Okanagan in July where I picked up a couple of ‘life birds’, one of which included the striking California Quail which are quite abundant in the …
Rob and I do not consider ourselves birding experts, but are always willing to share any knowledge we’ve gained over the last ten plus years of feeding the birds in our backyard. And when people ask my advice about attracting more birds to their backyard, I’m more than likely to respond …
Hello again! Hope you are all enjoying your summer. Around here, it’s juvenile bird time in the yard! I’ve been having great fun watching & listening to families of birds at my few summer feeders & in my trees. I’ve been watching juvenile Red Breasted Nuthatches, Black Capped Chickadees, Crows, …
Hello and welcome back to our Toronto backyard… and sometimes slightly beyond! We have just started to see a couple Ruby-throated Hummingbirds coming around, usually at dawn and dusk. FINALLY! There has been no shortage of Cedar Waxwings high up in the trees as well. Seldom do they come down …
It’s a remarkable place both physically and in terms of how it came to be. A twenty-six acre parcel of land, The Gabriola Commons is owned by the people of Gabriola Island under a unique “Commons Covenant.” The Commons was once a privately-owned goat farm. When it was listed …