As usual, late spring and summer have been pretty busy family-wise, but I’ve still managed to get out for some early morning/after-work birding trips and walks and with migration having hit its peak these trips have been quite fruitful. An overnight trip down to Waterton in early May yielded quite …
Hello! Welcome back to Toronto, only this month we won’t be in our backyard but still close to home. The month of June got swallowed up with Peregrine Falcon fledge watching. This is an ordeal I participate in annually. This is something I am quite passionate about. I hope some …
The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) has just released a new report on the state of Canada’s birds. It’s the second comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of birdlife in Canada. The new report highlights the challenges of bird conservation as well as past and current successes of conservation …
Hello again! After weeks of chilly temperatures, the season is finally improving up here. Even though the first day of summer is officially tomorrow, we are now getting late spring weather with temperatures finally getting into the high teens and low 20’s C. 😀 Trees and shrubs are blooming beautifully …
By late April and early May, spring migration was clearly on in earnest here in Calgary as each new week heralded newly arrived species in the urban parks around the city, notably song birds such as the aptly-named Song Sparrow: As well as the tiny and energetic Ruby-crowned Kinglet: And …
It’s the Spring That Never Was. The snow has melted, yes (mostly: there are still some thick patches in the woods) but it’s still COLD here in Manitouwadge, ON. Today, May 19th, we have a daytime high of only 6C when it should be well into the high teens C …
Hello! Welcome back to our slice of nature here in our Toronto backyard. It’s been a slow moving spring but the birds assure us that the weather is changing and slowly getting warmer. First sign weeks ago was this Chipping Sparrow who spent a few days with us. I was …
Spring is finally here again in Calgary and the waterfowl have wasted no time in making their way to the now largely ice-free ponds and waterways of the city… Living up to their name, one of the most abundant ducks is the Common Goldeneye and this time of year I …
Many thanks to Kevin Biskaborn for sending us this wonderful footage. As warmer spring weather melts the snow in Canada, an eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) ventures out of hibernation only to be immediately hunted by a barred owl (Strix varia). Three chase sequences shown in order as they happened. …
It’s the last official day of Winter! I’m so excited! Unfortunately, it also means that it’s treacherous around my parts of my yard right now, with a thick layer of ice hiding under thin layers of snow, after a day of heavy rain last week. Skates, anyone?? We …