This report is one that every birder should read. What is going on here in Alberta right now affects us all, in more ways than one. The amount of habitat destruction, both current and proposed, is immense. Strip-mining for the oilsands is expected to remove terrestrial and aquatic habitat (habitat …
It’s so nice to have birding friends. Last Saturday, my husband and I were sitting at home wondering which direction to go looking for birds. Our March weather is extremely fickle, so we were gauging our chances of heading out to the mountains when the phone rang. A friend had …
Spring is slooowly returning to southern Alberta, and with it the reappearance of my main nemesis bird. If one more person tells me “oh, Eurasian wigeons are everywhere’… The first duck reports of the year came in last week. There is very little open water around, but nevertheless a male …
These little chickadees are one of the few birds living completely in the boreal forest. Having grown up in the forests northern Alberta, each time I see one of these wonderful little boreal chickadees it’s like a visit from a family member. I heard the sicka-see-see call long before I …
We do a lot of prairie driving. Even without the regular trips to the lake, we’re prone to hopping in the car and driving through the grasslands to see what’s new. When most people think of the prairies, they think of field after field of crops or rangeland. What many don’t …
Our weather has the hiccups. Last Friday was 30C (90F), the weekend was 14C (58F) and raining. Today is supposed to be 90C again. Suffice it to say, we didn’t go camping, but it was World Cup weekend anyway. Let me take this moment to say, yet again, I TOLD …
Summer birding has clearly arrived on the prairies. It’s no longer a matter of just following my ears – now I have to actively go look for the birds as the singing has decreased dramatically. Fortunately, we have a very handy little spruce tree close by. Warbling Vireo, House Wren …
This was a non-camping weekend. The World Cup moved into the second stage, and as a soccer fanatic, not even the birds could pry me away from all those wonderful games on TV. When I expressed an interest in staying home this weekend, my husband gave me the big frown, …
Canada’s federal government has been taken to court over their own endangered species legislation. A coalition of nature and environmental groups brought the suit against the federal government, charging they had failed to protect key habitat for endangered species in general, and the prairie-dwelling sage grouse in particular. Their argument …