Welcome snowbirds!
Palm warbler (Photo by Marshall Faintich)
Hey Canada, hey Virginia…it only seems a short time has passed since I was telling you all that our wintering palm warblers were leaving Florida and heading your way. Thanks to the great conservation efforts taking place to conserve habitat...
Vernal pools (Part Two)
Vernal pool (Photo by Bernt Solymar)
In Part One of this blog I provided a 101 on vernal pools; why this seasonal ecosystem created from rainfall that accumulates in land depressions is so important to wildlife, in particular amphibians. Here I will go into detail about the...
Vernal pools (Part One)
Vernal pool (Photo by Bernt Solymar)
Ecosystems come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from as large as the Amazon Basin to as tiny as your backyard pond. Regardless of their size, ecosystems and habitats provide homes for animals to breed, raise their young, forage and feed. Some...
Something's Fishy: A year underwater
Eastern sand darter, Grand River, ON (Photo by Alan Dextrase/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) © Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2016
For someone who writes about fish, it is no surprise that when I tell people what I do, it is always prompted by an inquiry about which finned species is my favourite. That’s like asking a mother which of her children she likes...
Thank you Canada...The warblers have returned to Virginia!
Palm warbler (Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar)
We recently learned from our friends in Canada that the palm warblers had concluded a successful summer breeding season and were on their way south; and now, we are pleased to share, “They’re here!” Palm warblers and other...
Garlic: The forbidden fruit? (Part One)
Garlic (Photo by cyclonebill/Wikimedia Commons)
Picture this: the aroma of fresh garlic bread coming out of the oven to accompany your pasta dish. Garlic oil in salad dressing to top off your garden vegetables. A plant of many uses, of many medicinal properties and a kitchen staple, garlic is...
Seeing the forest and the trees
Clayoquot Island Preserve, BC (Photo by NCC)
Canada is a forest nation. About 35 per cent (or roughly 3.48 million square kilometres) of the country is covered by forest. That’s an area larger than the size of India! In fact Canada’s forests are bigger than all but five of the...
From prairie to forest: My journey to a new natural area
Tall grass prairie (Photo by Jenna Siu/NCC)
I spent many of my formative years as a field biologist in the Carolinian region of Ontario, which includes Norfolk and the surrounding counties. The fragmented landscape is largely agricultural with bits of restored tallgrass prairie and...
More endangered than pandas: 40 Canadian species at risk of global extinction
Earlier this month, a conservation success story resonated around the world. The giant panda, perhaps the preeminent poster species of nature conservation, was down-listed from a global status of endangered to vulnerable on the International Union...
A walk in the woods: Acadian old-growth forest
Acadian forest, Chignecto Isthmus, NS (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
If you’re at all like me, coming across big, old trees while exploring the woods is always a thrill. Over the past four years, as conservation biologist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Atlantic Region, I’ve...
