Hey Florida, hey Virginia...The birds are meandering back!
Palm warbler (Photo by Marshall Faintich)
The fall migration for warblers is often a leisurely and spread out event spanning August to October. As I am in the midst of the back-to-school rush with my five-year-old twins, warblers are meandering back down south, taking their time in fair...
The mystery of the moving cow pie
This lovely little mushroom was growing in an old cow pie (Photo by Diana Bizecki Robson)
Usually cow pies are extremely uninteresting features of a prairie landscape (and one to usually avoid) but this month something funny was happening with them at the Nature Conservancy of Canada's Yellow Quill Prairie that made me look twice. For...
Something's Fishy: Here comes the sun(fish)
Warmouth up-close (Photo by Clinton & Charles Robertson/Wikimedia Commons)
“We rise when the fish do!” exclaimed my grandfather just as I was settling into the guestroom, known fondly as my room-away-from-home, at my grandparent’s house. “When’s that, grandpa?” I called back in...
Atlantic Salmon: Lake Ontario’s ghost fish
Atlantic salmon jumping in Humber River (Photo by Tom Moffatt/ASF)
The Atlantic salmon is usually associated with Canada’s east coast, where declining populations of the species have inspired conservation efforts by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, as well as Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Historically,...
The Migratory Bird Treaty turns 100!
Woman, wearing a large feathered hat and boa, posing for a portrait (Photo by John Oxley Library, Public Domain)
This year we mark the centennial of the convention between the United States and Great Britain (for Canada) for the protection of migratory birds — also called the Migratory Bird Treaty — that was signed on August 16, 1916. A century...
Turtle crossing
Blanding's turtle (Photo by Gabrielle Fortin)
We all know how the chicken crossed the road just to get on the other side, but what about the turtle? Well, for turtles it’s a wee bit different. Turtles have places to go, other turtles to see, so crossing the road is a big deal! Back in...
O’Canada! Culture of the wilderness: A day at the NCC Nebo property
Overview of the Nebo property, SK (Photo by Gail F. Chin)
Nebo, some 70 kilometres due west of the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is the largest and northernmost property recently acquired by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). This is an interesting acquisition, as it is located in the...
Let's make a toast to stopping feeding bread to birds
Mallards — male on the left, female on the right. (Photo by Pia Vahabi/NCC staff)
Junk food is great, but I bet you wouldn’t eat it every day for a week, at the risk of feeling terrible at the end of it. You know it tastes good but it lacks nutritional content and I’m pretty sure parents don’t want to feed...
Nature Days: Healthy children in healthy spaces
Students from Adrienne Clarkson Public School spend a day exploring NCC's Goldie Feldman Nature Reserve in Ontario (Photo by Sandy Nicholson Photography)
In recent years, a number of reports have suggested that screen time has taken a serious toll on children’s mental and physical well-being. But when kids ditch their screens to get their hands dirty in nature, amazing things can...
Birdy McBirdface takes on the Big Year
Toby with monocular (Photo by Joanna Streetly)
Recently I had the chance to speak to a young lady, who is not only knowledgeable but passionate about birds and their conservation, and about her birding quest – pursuing a Big Year challenge at just 11 years old. Meet Toby —...
