Ground Zero

Yesterday we found a great story in the snow – the remains of a mourning dove that had been caught and eaten by a Cooper’s hawk.  At first we noticed fox tracks, making the shallowest of impressions on the surface of the snow, then some scattered feathers, then “ground zero.”  The fox was a red […]

January Bird Round-up

As we reached the end of January, I thought I would provide an update for the 2013 Property Big Year. I had hoped I could reach 25 species by the end of January if everything fell into place. Well, on Jan 22nd during the last cold-snap I spotted a Rough-legged Hawk ‘floating’ motionless in the […]

Citizen Science Comes to a School Board Near You…

You may be familiar with some of the “citizen science” programs in which non-scientists like us can contribute our observations of things in nature to the real scientists.  For them it’s like having thousands of researchers out in the field gathering data. So we thought it might be fun to start our own citizen science […]

Another Spring Thing

Today, while studying Biodiversity with a Gr 6 class from Sheppard PS, we came across an Earthworm making its way across the top of the snow! It was moving slowly, but it was very much alive. The temperature at the time was about 1C and there was not any bare ground to be found, as […]

First Robin!!

That’s right – January 28th and I’ve seen my first American robin. Bob Fraser of the Ancient Mariners Canoe Club – creators and custodians of the new Cambridge Pollinator Preserve – stopped in at the Blair Outdoor Education Centre today. While checking out the bird feeders, Bob heard a sound he thought might be a […]

Sundog

A Sundog is a phenomenon that occurs when sunlight is scattered through ice crystals in wispy clouds.  Sometimes you get a halo around the sun, or a couple of lines of light shooting up on either side of the sun.  This is what www.atopics.co.uk has to say on the subject… “Sundogs, sometimes called Sun Dogs, Parhelia […]

Casualties of the Cold

The cold is taking it’s toll on some of the birds at Blair and perhaps in backyards around the region.  Although they are hardy and well adapated to winter conditions, mortality is high at this time of year.  Yesterday it was a common redpoll, today a goldfinch found frozen at or near the feeders. In […]

It’s How Cold?

We’re experiencing a cold snap in southern Ontario right now, and I guess we shouldn’t complain since it’s been another relatively mild winter to date.  I would love to have more snow – lots more – but days like today that combine arctic air with a gusty wind can make it mighty uncomfortable being out […]

Big Property Year!

As you may recall, at the end of 2011 Sean and I decided to keep a tally of the number of bird species that each of us could detect at our respective place of work during the 2012 calendar year. I started off my 2012 with American Crow, while Sean began the count with Hairy […]

Getting your Wordsworth

Here are a couple of poems written by students in the enrichment program while they were at Laurel Creek.  Good stuff. Forest Stillness surrounds me. The river calls to me. The ground caresses me. The trees come to life. The vacant sky stares down at me. Everything is peaceful. … by Bianca, grade 6 Please […]

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