Cooper’s Hawk

Posted January 11, 2013

We had another great raptor sighting at the Blair Outdoor/Environmental Education Centre yesterday (see Barred Owl as well).  A grade 4 class was visiting from Dickson Public School studying Habitats and Communities.  We observed some great birds over the course of the day – common redpolls, red-breasted nuthatch, and red-bellied woodpecker (hmmm, that’s a lot […]

Grade 1’s are Great

Posted January 11, 2013

Late last fall a number of Grade 1 classes visited the the Blair OEE Centre studying Needs and Characteristics of Living Things, and Daily and Seasonal Changes.  Our focus was on winter birds as living things and how they adapt to the seasons. I try to introduce the outdooredguys blog to classes each day, and […]

What was hot in 2012

Posted January 9, 2013

Here is the University of Waterloo Weather Station summary for 2012: “The weather story for the region in 2012 was the consistent warmth we saw during the entire year. In particular, the incredibly hot March that was over 7.5 degrees warmer than average making it the warmest ever in the region since records began back in […]

Christmas Bird Count

Posted January 2, 2013

Here is Mike Burrell’s preliminary report for the Kitchener Christmas Bird Count. The section I was in included Laurel Creek.  Our most interesting bird was a barred owl. It sat about 10 metres from us. No one thought to bring a camera because it was dark when we started calling for owls. “The 78th Kitchener CBC was held […]

Nothing like a little snow to bring out the birds…

Posted December 21, 2012

When Is More Not Better?

Posted December 18, 2012

When its the growing number of species at risk in Canada. COSEWIC – the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada – meets twice a year to assess the status of wild species, and without fail the list grows longer each year. “There are now 668 wildlife species in various COSEWIC risk categories, […]

Welcome Back…

Posted December 12, 2012

Winter bird species at the Blair OEE Centre have been pretty good so far, with a few exceptional sightings like the barred owl – and a few as yet unseen.  Yesterday brought the first American tree sparrow, a very handsome little bird, whose breeding grounds are the coastal areas of the Hudson Bay Lowlands. Welcome […]

Great-Horned Owl

Posted November 27, 2012

We had a Great-Horned Owl being harassed by crows at Laurel Creek this morning. Here is the best picture I got before it flew off.  

I need your creative help!

Posted November 26, 2012

I have been using an activity from The Institute For Earth Education, called ‘Home Sweet Home’ to study and compare three habitats – Forest, Field, and Marsh. It is a wonderfully creative and fun activity. The plants and animals in the activity are species that we find locally, but I am often providing the program […]

Barred Owl

Posted November 22, 2012

We have been thrilled by the presence this week at the Blair Outdoor Education Centre of a barred owl – Strix varia.  It was first sighted – not by the “outdooredguy” – but by a parent volunteer with a class who, it turns out, works professionally with birds!!  Grade 1 classes are visiting this week, […]

1 … 20 21 22 … 38