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 […]
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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 […]
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Posted December 21, 2012
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, […]
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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 […]
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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.
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 […]
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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, […]
Posted November 19, 2012
Was setting up the forest feeders for the first of a group of Grade 1 classes , and the chickadees were none too shy about coming to the feast. Hope they’re in the same mood tomorrow when the kids come. Grade 1’s study Needs and Characteristics of Living Things.
Posted November 19, 2012
What a surprise to see this beautiful buck and his new mate wander in across the yard to check out the bird feeders at Blair this morning!! It was still cool and they were snorting steam from their nostrils. I ran out the back door, camera in hand, and although this was the photo op […]
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