A new year of pond study

Posted September 24, 2012

Today the students from KCI participated in a pond study, which involves searching the bottom of a pond for bugs and other animals such as leaches and newts. Mostly the kids have found waterboat men (an insect) and darner dragonfly nymphs. A few tadpoles were found as well as a horse leech. The leech will […]

So named…

Posted August 24, 2012

This flower is called “turtlehead”, it grows in the damp soil of the stream meadow at the Blair Outdoor Education Centre where I work.  Sometimes things are named for how they look or what they do- a blue jay is blue; a grasshopper hops in the grass.  And if you look closely, it doesn’t take […]

ANT MANIA!!!!!!

Posted August 1, 2012

 Hello this is Sean’s son Sawyer writing, and look what I found. ANTS!!!!! Pavement ants to be exact. Before my dad took this picture they were in a “J” shape on the sidewalk. We didn’t know what they were after but we predicted that they were like that because someone had dropped food or there was another […]

Dragonfly Gymnastics

Posted June 29, 2012

This dragonfly appears to be doing a headstand – in odo lingo (dragonfly language) it’s called obelisking.  Among the more than 300 N.A species of dragonflies, only 30 or so species are known to do this, including the one shown here, the calico pennant.  In hot weather they perch and raise their abdomens in an […]

Half way! Or maybe 95%…

Posted June 28, 2012

So Al Woodhouse and I decided to have a friendly competition to see who could see more species of birds on his outdoor centre property in 2012.  With the calendar year half over, I thought I’d publish my list.  I saw an osprey yesterday, so that brings my total to 98.  Al is at 105 or […]

Birds and Butterflies

Posted June 27, 2012

With the bird migration a distant spring memory and those local breeders that have found mates gone quiet, June and July can often be a birders slow time. In recent years, during these months there has been a switch of interest to look at other flying creatures, such as butterflies and dragonflies. While looking for […]

The latest buzz

Posted June 21, 2012

Here are a few pics from the honeybee program at Laurel Creek. All 4 of our hives survived the winter. The American Bee Association (that might not be the exact name) said that 21 % of honey bee hives died over the winter this year, compared with 30% last year. We have had 100% survival rate […]

ESL Camp Belwood

Posted June 19, 2012

For the last few years Sean and I have wrapped up our year by going to camp… ESL camp at Belwood Lake. We are here doing the nature program for about 100 elementary ESL students. Here Sean is explaining how spittle bugs suck plant juice and ooze spit out of their abdomens. A Robin has […]

Snapper

Posted June 12, 2012

This snapping turtle was on the lawn at Laurel Creek today.  This was the 4th snapping turtle we’ve seen in the past two days. She started to rip out the grass with her claws to presumably lay eggs. Not very easy digging where she was, so she moved on.

Empty Nest…

Posted June 6, 2012

Monday was a beautiful sunny morning at the Blair Outdoor and Environmental Education Centre – however, my mood was anything but bright.  Like a kid expecting to find a new toy, I  began my weekly check of the nest boxes at Blair for reporting to Project Nest Box.  The tree swallows now have 3 eggs […]

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