Students tally 21 species over 2 days

Posted January 25, 2011

Grade 4 students studying Winter Birds at the Blair OEEC as part of their Habitats and Communities unit have observed and identified 21 species over the past two days. Many are common birds – chickadees, blue jay, cardinal – but we’ve had a couple of pretty cool sightings as well. The tiny golden-crowned kinglet was […]

eBird – the beauty and importance of ‘citizen science’

Posted January 20, 2011

I was introduced to eBird by a bird scientist friend of mine – a regular eBird contributor – a year ago November, but at the time I did not understand the purpose other than to keep track of which bird species he had seen in his life (called a ‘life list’). Recently, I took the […]

Not the Hundred-Acre Wood

Posted January 18, 2011

Now that the snow at Laurel Creek is getting deeper, the local coyotes have been using our ski trails as hunting paths.  It makes for some grisly discoveries.  Kids seem to think this is pretty neat though. What’s left of this rabbit are the stomach and intestines, the feet, and the tail.  You never seem to […]

Starling, Starling

Posted January 14, 2011

I have seen this video before, but it is fairly mind-blowing.  The longer it goes, the crazier it gets. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH-groCeKbE&fs=1&hl=en_US]

The Dawn Coyote Song

Posted January 6, 2011

This morning, as I filled the feeders at Wrigley Corners, I was treated to a delightful serenade by Coyote’s (Canis latrans) living behind Miller Lake. The winter sun rises late these days, I usually fill my feeders as it drifts aloft, a break in the clouds put a rosy blush on the snow as the […]

Robins? Ridiculous!!

Posted January 3, 2011

December 21st was the first day of winter, not spring. Yet on Christmas Eve I saw a robin in my neighbourhood, and on Christmas Day another 6 or 8!! My daughter and I were out walking our nearly 15 year-old Brittany, a bird dog, on Christmas Eve when we heard the soft whistle of a […]

Christmas Bird Count

Posted January 2, 2011

On December 18th, I participated in the Kitchener Christmas Bird Count with outdooredguy Al, and another birding buddy, Josh. The Christmas Bird Count is an annual event during which volunteers count birds all day. It’s not highly scientific, but it gives people an idea of what is happening to bird poulations over time. In the old days […]

Let it snow!!

Posted December 14, 2010

Oh, the weather outside is frightful (sing along if you know the words…).  I don’t imagine many people enjoyed the drive to work, or wherever they had to go this morning, but the truth is, the weather is frightfully beautiful.  I love winter. Like you, I faced a line of idling cars, truck and buses […]

Snow brings out the birds…

Posted December 7, 2010

My bird feeders at Blair have been up and going for over a month, but traffic has been minimal at best, if you don’t count the squirrels. I put up new some feeders this year and re-positioned others, and thought perhaps the birds weren’t accustomed to the new arrangement (how could they know better than […]

A whole lotta hawks, or, Raptor Rapture

Posted November 30, 2010

On a return trip to Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula this past weekend – about 7 hours total driving time – we were treated to an awesome array of raptor sightings.  On even the shortest of southern Ontario road trips you’re likely to spot a red-tailed hawk or two soaring over the […]

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