Protecting what matters most: Identifying and conserving freshwater key biodiversity areas
Richelieu River, îles de Jeanotte et aux Cerfs, QC (Photo by Claude Duchaîne)
Nature conservation is fuelled by urgency. With over 750 Canadian wildlife species at risk, and many habitats being lost and degraded, it’s clear we need to do more conservation in Canada, and we need to do it faster. There are spaces and...
The 12 birds of Christmas
Mourning dove (Photo by Ken Schneider)
On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…fun bird facts! To celebrate the holidays this year, here are some interesting tidbits about 12 different birds found in Canada, some of which are featured in the 12 Days of Christmas...
Poweshiek winter wonderland
Poweshiek skipperling (Photo by Jaimee Dupont/NCC staff)
Forget about crocuses and birds — the first sure sign of spring on the prairies is when the insects start to fly around. Have you ever wondered what happens to the insects in the winter? A few, like the monarch, fly south with the birds, but...
On a quest for the alluring swift fox
Swift fox cub and its mum (Photo by Catriona Matheson, Cochrane Ecological Institute)
My unsuccessful search for the elusive swift fox has spanned nearly a decade.It was 2008, the winter semester of my first year at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alberta, when I first learned about the history of swift foxes in Canada. The smallest...
Keeping my distance from a gentle giant
Moose on Mount Hereford, QC (Photo by MRC de Coaticook)
I have had a great respect for moose ever since a misadventure at Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, more than 20 years ago. While hiking along the popular Skyline Trail, my boyfriend and I came across several moose grazing on low...
One human's trash is an endangered snake's treasure
Gray ratsnake (Photo by Jessica Ferguson)
I spent my summer radio-tracking a female gray ratsnake and assessing habitat characteristics in Norfolk County, for Natural Resource Solutions Inc. (NRSI), an ecological consulting company based in Waterloo, Ontario, and Ontario Nature, a...
Winter strategies for at-risk birds
Bobolink (Photo by Bill Hubick)
Now that I’m hunkered down for the cold winter season, I often find myself reminiscing about summer days and the colourful feathered friends that have long departed for warmer climates. Yearning for a trip somewhere warm, I wonder, what...
Tracking eastern loggerhead shrikes
Eastern loggerhead shrike (Photo by Dave Menke, courtesy of USFWS)
Driving past the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Napanee Plain Alvar Nature Reserve, north of Napanee, Ontario, you might not notice anything overly special about the site. In fact, if you didn’t stop to have a closer look, you might not...
The last places on Earth: Protecting globally rare habitats in Canada (Part one)
Black oaks on the prairie and savannah, Rice Lake Plains, Ontario (Photo by NCC)
The Rice Lake Plains in Ontario, Roberts Island in Nova Scotia and King Ranch in Alberta all have something incredibly important in common: They are places that the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is working to protect. Each property provides...
Strong and free: Releasing a red-tailed hawk at Bunchberry Meadows
Red-tailed hawk (Photo by Bill Hubick)
This fall, WILDNorth (formerly the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton) staff were invited by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to release a red-tailed hawk at NCC’s Bunchberry Meadows property in Alberta — an absolutely...
