Celebrating Canadian species: Grizzly bear
Grizzly bear (Photo by Peter Sulzle)
When I put my boots on in the morning, I never really expect or seek to see a grizzly bear. Despite the fact that my Rocky Mountains backyard is home to many brown bears, any encounter always feels like a surprise. Meeting a bear in the wild...
Something's Fishy: The freshwater slasher
Westslope cutthroat trout (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)
When you think about Halloween, spooky species such as spiders with venomous fangs and blood-sucking bats usually come to mind. Of course, Hollywood is often to blame for these misrepresentations of species, with accounts of bats turning into...
What makes burrowing owl volunteers hoot?
Burrowing Owls gaze at volunteers at Burrowing Owl Conservation Society Breeding Facility near Oliver, BC (Photo by Dianne Bersea)
It’s a cold, early March day when my friend and regular Burrowing Owl Conservation Society volunteer, Doreen Olson, asks me, “Why don’t you join me next time I’m feeding the burrowing owls?”The following Tuesday...
Something's Fishy: A year underwater
Eastern sand darter, Grand River, ON (Photo by Alan Dextrase/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) © Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2016
For someone who writes about fish, it is no surprise that when I tell people what I do, it is always prompted by an inquiry about which finned species is my favourite. That’s like asking a mother which of her children she likes...
Garlic: The forbidden fruit? (Part Two)
Garlic (Photo by cyclonebill/Wikimedia Commons)
Part One of this blog was an overview of garlic, and the native variety growing in the Eastern Townships and Outaouais regions in Quebec. In Part Two I present you with a little garlic 101! The minimum threshold for a wild garlic population to...
More endangered than pandas: 40 Canadian species at risk of global extinction
Earlier this month, a conservation success story resonated around the world. The giant panda, perhaps the preeminent poster species of nature conservation, was down-listed from a global status of endangered to vulnerable on the International Union...
Something's Fishy: Here comes the sun(fish)
Warmouth up-close (Photo by Clinton & Charles Robertson/Wikimedia Commons)
“We rise when the fish do!” exclaimed my grandfather just as I was settling into the guestroom, known fondly as my room-away-from-home, at my grandparent’s house. “When’s that, grandpa?” I called back in...
Turtle crossing
Blanding's turtle (Photo by Gabrielle Fortin)
We all know how the chicken crossed the road just to get on the other side, but what about the turtle? Well, for turtles it’s a wee bit different. Turtles have places to go, other turtles to see, so crossing the road is a big deal! Back in...
A whoosh in the night
Common nighthawk resting on its nest (Photo by NCC)
Wandering through the forests, grasslands, and alvars of the Bruce Peninsula at dusk brings a certain calm to the soul; a type of peace that is seldom found in the bustle of a city at night. The forests are abuzz with the sounds of nocturnal...
Something's Fishy: Risky business
Eastern sand darter, Grand River, ON (Photo by Alan Dextrase/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) © Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2016
Close your eyes and think back to the best gift you’ve ever received. Was it that shiny red bike you got for your 10th birthday, a sentimental gift from a loved one or a token you still cherish to this day? When I think back to the most...
