Natural legacy: Nature comes full circle at Quebec’s pointe Saint-Pierre
Pointe Saint-Pierre, QC (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Standing on the shores of the Gaspé Peninsula, there is a certain serenity that washes over you like waves. Water from the Gulf of St. Lawrence gently crashes into the rocky sand by your feet, and a dense forest of white spruce and balsam...
Success under pressure: Helping landowners succeed with stewardship in southwestern Ontario
Acadian flycatcher (Photo by Bill Hubick)
The Carolinian ecoregion of Canada makes up one per cent of the country’s total land mass and is limited to southwestern Ontario. Many of the region’s 70 tree species — such as tuliptree, pawpaw and sycamore — are found...
Nature's most devoted mothers
Polar bear mother with cub (Photo by Scott Schliebe/Wikimedia Commons)
Every day, millions of mothers around the world work tirelessly to protect and provide for their young. This Mother’s Day, learn about 10 mothers in the wild and the neat ways they take care of their offspring. Refrigerator mothers Polar...
Best places to bird in Ontario: Pelee Island and NCC’s natural areas
The burrowing owl is the bird that really started it all for us on Pelee Island. On a whim back in April 2008, we decided to bird on the island, and, incredibly, found a burrowing owl. (Photo by Mike Burrell)
We had an interesting first visit to Pelee Island back in September 2001, where we “dipped” (missed) a trio of wood storks that had been on the island the entire summer, only to have had them leave the evening before we managed to make...
Native grassland is important habitat for grassland birds
Native grassland (Photo by Sarah Ludlow/NCC staff)
Saying that native grassland is important habitat for grassland birds seems quite obvious. And you might think to yourself, “Of course grassland birds like grassland habitat; it’s right in the name!” The important point to note...
Wetland contamination and turtle health
Snapping turtle (Photo by Pascale Bider)
Between oozing mud, mosquitoes the size of golf balls and strange-smelling water, wetlands may not seem to you or me like an appealing place to live. But for most of Ontario’s eight species of turtles, wetlands are an essential...
Driving Miss Hazel
Hazel Bird Nature Reserve, ON (Photo by NCC)
Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff like to say that science drives our conservation work. This is true, but sometimes while following the science, we stumble into something unexpected and truly amazing. Let me explain. Back about 20 years...
Something’s Fishy: Atlantic whitefish
Atlantic whitefish (Photo by Bob Semple)
In the cold waters of Nova Scotia’s Petite Rivière watershed swims a fish so elusive that, without action, it might never be seen again. Size and appearance This silvery-sided species, with its blueish-green back, is commonly...
The colours of early spring
Buttercups (Photo by Brynn Bellingham/NCC staff)
It finally feels like that time of year. One that we here in Canada are so familiar with: warmer days, more sunlight and melting snow. But how do we really know that spring has sprung? Rather than waiting to see a groundhog’s shadow, I like...
A place that’s for the birds: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Codroy Valley is a haven for wildlife and a boon for bird lovers
Grand Codroy Estuary, NL at sunset (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
The saying “for the birds” is often used to state that something or somewhere has little worth or none at all. But when Claudelle Devoe says that the Grand Codroy Estuary in friendly Newfoundland and Labrador is for the birds, she...
