Reboot at Shoe Lake: Counting piping plovers
Piping plover at Shoe Lake, SK (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
Revisiting a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) project for a Conservation Volunteers (CV) event is always an interesting experience, for several reasons. It’s an opportunity to renew acquaintances with familiar NCC folk or meet new ones, to...
Owl hands on deck: Efforts to conserve burrowing owls
Burrowing owl (Photo by Karol Dabbs)
As a communications and engagement intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in Saskatchewan, I have the opportunity to write and share stories about unique species and I thought writing about burrowing owls would be a hoot! It’s an...
Birding for beginners
Child with binoculars (Public Domain)
I wouldn’t consider myself a birder, but I am one of the many people who started getting more tuned into the nature around me when the pandemic started. Working from home and making a habit of taking walks around my neighbourhood has made me...
Sparrows, sparrows, everywhere!
Harris's sparrow (Photo by Mhairi McFarlane/NCC staff)
I must admit to having a bit of a soft spot for sparrows. Often overlooked by people, and underappreciated by many, written off as “just” sparrows by birders, or “just” a brown bird by people in general, I think they do...
International Women’s Day is about being inspired and inspiring others every day
NCC staff conducting fieldwork at the Black Ash Nature Reserve, NL. (Photo by Triina Voitk/NCC staff)
For decades, International Women’s Day (March 8) has been celebrated around the world to recognize the achievements of women and our contributions to society. Every day, the people behind the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s...
Close encounter with a barred owl
Barred owl at night (Photo by Quincin Chan/NCC staff)
This blog was written by Damien Cheung (with the help of his mom, Quincin Chan). I went to Arrowhead Provincial Park in Ontario for the Fire and Ice Night event with my family on a weekend in January and stayed in a cabin in the park. We had...
And owl…will always…love you!
A barred owl perched on scaffolding on a roof that’s being re-done. (Photo by Rebecca Clarke)
As an avid nature lover, I am constantly in awe of the beauty and diversity of the natural world, but there's one species that holds a special place in my heart: barred owl. Have you ever heard the distinctive call of a barred owl at night and...
Deep in a thousand-hectare woods: Protecting the magic of Happy Valley Forest
Aerial view of Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
One day it rained red in Happy Valley Forest, and I was there to see it. This was not the red rain of cast-off maple leaves in the fall. This rain painted the tree branches in the spring. And I have witnesses. This is how it went down. It was...
A memorable dance at dawn
Sharp-tailed grouse on The Yarrow (Photo by Brian Keating)
The sharp-tailed grouse dance at The Yarrow is one of many spellbinding natural displays observable at this special place. I’ve been lucky enough to visit The Yarrow, or the Fischer Ranch as it was previously known, more than a dozen times...
Eyes on endangered piping plovers
Piping plover (Photo by Andrew Herygers/NCC staff)
On a humid July morning, I had the pleasure of joining Birds Canada's piping plover coordinator in Escuminac, New Brunswick, to track piping plovers and visit a known nesting area that the Nature Conservancy of Canada has protected. Piping...
