How birds survive the winter
Black-capped chickadee in winter (Photo by NCC)
Winter on the Prairies is long and cold, often lasting from November until March, and with temperatures falling to -20 C or -30 C, it’s a wonder that anything can survive here at all. However, a walk around any residential neighbourhood or...
The wonder of winter wetlands
Brighton Wetland from a nearby field in early fall. Note that the cattails in the distance are already turning brown and falling down. (Photo by NCC)
Two summers ago I spent a lot of time trekking through beautiful wetlands, both while working at NCC and for leisure. I loved every moment of my time there, whether I was wading out into knee-deep water to hand pull invasive European frog-bit,...
The most majestic seagull
Bald eagle (Photo by Brittany Foster)
As a child, I split my time between a forested acreage and an old farmhouse in Nova Scotia surrounded by lush fields and cow pastures. From coyotes meandering up the driveway and bats roosting in the garage, to raccoons raiding the compost and...
10 fascinating facts about wild turkeys
Wild turkey (Photo by D.P. Lawrence CC-BY-NC)
Today marks Thanksgiving in Canada. The first official, annual Canadian Thanksgiving took place on November 6, 1879. In honour of Thanksgiving, here are 10 facts to gobble up about wild turkeys, a species that has been documented on Nature...
Lovebirds: The day I broke a turkey's heart
Wild male turkey (Photo by Wayne Dumbleton, CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0)
One of my favourite field work stories comes from my very first field season. I’ll be the first to admit that I had no idea what I was doing back then. I couldn’t identify most plants, was slightly scared (ok, terrified) of dragonflies...
Getting pushy in a puddle
Two American robins refusing to share a puddle (Photo by Janis Turner)
This is the story of two American robins not very successfully sharing one road puddle for bathing. I observed this down by the front street from my condo, and the sun was just up over the buildings in the east. I heard a lot of robin activity...
Terminarch: Making music out of birdsong
Sage thrasher (Photo by Dick Cannings)
One of the best things about composing music for the concert hall is that inspiration can come from just about anywhere. My latest work, Terminarch, is a 10-minute piece for a quartet of percussionists based on the birdsong of 12 endangered...
How do you solve a problem like migration?
A flock of shorebirds takes to the air at Oak/Plum Lake Important Bird Area, a migration stopover site in Manitoba. The mixed-species flock includes Wilson’s phalaropes, red-necked phalaropes, stilt sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, dunlin, white-rumped sandpipers and semipalmated sandpipers. (Photo by Christian Artuso)
I can feel the rapid thrumming of the bluebird’s heart against my palm as I carefully manoeuvre its foot into position over a tiny Ziploc bag. I pick up my nail scissors and take a deep breath to steady my hand. I will only get one chance to...
Tales of recovery: Cooper's hawk
Cooper's hawk (Photo by Jim Johnson, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Not that long ago, we used the “Santa Claus method” to classify wildlife. There was the nice list. Animals like deer and trout and ducks were on that list. These were mostly animals that we liked to hunt and fish, but also animals that...
Restore it and they will come
Henslow's sparrow (Photo by Adam Timpf)
One spring day last year, I was doing what I always do: walking the family dog and noting on my ebird app what birds were around. This daily ritual exercises the dog and allows me to collect data on what birds and wildlife are inhabiting our farm...
