My 2017 Ontario birding “Big Year”
Violet-green swallow at Thunder Bay Marina, Ontario's third ever record of this species. (Photo by Jeremy Bensette)
Last year was a pretty “big” one for me, birding-wise! I committed to completing a "Big Year," a quest to see as many bird species as possible in one year in my beautiful home province of Ontario, and held onto that goal until dark on...
Identifying bats by their distinctive voices
Big brown bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)
Having studied bats for more than a decade, I have been fortunate to be able talk to students in their classrooms while doing bat presentations, or to landowners while I trapped bats on their properties. Everyone has a bat story. Everyone loves...
Parasitism: The dark side of symbiosis
Sand steenbras infected with tongue-eating louse (Photo by Marco Vinci/Wikimedia Commons)
In nature, when two individuals of different species often live in close association with each other, this leads to a phenomenon called symbiosis. There are three types of symbiosis: Mutualism is a win-win situation for both organisms because...
Ten of nature's strangest mating strategies
Angler fish (Photo by David Shale)
During my final year of university, I took a course called Evolution and Reproduction, which explored various animal mating strategies. It was one of my most fascinating classes; the material was mind blowing, the professor was a hoot and the...
Why Canada matters on World Wetlands Day
Wetlands in the Marion Creek Benchlands, British Columbia (Photo by Tim Ennis/NCC)
While other nations have picked wetland wildlife, such as Finland’s whooper swan or Pakistan’s Indus crocodile, to represent their country, Canada is the only country in the world that has selected a wetland engineer as its national...
Why Canada’s prairies are the world’s most endangered ecosystem
Rolling prairie at Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by Branimir Gjetvaj)
Updated November 7, 2018 Ask any Canadian kid to name the world’s most endangered ecosystem, and chances are you’ll hear one of the following answers: 1) rainforests; 2) coral reefs; 3) leave me alone. Ignoring the last answer,...
Welcome snowbirds!
Palm warbler (Photo by Marshall Faintich)
Hey Canada, hey Virginia…it only seems a short time has passed since I was telling you all that our wintering palm warblers were leaving Florida and heading your way. Thanks to the great conservation efforts taking place to conserve habitat...
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...
Life in freshwater country: How helping water helps Canada (Part Two)
Bow Lake, AB (Photo by Sarah Boon)
In Part One of this blog I presented an overview of Canada's freshwater resources and the need to protect them for people and nature. Here I will further explain how today’s problems need new solutions. Over the last year the Nature...
Life in freshwater country: How helping water helps Canada (Part One)
Elbow Lake, Frontenac Arch, ON (Photo by NCC)
If you are Canadian, either by chance or by choice, you probably have a story about water. It might be learning to paddle a canoe, pulling your first fish from the water or standing on the dock on the May 24 weekend with friends, challenging each...
