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...
Check out these amazing finds from the 2022 Big Backyard BioBlitz
Monarch butterfly on Joe-pyeweed (Photo by NCC)
Over the July 28–August 1 weekend, thousands of volunteers joined the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) annual Big Backyard BioBlitz. Together, we were able to contribute a total of over 50,000 observations of more than...
Meeting my first monarch butterfly up close
Monarch butterfly feeding on common milkweed flowers (Photo by Wendy Ho/NCC staff)
A gentle breeze blew on a mid-summer evening, the sky still lit from the setting sun. I set up my step stool along the edge of my driveway for some light weeding among my collection of plants in the front yard. It’s a chore that I...
The buzz about bumble bees
Western bumble bee (Photo by sydcannings, CC BY-NC 4.0)
The western bumble bee is a medium-sized (measuring one to two centimetres in length) bumble bee, with a band of yellow hair across its thorax (the area between its head and abdomen), in line with the base of its wings. It also most often has a...
One tree at a time: Canada’s forests
Tamarack forest (Photo by NCC)
What one habitat type runs through every province and territory, surrounds communities where most Canadians live and covers about 40 per cent of the country? If you guessed forests, you'd be right! We’re lucky to live in a country dominated...
Wild cats of Canada
Bobcat (Photo by Gary Kramer, courtesy of USFWS)
When it comes to big cats, many people may think of the iconic tigers of Asia or the lions of Africa. But did you know that we have three wild cat species found in Canada? All of Canada’s wild cats need large, interconnected habitats. The...
Diving into winter hibernation
Northern map turtle (Photo by D. Gordon and E. Robertson)
It’s official: winter has made its way across Canada, and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Humans layer up to brave the cold, and migratory birds make their way to warmer climates, but turtles have their own way of toughing out the...
Not to be outfoxed
Swift fox (Photo by Karol Dabbs)
Back in 2017, I wrote a blog detailing my ongoing quest to find a swift fox in the wild. A little over two years later, I thought I would provide an update. Since December 2017, I have continued to spend a substantial amount of time wandering the...
An unexpected discovery: green dragons!
Green dragon on the Gasser Farm property, QC (Photo by NCC)
On September 1, 2020, toward the end of a work day in the Lake Champlain area and finding that I had an extra couple of hours, I decided to take advantage of the dry season. I wanted to try my luck at crossing the channel of the Pike River to...
