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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)

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...

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Enlighten yourself about species that glow

Fireflies (Photo by Zach Baranowski CC BY-NC-ND)

Fireflies (Photo by Zach Baranowski CC BY-NC-ND)

I had my first encounter with a “glow-in-the-dark” species when I was a child. My parents and I were visiting relatives in St. Catharines, Ontario, and we were in their backyard enjoying the warm, summer evening. In the distance, I...

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Dr. Crayfish, I presume?

Premek Hamr, PhD (a.k.a. Dr. Crayfish) (Photo courtesy of Premek Hamr, PhD)

Premek Hamr, PhD (a.k.a. Dr. Crayfish) (Photo courtesy of Premek Hamr, PhD)

At the Nature Conservancy of Canada's annual Ontario Region staff meeting last May, a few of us stepped outside to wander the shoreline of Lake Simcoe and admire the sunset. As we rooted around the rocky beach, I took a few photos of plants and...

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A whoosh in the night

Common nighthawk resting on its nest (Photo by NCC)

Common nighthawk resting on its nest (Photo by NCC)

Wandering through the forests, grasslands, and alvars of the Bruce Peninsula at dusk brings a certain calm to the soul; a type of peace that is seldom found in the bustle of a city at night. The forests are abuzz with the sounds of nocturnal...

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Owl angels in the snow

Have you ever seen an owl's snow angel? (Photo by Jaimee Dupont/NCC staff)

Have you ever seen an owl's snow angel? (Photo by Jaimee Dupont/NCC staff)

My hometown is a small, lovely and isolated boreal mining town in northern Manitoba. On a recent trip back to visit family, my husband and I were out for an evening walk when we stopped alongside the edge of town to marvel at the silence. That...

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Calling doctor centipede

House centipede (Photo from Wiki Commons)

House centipede (Photo from Wiki Commons)

Before starting in communications I had a successful career as a bug doctor. I had a nice little set-up on the playground of my elementary school where I would take bugs cut up by classmates and nurse them back to health. I wasn’t top in my...

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