Today, July 22, at the Nonquon lagoons in Port Perry, there was an interesting mix of life and death struggles. Lots of sights of successful breeding as Mallards, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers and Trumpeter Swans showed off their new families. Very few shorebirds but the habitat is still not good Read more…
On Saturday, July 22, I saw a Great Crested Flycatcher, a bird we have never seen before. The sighting was brief, with no time for a photo, but the tricoloured front view of light grey, soft lemon yellow and orange was unmistakable. Another first this year is a family of Read more…
Update re: John Deyell’s sighting (July 14, 2017) of Trumpeter Swans nesting in Sandy Creek Bay near Woodland Camp Site. Apparently, this same pair had 2 cygnets last year, unbeknownst to most people (saw photos from October last year taken by camp owner). This year they have 1 cygnet. I’ve Read more…
Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) (1) – Reported Jul 20, 2017 14:50 by Ian Sturdee – 5997–5999 Highway 7, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen CA-ON (44.4328,-77.8960), Peterborough, Ontario – Map: – Checklist: – Comments: “Flew over road while I was driving. Identified by shape, size and overall colouring including streaked underparts. Had a good look Read more…
This spring (2017) I had a unique opportunity to photograph a Snapping Turtle that was unaware of my presence and as a result I was able for the first time to capture one with its neck fully extended and travelling at “top speed” (for a turtle). For years in the Read more…
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) (1) – Reported Jul 19, 2017 09:26 by Bill Crins – Otonabee Gravel Pit Conservation Area, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: – Checklist:
First, a disclaimer. I am far from being an expert on the edible wild. That being said, this is an area I want to explore in coming years, partly because it has great potential in getting more people interested in nature. This is especially true right now, given the popularity Read more…
I had a great day in the field on July 7. I was in the Lily Lake area and found a Green Heron NEST with three fuzzy herons, as well as eggshells. Later, I found what I think is a Porcupine den. I also collected a few sedges and a Read more…
This is a series of photos from Rick Stankiewicz of a Common Green Darner emerging from the nymphal case. Enjoy!
In the spring of 1940 the countryside around Invermay, Saskatchewan, had an historic Forest Tent Caterpillar infestation. I was 11 years old and have very clear memories of that time. By the end of May the leaves in all the trees, almost all white poplar (aspen), and all bushes had Read more…
For three years now, I have had these Trumpeter Swans across from our home in a bay near Woodland Camp Site on Buckhorn Lake. I know that they have been reported in previous years to your site. They have been here for at least the past 1 1/2 months. I Read more…
I recommend calling Pelee Wings 1-877-326-5193 in Leamington, Ontario, and speaking to one of the sales people (true experts!). They will recommend a pair and ship them to you. If you don’t like them, they can be returned and they’ll ship another model. I like the Nikon Monarch series of Read more…
Our very “skittish” and shy Red-headed Woodpecker has returned. I saw it for the first time this years on July 9, but didn’t have a camera handy. However, on July 11, I was ready. This picture was taken looking through our window into our backyard. The feeder hangs from the Read more…
In case you might be looking for some new reading material this summer, I would like to suggest some of my favourite books from the past few years. If there is one theme they have in common, it’s that science, nature history, intellectual satisfaction and wonder are all part of Read more…
I live in Ennismore on 4 acres in a century home. The article you wrote about declining bat populations and White Nose Syndrome is old but I thought I’d reach out to you since I found it interesting and I’ve got bats – Little Brown Bats, I think. They’re living Read more…
We had a pleasant surprise on Canada Day. A Snapping Turtle laid her eggs in our graveled turning circle in full view of the house windows. We watched her for about 50 minutes starting about 9:30 am though we don’t know how long she had been labouring. Interestingly, once she Read more…
I captured these photos during an early morning kayak outing on Lower Buckhorn Lake on the weekend of June 24. The Eastern Kingbird kept tossing the dragonfly (a skimmer) into the air, seemingly to kill it. I was struck with the size of the dragonfly. Robin Williams Blake
I saw 12 to 20 Sandhill Cranes under a lone elm tree northwest of Cambray and north of Cemetery. Gavin Hunter, Omemee
I have been watching two dark brown juvenile Bald Eagles for three mornings now, sitting on and beside a high nest in a white pine in Wolf Island Provincial Park on Lower Buckhorn Lake. They glared at me for about 15 minutes but never left. One of them was in Read more…
Do you have a pollinator garden? Would you consider registering the garden in the Peterborough Pollinators 150+ Garden Challenge? Our goal is to register 150+ gardens in Peterborough and area. This is a celebration of both the importance of pollinators and of Canada’s 150th birthday. If you register before the Read more…
As a tide of green leaves transforms the landscape each spring, a near limitless smorgasbord of food is offered up to leaf munchers of all kinds. Among the most noticeable of these are tent caterpillars. Eastern tent caterpillars – the ones that make an actual tent – were especially abundant Read more…