Sightings
April sightings of note
Today, April 1, it was nice to hear four Chorus Frogs calling along the trail near Trent University. Early sign of spring ! Mostly frozen willow shrub wetland with some open water. Mike Barker
Sightings
March Sightings of Note
Here’s a shot of an Eastern Screech-owl that I found on Saturday, Feb 29, near Little Britain. Carl Welbourn This Bald Eagle has been at our waterfront on Cameron Street, Peterborough. It had flown over the river and swooped down and brought out a huge fish that it dropped on Read more…
Sightings
February 2020 sightings of interest
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) (1) – Reported Feb 01, 2020 17:19 by Matthew Tobey – Peterborough Municipal Airport–pond, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=44.2376419,-78.3566642&ll=44.2376419,-78.3566642 – Checklist: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S64024864 – Comments: “Calling from woodlot between Moncrief Line and the airport.” Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) (10) – Reported Feb 02, 2020 08:15 by Read more…
Sightings
January 2020 – Sightings of interest
Varied Thrush – On January 1, my son Philippe and I went to see the rare Varied Thrush that is coming regularly to a feeder at the office of the Bark Lake Conference Centre, just west of Gooderham. This species is native to British Columbia but occasionally wanders into eastern Read more…
Columns
Counting birds at Christmas
Fewer than usual species found on local counts Many people are asking this winter where all the birds are. A friend in Keene told me recently that it’s been years since his feeders have required so little refilling. So, what’s going on? First, as predicted, most winter finches have Read more…
Columns
2019: Climate outrage and optimism
We will remember2019 as no less than the year of climate change awakening for Canada and much of the world. We saw unparalleled media coverage, civil disobedience, climate strikers on the streets, and a federal election in which two-thirds of voters supported parties that espouse a carbon tax. There was Read more…
Columns
Readers’ Nature Sightings from 2019 – Part Two
This week, I’d like to share more nature sightings from the past year that readers have shared with me. I am always pleased to learn about what people are seeing and to try to answer nature-related questions. To stay abreast of the latest sightings in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, please Read more…
Columns
More readers’ nature sightings from 2019
This week, I’d like to share more nature sightings from the past year that readers have shared with me. I am always pleased to learn about what people are seeing and to try to answer nature-related questions. To stay abreast of the latest sightings in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, please Read more…
Columns
Readers’ Nature Sightings from 2019 – Part One
I would like to thank the many readers who have shared some of their nature sightings and photographs with me over the past year. This week and next, I am presenting a selection of the many anecdotes and observations I’ve received. These encounters with wildlife show how fortunate we are Read more…
Columns
A Kawartha’s Winter Nature Almanac
Looking back at extreme fall temperatures and ahead to what nature has in store As is now the pattern with a changing climate, fall weather this year was marked by extreme temperatures. For many days in November, minimum temperatures were equal to or below historical lows. In Peterborough, the temperature Read more…
Sightings
December sightings of interest
Northern Hawk-owl: On December 19, I was able to get this picture of a Northern Hawk-owl near Barrie. Donald Munro Glaucous Gulls: On December 16, I went up to Trent University to see the two juvenile Glaucous Gulls that are hanging out Read more…
Climate Change Columns
“The Uninhabitable Earth” Part 2: Moving from alarm to solutions
Book outlines challenges and reasons for hope in addressing climate change In last week’s column, I provided a glimpse of our bleak climatic future as described in “The Uninhabitable Earth”, by American journalist David Wallace-Wells. The book lays out in terrifying detail how climate change will soon become the defining Read more…
Climate Change Columns
The time to be alarmed is here
“The Uninhabitable Earth” explains how climate change is much worse than you think “We declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally, that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.” These were the dire opening words of a report published November 4 in the Read more…
Sightings
November sightings of interest
Lingering blackbirds: A Red-winged Black-bird and a Brown-headed Cowbird were coming to our feeders in late November but seem to have disappeared. A Common Grackle has also been coming. Here is a picture taken December 1 during the snow storm. Greg Warner, Cherryhill Road, Peterborough My grand daughter, Grace Mackie, Read more…
Columns
Green gems of the November woods
Evergreen forest floor plants are an under-appreciated feature of late fall At first glance, a walk in the November woods seems uneventful, with little of interest to catch our attention. Yet, this is a wonderful time of year to focus on elements of the forest that we may have missed Read more…
Columns
The nomadic ways of winter finches
Seeing winter finches this year may mean a trip to Algonquin Park Some of my favourite backyard birds during fall and spring migration are white-throated and white-crowned sparrows. These migrants arrive each year right on schedule – almost to the day – and feed on the millet I scatter on Read more…
Sightings
October sightings of interest
Leucistic American Robin: This “Hallowe’en ghost robin” was eating berries in our yard. Fred and Marg Forster, Keene (Note: Leucism refers to a lack of normal colour pigments in the feathers. D.M.) Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) (3) – Reported Oct 29, 2019 Read more…
Columns
October’s time of yellow
Still lots to look forward to in the parade of fall colours From May’s gentle pastels and summer’s kaleidoscope of greens to early fall’s dazzling reds and oranges, each time of year has its signature colours. Now, as we move into the second half of October, yellow is taking over Read more…
Climate Change Columns
Three billion birds have disappeared from North America
Grassland birds and aerial insectivores among the hardest hit When I was a teenager in the 1960s, the Peterborough Field Naturalists made an annual June visit to Harry William’s farm near Millbrook. This was not your average nature outing. You were expected to arrive no later than 4:00 am. Why, Read more…
Climate Change Columns
Strategic voting is our only option
The Liberals aren’t perfect, but a Conservative government would be infinitely worse Earlier this summer, I thought I’d made up my mind. I was going to vote Green to send a message that much more aggressive climate action is necessary. I was bitterly disappointed that the Liberals had failed to Read more…
Columns
Nature in the Kawarthas: Big changes are underway
Shifting dates, species declines, and surprising newcomers tell us climate change has arrived For years we used to drive up to Algonquin Park in early summer to take our daughters to camp. One of the highlights of these trips was seeing moose along the side of Highway 60. Getting closeup Read more…
Columns
Let’s protect Peterborough’s trees
Council expected to revisit Peterborough’s suspended tree bylaw later this fall I have always loved trees. As a kid I delighted in climbing the sugar maples near our house and seeing how high I could go until terror set in. I also spent countless hours playing “chestnuts” with the shiny Read more…
Columns
An autumn nature almanac
Looking ahead to events in nature in the Kawarthas Although we enjoyed a comfortable summer in the Kawarthas – sunny, not too hot, and no extreme weather – the biggest story for the planet as a whole continues to be the climate crisis. July was Earth’s hottest month since temperature Read more…
Sightings
September Sightings of Interest
White-throated Sparrows arrive on schedule: Right on schedule, five White-throated Sparrows arrived in our backyard this morning, the first of the fall. Some years, several dozen are here at the same time. They enjoy the finch mix (millet, nyger, sunflower seeds) I scatter on the ground each spring and fall. Read more…
Sightings
August Sightings of Interest
Nighthawk migration: On August 29, Tim Dyson & I counted migrating Common Nighthawks from Back Dam Park near Warsaw from 6-8pm. We tallied 133 birds, with one “flock”comprising at least 48. Quite a sight! Tim has already had several evenings in late August with more than 100 nighthawks. Nighthawks are Read more…
Columns
How to raise a naturalist
Your enthusiasm for nature will be noticed by children A love of nature begins in childhood; every boy and girl is a budding naturalist. This should come as no surprise. Up until the agricultural revolution and, later, the emigration into villages and cities, humans grew up and lived in intimate Read more…
Sightings
July Sightings of Interest
20th Annual Petroglyphs Butterfly Count: The compiling of the July 21st butterfly count is finally finished and final results have been submitted to the North America Butterfly Association. A total of 55 species were recorded, slightly above the average for the last few years. The Indian Skipper found in the Park Read more…
Columns
Of damsels and dragons
The Kawarthas is home to a fascinating variety of odonates The buzz on our street this summer is not the usual gossip shared by neighbours. Rather, it’s the sound of mosquitoes. June’s warm, wet weather created perfect conditions for mosquito reproduction, and they took full advantage of it. Up until Read more…
Columns
The joy of butterfly watching
July is a great time to get to know these beautiful insects. My special affection for butterflies began as a classroom teacher. Each September, I would collect monarch caterpillars for my students to raise. They would watch and document each stage of metamorphosis with rapt attention. We were often able Read more…
Columns
Peterborough needs to declare a Climate Emergency
An activist friend told me recently about an email she received doubting the urgency of addressing climate change. The person argued that if climate change was truly a crisis, our elected leaders and governments at all levels would be saying so, and, since relatively few politicians seem truly alarmed, there Read more…