Drew Monkman

Today, at 1pm, I saw a Trumpeter Swan with yellow wing tag J81 out on the lake swimming with and  being very friendly with a lone goose. I live on Washburn Island on Lake Scugog. Helen Anderson

  I have attached a photo of this tiny Golden-crowned Kinglet as it recovered from a window head bump. It occurred this morning  at 11:30 on our back deck near Bridgenorth. Very happy to report that it flew away shortly after. Is this a very common bird here? I have Read more

We have a mystery sound coming from our front maple tree, every night once the sun goes down. It continues all night until sunrise. It’s so loud, neighbors on both sides have come over to ask if I am using some high-tech device to ward off the neighborhood cats from Read more

A Varied Thrush has been around for a couple of hours today. He has been under the feeder and in the backyard on the birch and mountain ashes. I’ve tried to get a picture but he’s pretty nervous. He’s really lovely. Anne Corke, Cathcart Crescent

– Least Flycatcher – Warbling Vireo (Eastern) – Yellow-headed Blackbird Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) (1) – Reported Sep 14, 2013 08:00 by Luke Berg – Trent Nature Area on the 9th Line, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=44.3501535,-78.2703781&ll=44.3501535,-78.2703781 – Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15169371 – Comments: “small flycatcher with olive back and white wing Read more

  On September 12, an uncommon Four-toed Salamander was found near the large erratic on the “range” section of our property  (east of Birchview Road) at Camp Kawartha.  It was found by students from Lakefield College School and identified by Jake Fell. Jacob Rodenburg, Executive Director, Camp Kawartha

Today’s cool 13 C temperatures seem to have really stirred up bird migration and feeder activity. This morning I had two dozen Common Grackles at my feeder. This afternoon, while walking the Trans-Canada Trail near Lily Lake, there were at least a dozen migrant warblers in the cedars that responded Read more

– Peregrine Falcon – Magnolia Warbler  – Bay-breasted Warbler Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) (1) – Reported Sep 11, 2013 08:15 by Greg Samson-Strecker – Peterborough–Trent Rotary Rail Trail, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=44.362531,-78.2885554&ll=44.362531,-78.2885554 – Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15166063 – Comments: “Flew SSW from Rotary Rail Trail @ ~8:30am” Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) Read more

Yesterday, I was provided with an intriguing glimpse into the lives of ants. So-called “flying ants” were milling about on our front steps and flying  overhead in the backyard. Ants only have wings during the mating phase of their life cycle. Mating takes place over the course of just one Read more

We were out in our backyard yesterday watching the three Sandhill Cranes when we heard another crane calling from just beyond. It definitely didn’t come from any of the three in front of us. Their beaks were closed and they were all looking towards the source of the calls. This Read more

Origin of fish species found in Jack Lake, Peterborough County (south of Apsley) Native Species Bluntnose minnow (Pimephales notatus) Brown bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus) Common white sucker (Catastomus commersoni) Creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) Golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) Johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum) Lake herring (Coregonus artedii) Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) Muskellunge (Esox Read more

Yesterday afternoon, a Giant Swallowtail visited our backyard garden.  This was the first time I’ve seen the species actually nectaring in the garden. I’ve had them land on one of our maple trees before. The butterfly fed by hovering at the flowers (especially the Buddleia and phlox) but proved very Read more

*** Species Summary: – Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (1 report) – Least Flycatcher (2 reports) – Great Crested Flycatcher (2 reports) – Orange-crowned Warbler (1 report) – Bobolink (4 reports) ——————————————— The report below shows observations of rare birds in Peterborough.  View this alert on the web at http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN36363 NOTE: all sightings Read more

Just thought that you would like to know that the three Sandhill Cranes are still here, adjacent to the Miller Creek Conservation Area on the 7th Line of Selwyn Township. In previous years they were gone by the end of July. Having the cranes here this late has given us Read more

  Walking the rail-trail in the Lily Lake area the other day, I couldn’t help notice how quickly the asters are taking over as the dominant wildflowers on the landscape. Already, some of the goldenrods – which still provide most of the colour – are beginning to fade. I was Read more

I live on a farm in Omemee, near Emily Park. Growing up in this area, I have observed a lot of nature. However, in just the last few weeks I seem to have seen more variety that I have ever noticed. My sightings include a Hummingbird Clearwing moth, a giant Read more

Yesterday, I set up a new birdbath in my backyard. Instead of using the pedestal,  I placed the bowl directly on the ground, partly beneath some cedars. I then installed a 1/4″ diameter plastic tube above the bath, hooking the tube up to my garden hose (using some parts I Read more

Semipalmated Plover – Lesser Yellowlegs – Least Sandpiper – Baird’s Sandpiper – Pectoral Sandpiper – Philadelphia Vireo – Tennessee Warbler – Cape May Warbler – Magnolia Warbler – Bay-breasted Warbler – Lincoln’s Sparrow ____________________________________________________ Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) (2) – Reported Sep 02, 2013 14:10 by Chris Risley – Moncrief Read more

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of talking with Don Davis who does a Monarch butterfly tagging demonstration each Labour Day Weekend at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. With a lot of hard work, he was able to find enough of these insects in order to show the public how the Read more

I stumbled upon this plant in the bush north of Highway 118 near Bancroft today.  At first, I thought it was a blackberry “on steroids” but, by doing a little research, I found out that it is a Spikenard.  I had never seen that one before. Ulrike Kullik, Marmora   Read more

*** Species Summary: – Tennessee Warbler (2 reports) – Magnolia Warbler (2 reports) – Bay-breasted Warbler (2 reports) – Black-throated Blue Warbler (2 reports) ——————————————— The report below shows observations of species you have not seen in Peterborough, based on your eBird observations.  View this alert on the web at Read more

What a nice surprise to find this Giant Swallowtail in our garden this afternoon.  This one one would not settle down though.  The forewings hardly ever stopped beating. I took lots of images just to get these.               Also, while on a recent local Read more

Here is a quick description of some common backyard insect sounds of rural, suburban and sometimes urban central Ontario.  By clicking on the name of the insect, you can hear a recording of its “song.” How are the sounds produced? Crickets and katydids use stridulation to produce their song. They Read more

This afternoon, I walked the Trans-Canada Trail west from the steep footpath leading down to the trail from the end of Wallis Drive, past the  blue bridge to Ackison Road. A number of wildflowers continue to bloom and most of the shrubs are heavily laden with fruit. Here are some Read more

– Peregrine Falcon (1 report) – Western Kingbird (1 report) ——————————————— Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> Needs Alert for Peterborough. The report below shows observations of species you have not seen in Peterborough, based on your eBird observations.  View this alert on the web at http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN34560 NOTE: all Read more

This afternoon, I walked the Trans-Canada Trail west from the steep footpath leading down to the trail from the end of Wallis Drive, past the  blue bridge (near the pumping station entrance point on Parkhill Road at Ravenwood) to Ackison Road. A number of wildflowers continue to bloom and most Read more