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Drew Monkman

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Drew Monkman

I am a retired teacher, naturalist and writer with a love for all aspects of the natural world, especially as they relate to seasonal change.
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…

By Drew Monkman, 5 yearsJanuary 4, 2020 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 5 yearsDecember 17, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 5 yearsDecember 13, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 5 yearsDecember 6, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 5 yearsDecember 3, 2019 ago
A Changing Climate

“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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsNovember 22, 2019 ago
A Changing Climate

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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsNovember 15, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsNovember 9, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsNovember 8, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsNovember 1, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsOctober 23, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsOctober 18, 2019 ago
A Changing Climate

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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsOctober 11, 2019 ago
A Changing Climate

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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsOctober 3, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsSeptember 20, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsSeptember 13, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsSeptember 6, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsAugust 31, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsAugust 31, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsAugust 9, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJuly 26, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJuly 19, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJuly 12, 2019 ago
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…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJuly 5, 2019 ago
Columns

A Kawarthas’ Summer Nature Almanac

Now that summer has officially arrived, I want to look ahead to some of the events in nature that we can expect over the next three months. As for the long-term weather forecast, seasonal temperatures are expected this summer with frequent swings from hot to colder. These swings will mean Read more…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJune 21, 2019 ago
Columns

A dusting of yellow

Spring in the Kawarthas is synonymous with a ubiquitous yellow dust that descends upon everything from cars and patio furniture to rivers and lakes. Even the edges of puddles become marked with what looks like yellow chalk. For cottagers, the strange powder is most visible in June, when it piles Read more…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJune 14, 2019 ago
Sightings

June sightings of interest

Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) (1) – Reported Jul 01, 2019 04:39 by Donald A. Sutherland – Chase Memorial Park, Gannons Narrows, Ontario – Map: – Checklist:                 Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) (2) – Reported Jun 27, 2019 11:00 by Dave Milsom – Peterborough–Trent Read more…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJune 10, 2019 ago
Columns

A perilous time for turtles

Motorists need to slow down and watch out for these increasingly rare travelers. I have always had a special fondness for turtles. As a child, I loved nothing more than catching, feeding and then releasing these ancient reptiles. They were no less than my gateway drug to a lifelong love Read more…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsJune 7, 2019 ago
Sightings

May sightings of interest

Cuckoos eating Eastern Tent Caterpillars: Today, May 31, I came across a pair of Black-billed Cuckoos near Burnt River  that were eating tent caterpillars. I was not aware that birds eat these caterpillars. Carl Welbourn, Kawartha Camera Club                     Mute Swan Read more…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsMay 30, 2019 ago
Columns

A Songbird Migration Spectacle

A visit to Point Pelee and Rondeau parks is a celebration of the wonder of spring migration For anyone wanting to see Ontario’s most spectacular birds – Red-headed Woodpeckers, Indigo Buntings, Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles, Red-breasted Grosbeaks, and more than two dozen species of warblers – a trip to Point Read more…

By Drew Monkman, 6 yearsMay 24, 2019 ago

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