Blog

Here is Tim Dyson’s report on the status of Giant Swallowtail butterflies this summer. The Giant Swallowtail is a newcomer to the Kawarthas and Canada’s largest butterfly. “Starting on May 30th, (first brood, which likely had over-wintered as pupae, I would expect), Read more

We encountered a cow Moose on County Road 507, north of Flynn’s Corner on Sunday evening (August 4).  The moose was taking its time, wandering back and forth across the road while traffic backed up. Observer: Jennifer

Dave and Debbie Brown of Indian River have reported seeing an entirely white (albino?) Red-tailed Hawk at their farm. The bird flew down from a tree and perched on a hay bale.  Thje hawk was last seen about 10 days Read more

Interesting phenomenon yesterday. At about 5:50 pm, we were on our porch and heard quite a different racket from the trees across the road. The bird calls were not anything similar or familiar to us. Sighting the binoculars on the Read more

On July 26,  I had one of our most interesting pollinators, the Hummingbird Clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe), in my garden. Observer: Colum Diamond

I think the last time I wrote I complained about a pernicious weed called Broad-leaved Everlasting Pea – Lathyrus latifolius .  They got the everlasting part right – it is now my fifth summer of digging up these plants over Read more

On July 27, two juvenile Red-tailed Hawks appeared in and around our yard  for the better part of an hour.  They would perch on the fences or rooftops and then soar around for a few minutes and return.  One of Read more

  This morning at about 10 a.m., I observed a pair of Great Egrets briefly on the Otonabee River in Peterborough, just south of the zoo.  They flew in and stayed in the area for only about 10 minutes or Read more

Cottagers sometimes find large, mysterious, jelly-like “blobs” attached to the dock or aquatic plants. They are formed by colonies of Bryozoa, a freshwater invertebrate. Looking somewhat like an egg mass, the clumps are clear, dense, and have distinct, repetitive patterns Read more

  Today, an adult female Eastern Dobsonfly crawled up on my deck for about 30 minutes.  She was almost five inches long. I’ve never seen one before, though I understand they are fairly common. Living on Armour Road about 150 Read more

Today, I had two Monarchs on my milkweeds. Observer: Ulrike Kullik, Highway 7, Havelock

  – Lesser Yellowlegs (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 Read more

*** Species Summary: – Peregrine Falcon (2 reports) ——————————————— Thank you for subscribing to the <daily> Rare Bird Alert for Peterborough. 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: Read more

Jerry Ball and I went butterflying  in the NE of the County today. Our route was Cty Rd 6, Cty Rd 44, Hubble Rd, Cty Rd 46 and Sandy Lake Rd. Butterflies were prolific, especially on Sandy Lake Rd.. In Read more

Regarding the abundance of  fruit this year…yes!  It’s as if everything is  masting (producing a huge amount of fruit/seed)!!  Dale & I have expounded about the abundance of flowers since the early spring, and right on through until now:  first Read more

This year’s butterfly numbers have been a little off. I have yet to see any Monarchs or Question Mark butterflies.The ones I have seen are – skippers, azures, tailed-blues, American lady (caterpillars now on Pussy Toes), tiger swallowtails, eyed browns, Read more

This past Sunday, June 30, I saw a pair of  Sandhill Cranes, near Cambray (northwest of Lindsay). They were in a large field. Observer: Gavin Hunter

Here are a couple of recent photos of a Green Heron fishing from a tree branch along the shore of an island in Rice Lake. As shown in the first photo, the heron would cling to a branch while hanging Read more

  Click here to learn about eBird *** Species Summary: – Least Bittern (1 report) – Upland Sandpiper (2 reports) – Peregrine Falcon (2 reports) – Northern Rough-winged Swallow (4 reports) – Cliff Swallow (1 report) – Eastern Towhee (1 Read more

A resident of Benmor Towers has seen a family of hawks around Jackson Park.  The nest is in one of the white pines near the  climbing frame and can bee seen from the ground . (Note: The bird is a Read more

I have noticed that most of the trees, shrubs and vines seem to have a great deal of fruit on them this year. Among the species that really stand out in this regard are Eastern White Cedar, Red Oak, White Read more

This morning when I stepped out the front door, there was a Pileated Woodpecker pecking away at railway ties at side of house.  Several weeks ago, I had a White-tailed Deer in the backyard. It was dining on the fresh Read more

We had a rare visitor this evening – an Eastern Bluebird. He seems to be hanging around too…I’ve never seen him before. Observer: Kim Reid, Drummond Line, east of Peterborough and north of Highway 7

A leucistic female cardinal has been around our house all spring.  I finally got a photo of her at the feeder today. (N.B. Leucism is a general term for the patches of white on a bird’s body resulting from defects Read more