I took a photo of this spider tonight, June 27, before bed. It’s bigger than a toonie for sure and the biggest spider since my cottage days and dock spiders. Any thoughts? Wayne Stovell, Cavan Note: I believe it’s a species of fishing spider (Dolomedes). D.M. My neighbour who lives Read more…
Today, May 24, we saw our first Monarch of the spring. Very exciting! Scott Sargent On May 23, I spotted this beautiful Monarch in Peterborough. Carley Wilson On May 9, we had male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and our first Baltimore Oriole in our backyard in Peterborough. (Trudy Gibson) On May 5 Read more…
Hummingbird Clearwing Moths are regular visitors at the phlox in our garden. Gwen Forsyth, Lakefield Your column several weeks ago regarding Gypsy Moths really caught our attention. We have a cottage on Jack Lake and recall the infestation back in the 1970s. This past several weeks our cottage there have Read more…
May 2 was a beautiful morning for a bird walk. Warm south winds the night before had brought in migrants. Walked the trails at Camp Kawartha with Jacob Rodenburg and Tim Dyson – respecting two metre distancing of course. In a couple of hours we found 38 species, including some Read more…
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…
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…
N.B. Whenever I refer to “home”, it is between Warsaw and Lakefield, south of the Sawer Creek Wetland. Passerines and other birds and animals. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo flew over my kayak as I began to paddle up the Indian River from Back Dam Park at Warsaw on September 9th. It Read more…
October 28 – For the second time this week, a Cooper’s Hawk was in my yard today. I knew it was around because a couple of dozen Mourning Doves flew out of the spruce tree they roost in. Sue Paradisis Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) (2) – Reported Oct Read more…
Oct. 21 – Narrow-winged Tree Cricket – Rob Tonus found this very late tree cricket on the grass beside the Rotary-Greenway Trail, just south of Nichol’s Oval Park. Note the reddish cap. This species sings at only at night, producing a mellow trill of variable length (usually 2-10 seconds). It Read more…
Over the last two weeks, we tagged and released all of the Monarchs we raised in the classroom. I’m also sending along two photos I took of a Giant Swallowtail at Elmhirst Resort on Rice Lake this past weekend. Stephanie Benn
Now’s the time to be looking for migrating Common Nighthawks. The best time to see flocks is late afternoon and evening. They feed as they fly and are often seen over water. In my experience, they often turn up after a rain event. Here are some recent sightings from Tim Read more…
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…
Regarding the Nessus Sphinx reported by Stephenie Armstrong, they are likely fairly common here in Peterborough County, though I rarely see them myself. They do, however, seem to be a day-flier, and can therefore be confused with a Hemaris species like the Snowberry Clearwing. A few weeks ago, at my Read more…
We have a sweet smelling Abelia shrub that is proving to be very popular with the insect population. Visitors this month include our first and so far only Monarch, a Black Swallowtail, a White Admiral, and two hawkmoths, including the Hummingbird Clearwing and the Nessus Sphinx, the latter new to Read more…