Today’s post is from Mark D. Read, a senior interpreter at Murphys Point Provincial Park.
It’s a common question that park interpreters face almost daily during the summer and one that many folks already think they know the answer to:
Continue reading I heard a strange sound last night – what was it?
Today’s post comes from Habitat Stewardship Technician Justin Johnson from Pinery Provincial Park. Justin has a M.Sc. in biology with a focus on bird acoustics.
Birders are an interesting breed of people. Sometimes everything they do seems to subvert the norms of society.
Sleeping in? Rather not. Too much coffee? No such thing. $4500 binoculars? Yeah, I’ve seen it.
Birders’ bread and butter is local natural spaces and their trails. They can be very particular about which trails they walk. Seasoned birders often only use trails they perceive as “birdy,” neglecting those off their sacred path.
But how do we really know which trails are the “birdiest?”
In today’s post, Marina Opitz, Discovery leader at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, regales us with shorebird drama of Shakespearean proportions. Thanks to Neal Mutiger for photographing our leading avian actors.
First, let us set the scene for our dramatic tale.
Picture an empty beach, orange sunrise gleaming across the waves, when two solitary plovers lock eyes from across the wrack line. It is love at first sight.
However, if we have learned anything from the immortal Bard, it is that not all romantic tales have a happy ending. And so we start on our path to eventual heartbreak…
Today’s blog comes from Carlin Thompson, a discovery leader at Sandbanks Provincial Park.
My name is Carlin, and I’m a struggling birder.
As an Ontario Parks Discovery leader, I am surrounded by colleagues with a passion for the natural world — which I share.
Many share a specialty in identifying birds — which I do not.
These are my confessions.
Today’s blog comes from Jessica Stillman, school outreach coordinator for Bronte Creek Provincial Park.
With all the coloured leaves and migrating birds, autumn is all about big performances.
But even before sharing these spectacular displays, autumn delights us with the sights and sounds of another performance: the fabulous fall show presented by European Starlings.
Continue reading Autumn isn’t just coloured leaves and migration — bring on the murmurations!
Today’s post comes from Mitch Kellar, a Discovery Leader at Bon Echo Provincial Park.
Being a staff member at Bon Echo has given me a lot of incredible experiences: seeing the Mazinaw Rock at sunset, camping on Joeperry Lake, and a very memorable Kishkebus canoe trip, to name a few.
Above all, my experiences with Peregrine Falcons — small birds of prey and the fastest animals on the planet — will always be one of my favourites.
Continue reading The fastest animal in Bon Echo, Canada, and the world!
The signs of spring always grab our attention.
We’re excited by the arrival of the familiar birds, butterflies, and fish that we see each summer. Perhaps it’s simply because we yearn for the end of winter. Or maybe it’s the feeling that a good friend has returned from a long vacation down south.
What we neglect to notice sometimes though, is the beauty of their departure.
Today’s post comes from Sarah Wiebe, the senior park naturalist at Kettle Lakes Provincial Park.
Before this year, I would have never considered myself a “Bird Nerd.”
My journey began in my southern Ontario home, but it wasn’t until I arrived at my summer destination (Kettle Lakes!) that I truly hit my nerdy stride.
Continue reading Migrating north: how I became a “Bird Nerd”
Today’s post comes from Victoria Reimer, Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s Green Jobs summer student and friend to birds everywhere.
If you asked me what a Green Jobs student was before I started, I wouldn’t have known myself.
Now, after being in the role, I can tell you it’s a wonderful opportunity to become intimately connected to your park. Every day, my job challenges me, but it also gives me so many opportunities to learn.
In today’s post, Awenda’s Chief Park Naturalist Tim Tully defends what some may think is the undefendable: the gull.
If there was ever an animal that gets a raw deal, it’s the gull.
It’s time to set the record straight and come to the defense of this unfairly maligned avian “underbird.”
For starters, we can’t even get the name right. I hate to tell you, folks, but there is no such thing as a seagull!
