“The early bird gets the worm” usually makes us think of robins.
But the real early bird isn’t Robin Red-Breast. It’s the Canada Jay, also known as the whiskeyjack or Gray Jay.
Category: Birding
Woodpeckers 101
Today’s post comes from Barb Rees, our Discovery Program and Marketing Specialist in the Northwest Zone of Ontario Parks.
Winter is a great time to watch for woodpeckers. Why? Simply because there are less leaves on trees making most birds more visible.
Typically, there are also more birdfeeders placed out in the winter than the summer (since the bears are hibernating). So attracting birds closer to your home makes bird-watching possible right from the warmth of your living room window.
Birds and biodiversity
Welcome to the final installment of our series “IBAs in provincial parks,” brought to you by Ontario IBA Coordinator Amanda Bichel of Bird Studies Canada.
It’s great sharing bird facts, and stories about IBAs and provincial parks, but it’s time to step back and take a look at the bigger picture: biodiversity.
Butterball’s story
Today’s post comes to us from David Bree, our Discovery Program Lead at Presqu’ile Provincial Park.
Butterball was a bit of a miracle child.
The way the year went, it was amazing that his egg was ever laid, let alone hatched. And he never should have flown.
But, somehow, he did.
To truly understand Butterball’s story, and the miracle it was, we must go back eight years. And oh yeah, you should know: Butterball is a Common Tern.
Fall warbler migration at Rondeau Provincial Park
Today’s post comes from Laura Penner, a Discovery Program Group Leader at Rondeau Provincial Park.
Thousands of birdwatchers flock to Rondeau each spring to take part in one of natures most spectacular events, the annual songbird migration.
The male warblers, in their attempt to attract mates, are in their finest plumage with bold patterns and bright colours. Their unique songs fill the air! Beginner birders focus on the bird’s appearance to identify it. For more advanced birders, the songs may help identify birds that aren’t out in the open putting on a show.
But for those who are ready to take their warbler identification skills to the next level, there is the fall migration!
Continue reading Fall warbler migration at Rondeau Provincial Park
I heard a strange sound last night – what was it?
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?
Tidewater Provincial Park and Pei lay sheesh kow IBA
Welcome to the September installment of “IBAs in provincial parks,” brought to you by Ontario IBA Coordinator Amanda Bichel of Bird Studies Canada.
Today’s Important Bird & Biodiversity Area started out as an area of seven IBAs and is now an amalgamated site with an added 716 km2 of area.
Tidewater Provincial Park and the tail end of Kesagami Provincial Park fit comfortably within our new IBA: Pei lay sheesh kow.
“Pei lay sheesh kow” means “an area that abounds with birds” in Cree. That couldn’t be more true!
Continue reading Tidewater Provincial Park and Pei lay sheesh kow IBA
Seeing spots at Pinery Provincial Park
Today’s post comes from Tanya Berkers, Resource Management Group Leader at Pinery Provincial Park.
You may be seeing spots the next time you visit Pinery’s Visitor Centre, and hopefully the birds will see them too!
The park has just installed thousands of vinyl dots on the windows to make them visible to our feathered friends.
Spot the fall migrators
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.
The call of the loon
Anyone who’s heard a loon call will tell you it’s one of nature’s most hypnotic, mysterious and beautiful sounds.
Its haunting echo can reverberate across a large lake. Like morning chimes or an evening serenade, a loon’s call gently wakes us up in the morning, and tucks us in at night.