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!
Birdwatching is a time-honoured tradition that many people enjoy today, offering the opportunity to switch off from the modern world and get back to nature.
Whether you’re simply investing in a bird feeder for your backyard or going for a walk in your local park, birding is beneficial to both your mind and body.
It is renowned for being a meditative exercise where you are fully present in the moment.
Continue reading Birding with benefits: therapeutic benefits of bird watching
In today’s post, Learning & Education Specialist Rachelle Law recounts Team Ontario’s push to find as many birds as possible.
Every year, a team of expert birders from Ontario Parks prepare — binoculars in hand — to compete in a heated competition.
The goal: spot and record as many bird species as they can over one weekend, and win the coveted “golden” binoculars.
Continue reading The annual birding battle for the golden binoculars
Today’s post comes from Assistant Ecologist and Piping Plover specialist Ian Fife.
If you’ve visited some of our popular Great Lakes beaches, you may have noticed restricted areas for a tiny bird no larger than a sparrow.
What’s so important about these birds, and why do we fence off parts of our beaches to protect them?
With the arrival of spring comes the familiar call of our provincial bird.
The sights and sounds of these iconic birds capture the hearts of all Ontarians.
Learn more about the Common Loon.
Throughout 2021, we’re sharing a free downloadable graphic for you to use as wallpaper for your favourite devices. We’ve specially sized these images for your computers, tablets, smartphones and Facebook covers.
Today’s post was written by Laura Penner, a Discovery leader at Rondeau Provincial Park.
Watching the world wake up and spring back to life after a long winter is something almost everyone looks forward to. While the winter has charm and stunning beauty, the thought of those long, warm days simply change the pace of outdoor activity.
We aren’t the only ones anticipating the change of seasons. In fact, nature has been investing large amounts of energy in order to take advantage of this relatively short burst of warmth and the seemingly limitless supply of food that comes with it. This is evident in the countless flocks of birds that migrate north each spring.
Our parks have been keeping an eye out for feathered friends to show you what they’re up to this time of year.
Are you ready for the quack-tastic duck finds they made?
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.
It’s officially spring, which means that birds are winging their way back to our parks — and birders won’t be far behind them!
As birding becomes more popular, and with the initiation of the third Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, we’re expecting that this will be a big year for the activity.
Whether this is your first season birding or your 91st, we know you want to act in a way that is respectful and protects our feathered park inhabitants.
If you and your binoculars are venturing into a park this season, read on for our top suggestions for ethical birding.
Continue reading We’re here for the birds: how to be an ethical birder
