On The Wild Side: Looking back on an exciting 2025 featuring many wildlife encounters

By ANN AND ERIK BROKELMAN

I will say 2025 has been an exciting year for me, and one that has reminded me how grateful I am to still get outside and enjoy nature every day.

What thrills me most is that after all these years, the big feelings never fade. Whenever I see wildlife, I still get that little chill, that quiet “oh my goodness,” and I find myself watching closely to see what might happen next. When a coyote appears, it’s just as magical as the very first time I ever saw one.

That said, we all change as we get older. These days I find myself looking more closely at the animals I encounter, paying attention to the small behaviours I might not have noticed years ago.

Later, when I get back home, I flip through my books to see what those actions might mean and to learn a little more about why the animal behaved the way it did. And of all the joys that come with this, the greatest is sharing my love of birds and wildlife with my grandkids, especially watching their curiosity spark just the way mine did.

I’ve watched my children and grandchildren take part in wildlife releases, standing beside them as an osprey lifted off or a small owl settled onto a nearby branch. A few of the grandkids have even picked up an interest in photography, and it is wonderful to see how excited they get when they capture a special moment.

This year was especially fun, and I came across behaviour I had never seen before. There was an albino squirrel who was so animated he actually made me laugh.

The photo I took was from a distance, but in my mind he looked like he was standing at attention like a small member of a royal guard. I only spotted him a few times over the fall, and, though I still look for him whenever I pass that area, it’ll probably be a little harder to see him with the snow. Albino squirrels, with their pink eyes, are a rare sight (an internet search tells me they occur about 1/100,000 births), and he felt like a small gift each time he appeared.

My granddaughter Cara once mentioned that she wanted to see some wild coyotes, and I was delighted for the opportunity to take her out to find some. As soon as we arrived at our first search location, we heard merlins calling nearby. With the same enthusiasm as her Oma, Cara was out of the vehicle in an instant and searching the trees.

Before long, we found a whole family of merlins perched among the branches. Cara took a few photos, (all on her own), submitted one to a youth competition, and received an honourable mention! We’re still waiting for our copy of the magazine to arrive to see her photo in print! I think, despite the fact that we didn’t see any coyotes on that outing, that we could still call it a great day!

Not long after that outing with Cara, one of my grandsons asked if we could take a trip to Algonquin to look for animals. Well, this Oma can’t bring herself to deny a child an animal experience so Josh, my daughter Julie, and I headed north for a wonderful trip.

As we drove across the park, we were lucky enough many animals, including three moose and a fox. The first moose was a large one, standing quietly among the trees before stepping out to cross the road, giving us a perfect view as it moved through the forest.

Each moose sighting was quick, unexpected, and very exciting: the kind of moments you hope for but can never plan. By the time we left the park, it felt like we had been given a small collection of memories to take home, the sort you hold onto for years.

My last, I assume, big sighting of 2025 feels like the perfect thrill to end the year: two new screech owls have decided to use the nesting box my husband installed our backyard.

I have seen screech owls around Guildwood many times before, but this almost made me fall right off my chair when they appeared. The pair includes a beautiful red morph owl I call Scarlett and a brown morph I call Wisdom. Both have been coming out of the nesting box, and I’m hoping I’ll be lucky enough to see them all winter long, and maybe even some owlets in the spring.

To end the year, I would like to thank everyone who has supported my articles for so many years, and to wish you all a Happy New Year!