Over the last year I’ve been trying to figure out where my love of nature will take me in the years to come. I still haven’t figured it out, but I have narrowed down a common point of interest: wildlife behaviour. The best part of this new focus is that it has renewed my interest […]
As yet another June rainfall pelts against my windows, I am thinking about the still flooded Woodbine Beach, and photos and film footage I have seen of the Toronto Islands underwater. I know I am not the only one worrying about this year’s disturbing spring weather and how it affects homeowners, nature lovers, motorists, wildlife […]
I’m sure I’ve written this before, but one aspect I truly love about nature is that it is always changing. Over the past few years, we’ve had robins consistently nesting on one side of the house or another. In bird houses, we’ve had sparrows, starlings, and even a pair of screech owls. This year, to […]
It finally feels official: spring has sprung. The songbirds are calling before sunrise, the hibernating animals are coming out and looking for food, the swans are honking on the water, and my favorite red-tailed hawks are screaming and soaring through the air. The rain is falling, the flowers are sprouting, and the Maple Leafs are… […]
Can you believe it is December already? The past month we had both very warm and very cold weather and humans aren’t the only ones confused by it. Has anyone else noticed the flocks of geese flying south on Monday and then north on Tuesday? I think that’s the bird equivalent of trying to decide […]
Who else remembers Pepé Le Pew? He was the hilarious Looney Tunes skunk who chased the black and white cat, purring “‘ello bebe,” in his suave French accent. Well, he was probably adorable in the 1940s, but by today’s standards his refusal to take no for an answer and aggressive pursuit of his love interest […]
Happy New Year, everyone! If you haven’t done so already, maybe take a moment to celebrate the wonderful natural world all around us. Can you believe it’s already 2016? Although many are wondering what is in store for them at home, at work, with friends, family, and loved ones, I find myself wondering what wildlife […]
“Nuts!” That’s how Gene Domagala, Beach historian and noted friend of Lee Avenue squirrels, describes last Monday morning. Equipped with garden gloves and a tall yellow ladder, the rescue-and-release team from Toronto Wildlife Centre was in his backyard to install what may be the Beach’s first squirrel condo. A five-unit, 0.6-metre “den box,” it came […]
Ever since I got into birding I’ve come to appreciate what seems like a very obvious cliché: the more you open your eyes, the more you see. The more I learn about the natural world and the more I learn about plants and animals, the more I seem to notice the beauty and abundance of […]
It was more than eight years ago that I first heard about the Hawk Watch, run by Big Frank, over at Rosetta McClain Gardens (near Danforth Avenue and Kingston Road). During my first visit I found Frank standing by the fence that keeps people from getting too close and personal with the Scarborough Bluffs. I […]
