© Lora Denis
I recently did something I never imagined I would do. I went to bird camp. Last month, I spent a week studying fall migration at Hog Island Audubon bird camp on the coast of Maine. Led by renowned naturalist and writer Scott Weidensaul, the week in Maine made me rethink my relationship with birds.
pectoral sandpiper © Peter Massas
One of the charms of birding is the amount of time one ends up spending at sewage lagoons. Peculiar, verging on toxic smells aside, sewage lagoons offer some of the best birding opportunities and luckily for us, southern Ontario boasts some fine sewage treatment plants! Part of the reason birds gravitate toward such manmade wetlands ...
When I think “bird-watching paradise,” Ontario isn’t exactly what comes to mind. I think more along the lines of Ecuador, Madagascar, Panama, Indonesia, South Africa or Texas. Perhaps I fantasize about those places because they’re so remote and I haven’t been to any of them. I wonder why we find it easier to dream of mythical ...
Eastern towhee © Larsek c/o Shutterstock
I knew that the time would come when I’d have to commit to learning bird songs in earnest. I’ve toyed with the idea before, even laughed that yes, I was on my way to becoming one of those birders, downloaded an app, and then proceeded to abandon the whole enterprise after I nearly drove my ...
Audubon's warbler © Michael J Thompson, Audubon
Sometimes I worry about what it’s going to feel like to see the first warbler of the season. Will it be as exciting as last year? Will the colors be as bright as I remember them? Will the enterprise of trying to spot the flitting, anxious, tiny birds that refuse to sit still feel as ...