Ontario Nature Blog

One of the things I love most about birding is that it has given me the chance to rediscover Ontario. I’ve lived in the province for a large chunk of my adult life, and yet it wasn’t until I donned my binoculars that I appreciated how much surprisingly wonderful nature exists in the southwest corner ...

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What I find most remarkable about birds is their intrepid nature. I love to point my binoculars and watch a bird soar above me, seemingly out of reach of all human pettiness. I never tire of watching warblers flutter from branch to branch, challenging me to look closer, observe more fiercely and attend to details ...

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I never imagined that I could happily spend six hours in a car on a Saturday in search of migrating tundra swans. Among birders, there’s a palpable excitement that comes with the advent of spring even when it isn’t quite here. This weekend, my bird group was so desperate for the first signs of spring, ...

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International Women’s Day, last Friday, presents an ideal opportunity to celebrate illustrious women birders. The remarkable Phoebe Snetsinger comes to mind immediately,  she was the first person to acquire a life list with more than 8,000 birds. Snetsinger’s story is documented in her autobiography, Birding on Borrowed Time, whose title refers to an incurable cancer ...

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On a stormy midwinter morning, conservation staff Laura Robson, Megan Anevich, James Paterson and I piled into a car and set out on a road trip to visit the Altberg Wildlife Sanctuary Nature Reserve. This trip wasn’t just a joyride. We headed out with a clear purpose in mind: to find the elusive short-eared owl.

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