© Lora Denis
Vernal pool © Scott Gillingwater
In honour of World Wetlands Day on February 2, let’s pay tribute to vernal pools. Due to their small size and transient nature, vernal pools are a type of wetland that is easily overlooked. While brimming with water in spring, they may be nothing more than a dry, isolated, depression on the forest floor by ...
Brown belted bumblebee on cupplant © Diana Troya
For most of us, the word ‘pollinator’ brings to mind non-native honeybees. Wild pollinators, however, are the most widespread and numerous of all pollinators. This includes native wild bees, wasps, flies, ants, butterflies, moths and certain beetles, birds and bats.
There are 1,000s of wild pollinators in Ontario. Bees and flies are most significant, but butterflies, beetles, wasps, ants, moths and hummingbirds also pollinate plants. It is important to keep this in mind when reading about pollinator decline, which has been a hot news topic for many years.
The brutal winter weather in 2014 and 2015 has taken a toll on overwintering waterfowl along Lake Ontario. Cold temperature records were set in southern Ontario in February 2015 and there was a significant freeze-over of the lake, making it very difficult for birds to find food.
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority