Northern shrikes have arrived!

Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) (1) – Reported Nov 21, 2016 11:10 by Erica Nol – Office window, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: – Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32651667 – Comments: “Windy over field, NOSH flies over feeder and lands on tallest tree near garden fenced area, Clear view of bird.” Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) Read more…

Great Horned Owl and Peregrine sightings

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) (1) – Reported Nov 15, 2016 21:00 by Jeff Stewart – 621 Carveth Drive, Millbrook, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: – Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32578096 – Comments: “heard hooting near house by Annie” Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) (1) – Reported Nov 16, 2016 12:00 by Basil Conlin – Read more…

Are Red Squirrels OCD?

Here is a picture of our cottage Red Squirrels’ pre-winter stash. Clearly our local squirrels are an OCD lot: note that the cones are not only symmetrically arranged, but the butt ends are all formed like rays around rocks or along the length of a fallen tree! Certainly I have Read more…

Some sightings of note

Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) (2) – Reported Nov 18, 2016 08:30 by Iain Rayner – Chemong Lake–west end of causeway, Peterborough, Ontario – Map: – Checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32603609 – Comments: “2 Female types 300 M – 500 M north of causeway. IDeable through binoculars.” Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) (1) – Reported Read more…

Biodiversity at Risk: A new provincial report points to a crisis in the natural world around us. What can be done?

In her recent Environmental Protection Report entitled “Small Steps Forward”, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Dianne Saxe, called upon the government to put words into action to monitor biodiversity, combat wildlife declines, control invasive species, and follow through on better forest fire management. The large-scale loss of biodiversity is a Read more…

Whip-poor-will near Warsaw

We were so excited to hear a Whip-poor-will calling June 6, at about 10:50pm.  Thirty-five years ago, when we first moved to 1120 Rock Road near Warsaw, they were very plentiful and would keep you up for hours with their continuous calling.  Then, for whatever reason, they disappeared and we Read more…