WE WON!!! In October, conservation groups became aware of a potential travesty about to happen in the Alberta grasslands. Existing laws grant the provincial government the right to sell public land without any public consultation, and there were plans for a huge potato farm in a sensitive area with limited …
Woke up to a frosty morning yesterday.. And within two hours the front yard looked like this. Still waiting for the neighborhood kids to come and ask if they can rake the leaves…
Our Mountain Meander was a spontaneous decision on a lazy morning. We didn’t leave very early, and therefore didn’t expect to encounter much in the way of wildlife. We certainly didn’t see much for birds – gray jays, ravens, black-capped chickadees and red-tailed hawks were about all the flying wildlife …
We spent most of our summer weekends this year driving an hour and half southeast of the city through the prairies. With the gift of a glorious Indian summer, I decided it would be nice to see land that goes UP, for a change. An hour and a half drive …
Well, colour me surprised – Syncrude has to pay a fine. In this oil & gas centric province, the energy companies always come out the winners. Just ask our provincial politicians. When oil giant Syncrude was taken to court for the death of 1,600 ducks that landed on their tailings …
It’s no wonder I seem to be more confused than usual lately. It’s the third week of October, and right on schedule, the Arctic birds are starting to arrive. Rough-legged hawks, snow buntings and tundra swans are being regularly reported. My yard now has a couple of resident mountain chickadees, …
Bird News Researchers who have tagged Canadian gannets say up to a third of the population is threatened by the BP oil spill. An ATV rider in New Brunswick has been fined $500 for disturbing endangered piping plovers’ nesting grounds. A jet taking off from Edmonton airport had to return …
Bird News Researchers tracking the migration of a red knot have documented an annual flight of 26,700 km between its Argentinian wintering grounds and breeding site in Nunavut. Levels of toxic mercury in the eggs of water birds downstream from the oilsands have grown by 50 per cent over the …
My blog hasn’t been getting much attention lately, but my yard certainly has. Because of our location near the river, the number of mature trees and the fact that I have bird food out year round, our yard turns into a migration trap in the fall. I’ve spent the last …
The May long weekend is eagerly anticipated by people who love the outdoors, and is recognized as the first great camping weekend of the spring. A mass exodus takes place from the city into parks, campgrounds and natural areas – on a warm weekend it looks like the city is …