Dandy Dandelions
Come on, what’s wrong with the dandelion anyway? We call it a “weed” but it’s a pretty, tiny yellow flower. What could be so distasteful about that? These flowers end up as important early season nectaring and pollen plants for bees, a place for lepidoptera larvae to grow and feed, and our birds eat it. You can even eat this nutritious plant, too! Every bit. Not that you may want to unless you know what has been going in and on your lawn… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read More
Killdeers Return
The Killdeer, one of the loudest and most visible late winter/early spring returning species, is moving north rapidly now. As you will likely hear soon enough…they’re back!
Read MoreWintering Hermit Thrush
This is one of seemingly many (in the relative sense) Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) I have spotted in the last couple of months as this hardy species has been sticking out the late autumn in a number of my frequented locations. The bird pictured is one of those individuals. The most enigmatic sighting I had recently was with my Shetland Sheepdog a couple of weeks ago as we found a bird foraging in the lawn under a maple tree near the edge of mature woodlands. It looked at us and hopped up into one of the eye-level branches as we approached, casually watching us. It watched my dog...
Read MoreThe grass is always greener
I like to think that this Dark-eyed Junco, alone with its thoughts, is pondering whether or not, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” In this case the answer should be a resounding “Yes!” shouldn’t it? Or maybe not because it is green on all sides, even in November…until it is encased in snow and ice. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read More
