Nature facts

Book Review: The Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird: The Biology of a Strongly Polygynous Songbird, by Les Beletsky Reviewed by Jeff Hiebert An excellent overview of the biology of a much studied and common bird. The book focuses on Red-winged Blackbirds' breeding biology and the studies most focused on are for a particular population in Washington state which the author has studied for years. One of the interesting points the book puts across is that Red-winged blackbirds are common across the United States, southern Canada, and Mexico but they exhibit different behaviours in different populations/regions. This is sort of a rule across animal species, but it was interesting to see it demonstrated and explored with this familiar bird. Lots of interesting discussions of how animal behaviour research is done and how we know so much about a species because we've studied them for so long…
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A Green Heron Stalks the Shallows

Article by Jeff Hiebert, NFN Member Over the past few years, I have come to appreciate how beautiful and wonderful birds are. Along with that appreciation has been the realization that there are diverse birds within a short walk or drive of my home. I have encountered new species of birds almost every time I go out to my new favourite birding destination: Long Point. Globally renowned for being a biodiversity hotspot, and a corridor for migrating birds crossing the Great Lakes, Long Point is full of a variety of freshwater habitats and a corresponding diversity of bird species. My most recent exciting encounter was with a species I had never before seen up close. Before this past year “Heron” meant the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), the only species of heron I saw regularly, certainly the most conspicuous heron…
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Species in Focus: Salamanders

Note: Salamanders should never be handled with bare hands as skin oils and even soap residues will damage them. The three salamanders covered in this article have an aquatic stage in their development and are considered mole salamanders as opposed to woodland or Plethodontid which breath through their skin. Yellow Spotted Salamander Yellow-spotted salamanders are our largest species of salamander. They are readily recognizable by their black colour and pattern of bright yellow or orange spots. They reach a length of 20 cm (8 in.). The head, body and tail are dark grey to blue-black. Their belly and sides are lighter blue-grey. Along the back, tail, sides, head, and legs are two uneven rows of up to 54 bright yellow spots. These salamanders range over much of North America. Deciduous and mixed forests are the preferred habitat, especially those located…
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Canadian Bat Box Project

By Karen Vanderwolf If you have a bat box I want to know about it! Bats in Canada face multiple threats from habitat loss and disease. As towns and cities expand, the large old trees that bats call home are being cleared, and bats are losing their roosts. Bats need a warm and secure place to roost during the day in the summer. A bat box is a simple and effective way to provide additional roosting habitat for bats, but little is known about bat box use in Canada. This especially important as three bat species in Canada are listed as endangered: little brown bats, northern long-eared bats, and tricolored bats. Bats now face additional persecution due to worries about COVID-19, but bats in North America do not have the virus that causes COVID-19 https://cwf-fcf.org/en/about-cwf/faq/faqs/should-i-be-worried-bats.html?src=blog Which bat species use bat…
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Berries Are For the Birds

Article and photos by Inga Hinnerichsen The last of the fall flowers have withered. Only dry brown stems remain of their former glory... but not all is lost yet. There are still lots of protein rich seed packets left at the ends of many stems. They not only insure the new plants germinating in the spring, but also provide nutrition for many over-wintering birds and small mammals in our area. By now most of the insect eating migratory birds have left on their annual trek south. A few hardy (foolhardy?) individuals are sticking it out for the winter. A handful of Robins always ignore the call of the south, but their normal ground foraging will be rudely interrupted by frost and a blanket of the white stuff. What to do? The smaller seed-eaters will soon polish off the remaining plant…
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Species in Focus: Blanding’s Turtle

Status: Threatened — “Threatened” means the species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it. Date added to the Species at Risk in Ontario List — The Blanding’s Turtle was already assessed as threatened when the Endangered Species Act took effect in 2008. A reassessment in May 2017 confirmed this status. What it looks like: The Blanding’s Turtle is a medium-sized turtle easily identified by its bright yellow throat and chin. Unlike most Ontario turtles that have wide, flatter shells, the Blanding’s Turtle has a domed shell that resembles an army helmet. Its shell is black to brown with yellow flecks and streaks and can reach 27 centimetres long. Its head and limbs are black-grey and the bottom shell is rich yellow. Where…
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Across Canada: A geographical journey

Story and photos by Inga Hinnerichsen Author's note: My apologies for the fuzzy quality of the photos. The train wouldn't slow down for photo ops. A couple of years ago, during one of our trips to Australia, we traveled by the "Ghan" (called so, because of the Afghan camel drovers imported to access the interior), a famous train leaving Adelaide in the south and arriving in Darwin in the north 4 days later. We caught the train half way through the journey, in Alice Springs in the Red Centre. I have always liked train travel. Both Dave and I have travelled by rail in Europe a fair amount in the past. The Ghan is a notch or two up from your typical passenger train with comfortable private compartments including a small bathroom. The dining car menu and service is definitely…
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December 2016 Lotus

Here is the December 2016 Lotus newsletter. It has the annual Long Point Butterfly Count results and a story by Inga Hinnerichsen about Tiritiri Matangi, an island nature reserve in New Zealand.
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The Bruce Beckoned

Ontario Nature's 85th annual gathering Story by Inga Hinnerichsen Ontario Nature celebrated its 85th anniversary combined with its Annual Gathering on the weekend of June 3, 4 and 5, 2016. The organisation was founded in 1931, then called the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Today Ontario Nature has over 150 member groups, such as Norfolk Field Naturalists, all throughout this province. Together we share the love of nature and continue to work towards preserving natural areas, flora and fauna for future generations. The NFN participated with a small delegation: Bernie Solymár, Len Grincevicius, Diane Salter, Karin Jonasson, David Curry and Inga Hinnerichsen. On the way we stopped at Sauble Beach to observe a few rare Piping Plovers that were nesting on the beach. Sadly, later news told us that none of the nests this year were successful. Some were destroyed by…
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Coyote Watch

The NFN Information Session on Coyotes was a Big Success! Late last year a couple of individuals made a deputation to council about the "disturbing" increase of coyotes in Norfolk County over the last year or two. They claimed that coyotes are a threat to pets and humans. Their angst was due to a small dog being attacked on a home owner's driveway at night about 2 years ago and residents in Port Dover and Port Rowan (primarily) seeing coyotes in broad daylight. As a result, over the last few months of 2015 coyotes received a lot of local press and social media coverage. After some FaceBook exchanges with a number of persons, and a whiff in the air that Council was bowing to pressure from a few individuals, our Board of Directors decided to hold a special public information…
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