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Don Scallen

Don Scallen enjoys sharing his love of nature through his writing and presentations. Check out his blog "Notes from the Wild".

Streamside Salamanders

May 3, 2023

Long-tailed and tiny-legged, these slow moving salamanders face formidable challenges as our urban footprint grows.

Screech Owls

Apr 4, 2023

Listen closely for their distinctive vocalizing and you just might manage to catch a peek of these pint-sized predators.

Home, Sweet Home

Mar 20, 2023

The amazing architectural feats (and sometimes cheeky parenting techniques) of nesting birds

Our Ever Heavier Urban Footprint

Feb 27, 2023

As development continues unabated, our growing population and urban footprint will inevitably diminish biodiversity.

Not All Invaders Are Bad

Feb 7, 2023

During a trip south, naturalist Don Scallen gets a closer look at introduced lizards in Florida and asks questions about our own invasive species in Ontario.

Nesting Instincts

Jan 6, 2023

Most of us have the good fortune to raise our families in safe, comfortable houses. Birds want nothing less. 

Return to the Trout Stream

Dec 1, 2022

Rivers in the Headwaters region still flow clean, clear and cool through areas not yet urbanized. This natural heritage is a gift to area residents and well worth protecting.

In the Bleak Midwinter

Nov 20, 2022

Don Scallen explores how birds, mammals and reptiles have adapted to survive our long, trying winter.

Crooning Tree Crickets

Nov 3, 2022

Male tree crickets – rock stars of the insect realm – sing to attract females, and display other courtship behaviour not so different from ours.

Fascinating Fungi

Oct 5, 2022

Fall is the perfect time to get down low and take a closer peek at the stunningly diverse and complex organisms that are fungi

Transforming Turf into a Meadow Ecosystem

Sep 12, 2022

From a swath of turf grass came a thriving meadow ecosystem full of wild flowers, pollinators and biodiversity.

Hoary Bat. Photo by Brock Fenton.

Bats Aided by Citizen Scientists

Aug 8, 2022

Bats hunt with their astonishing echolocating ability, sending out pulses of sound and then “reading” the returning echoes for the shape signatures of potential prey.

Who Pollinates Michigan Lilies?

Jul 14, 2022

Could the answer to my pollination puzzle be butterfly wings?

Starstruck

Jun 24, 2022

From a small observatory in a Belfountain backyard, the heavens are revealed.

Movers and Shakers: River Chub

Jun 7, 2022

The breeders and the egg stealers make a river chub nest a happening place in springtime.

Calvin the piebald salamander in 2022. Photo by Don Scallen.

Calvin the Salamander Returns!

May 10, 2022

Calvin and his kin depend on two things for their survival: forest and fishless ponds.

Merlin female close up. Photo by Don Scallen.

Magical Merlins

Apr 17, 2022

Merlins have been recorded nesting in Orangeville, Caledon Village and just south of Headwaters in Georgetown.

Red eft. Photo by don Scallen.

Adapting to Survive

Mar 29, 2022

Animals use camouflage, poison and deception to live another day.

In The Hills

In The Hills is an independent, locally owned print and online magazine that has earned its reputation as the best-read, best-loved magazine in Headwaters.

The magazine is delivered to more than 40,000 homes and farms throughout Caledon, Erin, Dufferin, Orangeville and Creemore – up to double the circulation of any other local publication. And it is available to visitors at local inns, restaurants, specialty retail stores and other tourist locations.