Don Scallen

Fishers are said to attack porcupines in a particularly grisly manner.

The Jefferson salamander is a cause célèbre locally because of its very restricted range in Canada.

Merlins in Caledon would have been almost unthinkable 25 years ago. At that time, except on migration, Merlins seldom strayed south of the lakes and forests of the Canadian Shield.

Great horned owls along with other members of the owl tribe are gifted with adaptive traits beyond their acute senses.

The Christmas Bird Count is an annual tradition that entices naturalists to down steaming cups of pre-dawn coffee and then head out birding at first light.

I grew up in the shade of elm trees that arched magnificently across the suburban street where I lived as a young boy. Then, one by one they began to die.

Make sure to enter Don’s “Name these fish” contest (see details in this article). Deadline: November 30th!

Despite their “refined” eating habits, vultures have traits that endear us.

On cool September mornings, dew reveals the intricate weavings of spiders.

The last cougar in Ontario was shot at Creemore in 1884. Now, after the passage of more than a century, a modest “re-wilding” is underway. But what of the cougar? Has the cat come back?

Monarchs are children of the sun. The boldness of Sol this summer has energized their life cycle.

Nighttime flyers with a sweet tooth! (ironic considering they have no teeth at all!). If you plan to host a dinner party for them, a mélange of sugary foods and alcohol is called for.

Grist for spinners of tall tales, snapping turtles are on the verge of becoming endangered. May these reptiles of prehistoric visage long patrol our wetlands.

At this time of year when we celebrate Canada Day, Don Scallen celebrates the hardy bumblebee, the “true Canadian” of the insect world.

With its glorious pink and white blossoms and thumb-sized pouches, this orchid is perhaps the most exquisite of all our wildflowers.

In “Flight of the Bumblebee” Don Scallen says we owe a debt of gratitude to pollinating insects for keeping food on the tables of the human race!

Cecropia moths: Strange and wonderful phantoms of the twilight world.

Lured by warm weather and a bonanza of insects, warblers return from tropical realms. By Don Scallen.