Don Scallen

Ontario’s only lizard species happens to be one that utilises a clever survival tactic — dropping its tail when scared.

Rattlesnakes in Ontario are largely harmless, save for the Massasauga rattlesnake, the only venomous one in the province.

As habitats shrink, these three animals have become ‘extirpated herptiles’ — reptiles and amphibians that are now regionally extinct in Ontario.

Look closely in the forests of Headwaters and you’ll find walking sticks, one of nature’s cleverly disguised doppelgängers.

With UV flashlight in hand, strolling in the night-shrouded escarpment woods reveals fantastic caterpillars, some of which glow under a black light.

You may not know some of these magnificent species but they are our precious, fragile neighbours that cannot survive in a subdivision.

The sweet nectar of liatris ligulistylis is renowned for its ability to lure monarch butterflies to gardens.

Summer holidays might be halfway over, but the bees are still having a field day thanks to these flowering pollinator plants

Plants can be killers too, and in Headwaters we have at least three varieties of carnivorous plants that consume small animals.

Inspired by the natural rhythms of life, a host of gardeners has created a refuge of calm and beauty for the dying and the grieving – and those who care for them – at Bethell Hospice.

Naturalist Don Scallen explores the many species of Warblers found in Ontario; though if you want to see them, you’ll have to leave suburbia.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.