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Notes from the Wild

Our Ever Heavier Urban Footprint

Feb 27, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Not All Invaders Are Bad

Feb 7, 2023 | Don Scallen

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.

Home Sweet Home

Jan 6, 2023 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

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.

Crooning Tree Crickets

Nov 3, 2022 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

Could the answer to my pollination puzzle be butterfly wings?

Movers and Shakers: River Chub

Jun 7, 2022 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

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 | Don Scallen

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

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