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Notes from the Wild

Opossums

Jan 6, 2013 | Don Scallen

Opossums, having migrated north are also unlikely winter survivalists. Naked ears, feet and tails slough off frozen fragments during our harsh winters.

Evergreen Ferns

Dec 11, 2012 | Don Scallen

Many ferns boast exquisite form and are splendid photographic subjects. Seeking them is a fine excuse for a late season ramble.

The Death of a Tree

Nov 13, 2012 | Don Scallen | Blogs | Environment

Denuded and sterilized, the land waits sullenly for the homes and strip malls that characterize the inexorable expansion of Brampton.

Mimicry

Oct 15, 2012 | Don Scallen

Like everything in nature, mimicry is complex and nuanced.

Dragonflies

Aug 28, 2012 | Don Scallen | Blogs | Environment

Dragonflies have been on Earth an incredibly long time, way before the appearance of the first dinosaurs.

Giant Swallowtail Butterflies

Aug 9, 2012 | Don Scallen

Giant swallowtail caterpillars are branded as “orange dogs” in the American south because they eat the foliage of citrus crops including orange trees.

Bobolinks, Grasslands and Forks of the Credit Provincial Park

Jul 25, 2012 | Don Scallen

Bobolinks, though, are only one patch in the quilt of the glorious grassland ecosystem that exists at the Forks.

Polyphemus Moths

Jun 24, 2012 | Don Scallen

Moth communication hints at the wealth of cryptic messaging all around us.

Jack in the Pulpit

May 14, 2012 | Don Scallen

These plants can switch genders throughout their lives in response to growing conditions.

Butterfly Invasion

May 2, 2012 | Don Scallen | Blogs | Environment

Twenty times more admirals than normal are moving into the province.

March Madness

Apr 9, 2012 | Don Scallen | Blogs | Environment

The next day spring peepers, chorus frogs and wood frogs heralded the early spring from sylvan pools.

White-Tailed Deer

Mar 17, 2012 | Don Scallen

There are probably more deer now than there were before European settlement.