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Notes from the Wild

Ontario Rattlesnakes and Their Mimics

Jan 8, 2024 | Don Scallen

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

Three Species That Ontario Has Lost

Dec 6, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Walking Sticks

Nov 6, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Caterpillars Darwin Would Love

Oct 12, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

A Monarch Magnet

Sep 5, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Midsummer Pollinator Plants

Aug 8, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Carnivorous Plants

Jul 4, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Wonderful Warblers

Jun 15, 2023 | Don Scallen

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.

Streamside Salamanders

May 3, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

Screech Owls

Apr 4, 2023 | Don Scallen

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

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.