Notes from the Wild
Ontario Rattlesnakes and Their Mimics
Jan 8, 2024 |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 |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 |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 |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 |The sweet nectar of liatris ligulistylis is renowned for its ability to lure monarch butterflies to gardens.
Midsummer Pollinator Plants
Aug 8, 2023 |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 |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 |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 |Long-tailed and tiny-legged, these slow moving salamanders face formidable challenges as our urban footprint grows.
Screech Owls
Apr 4, 2023 |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 |As development continues unabated, our growing population and urban footprint will inevitably diminish biodiversity.
Not All Invaders Are Bad
Feb 7, 2023 |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.