Notes from the Wild

The Georgetown fox family is lucky to be living in an older section of town where yards are spacious and tree filled.

Vernal pools, like coral reefs, are theatres showcasing life and death struggles between prey and predators.

Remarkably, flying squirrels can glide up to 90 metres, though most of their aerial journeys are much shorter.

The reappearance of otters in our hills is a hopeful sign that the capacity of our rivers and landscapes to support wildlife is improving.

Tracks inscribed on snow by unseen animals offer tantalizing multilayered puzzles.

Football-sized bald-faced hornet nests, hanging from branches, are prominent in the winter landscape.

The reasons burls grow on trees are still not fully understood, but infection by viruses, fungus and bacteria are likely causes.

The research into the co-operative nature of trees is in its infancy.

Most of the nocturnal critters my friends and I find are insects, but spiders, millipedes and amphibians also appear in our flashlight beams.

The annual emergence of mayflies, wherever it occurs, brings predictable responses.

This serendipitous meeting with a near-sighted beaver was my favorite type of wildlife encounter!

The abundance of these aquatic larvae in our streams and rivers is a good thing.