mid-summer-birding-roundup
Louise Beckinsale
The Gilligallou Mid-Summer Round Up

Well, here we are nearing the middle of the summer months.  With enough rain to drown a beaver, wildlife is abundant and active as ever as there is plenty of natural food available! With numerous sightings of deer fawns, bears and a variety of other critters flowing in from folks who visit us in the […]

when-do-birds-conserve-energy
Louise Beckinsale
When Birds Choose to Conserve Energy Rather Than Expend It

Life in the wild and the life many of us are accustomed to are two very different variations on living.  While we certainly need to take care of a number of things to survive each and every day of our lives, we have evolved in a way that allows us to live a much more […]

 

american-goldfinch-in-summer
Louise Beckinsale
Where Do All the American Goldfinch Go?

The colours of spring (now officially Summer) are vibrant and give us a renewed sense of being as we watch the ecosystem around us transform into lush vegetation and new life.  In addition to the green and myriad of colours found in wooded areas and our gardens, we are also treated to the spirited colouring […]

 

scarlet-tanager
Louise Beckinsale
How Climate Change is Threatening Some of Our Favourite Spring Birds here in Canada

Image: Scarlet Tanager via Flickr One of the first signs of spring to many of us is the calming chorus of songbirds belting out their familiar tunes from the treetops above. But what if suddenly some of those songs disappeared? According to a recent study by researchers from the Department of Ocean Sciences at Memorial […]

 

Louise Beckinsale
Spring Spotlight – The Northern Parula

With such an exotic sounding name, many would expect this bird to be of Latin descent, hailing from the warm tropics of central or south America. While it does make its winter home throughout the Caribbean and parts of Mexico and Central America, this small warbler is anything but exotic in our neck of the […]

 

hummingbird-map-2017
Louise Beckinsale
The Hummingbirds Are Here!

In addition to some leftover April showers, the month of May is looking to promise to bring us something else – in addition to the inevitable flowers. As we embark deeper into the spring, many of us have begun to notice the arrival of many of our spring and summer songbirds as they vie for […]

swans-during-spring-mating-season
Louise Beckinsale
3 Ways Your Backyard Birds Are Trying to Attract a Mate This Spring

  Love is certainly in the air this time of the year for our backyard birds.  As more and more of our summer residents continue to arrive here in the Ottawa area, we are treated to lovely spring mornings filled with fluttering birds and their accompanying songs. As we progress into the month of May, […]

 

fox-sparrow
Louise Beckinsale
How to Spot a Fox Sparrow This Spring

A hearty sparrow that calls the northern portion of much of Canada and most of British Columbia home for the summer breeding season now might be the best time to catch a glimpse of one heading through the Ottawa area. Making their way north from their wintering grounds scattered throughout the southern United States and […]