Gilligallou's Blog — winter birding

If you live in the north-eastern portion of North America, you likely experienced a touch of the polar vortex that sent thermometers crashing over the past couple of days. Here in Almonte, we experienced temperatures with a wind chill of roughly minus 44 degrees Celsius. That being said, there were a number of us who […]  

Voted as one of bird watchers favourite winter birds by Birds & Blooms magazine, the dark-eyed junco is a common and energetic sparrow that is a delight to behold. These birds can be found throughout the continent of North America, stretching from sea to sea and covering most of the northern portion of the continent. […]  

The 19th edition of the Great Backyard Bird Count kicks off on Friday, as birders around the world head record various sightings and report them back to count organizers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. As exciting as these counts already can be, this year’s count is expected to be a little bit special. In […]  

Given the time of year, we turn to a migrating species that will soon become highly visible in most of southern Canada and the northern United States. The Northern Shrike is a highly predatory songbird, often killing more prey, when possible, than it can immediately eat or feed to their young. These birds will, however, […]