Species of the Month

Species of the Month, September 2022: Monarch Butterfly 
by Adam Timpf
I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everybody is familiar with this black-and-orange migratory butterfly that winters in Mexico, and its association with native Milkweeds as the larval host plant here in Ontario.  Sometimes people mistake the

Species of the Month, August 2022: Field Thistle
by Basil Conlin
I wake up early on a humid mid-July morning, my eyes opening as soon as the first robins start singing. I rush downstairs to the front garden because last night it was almost ready. This is the moment I’ve

Species of the Month, July 2022: Moth Nights in Norfolk
by Mary Gartshore
In the 70s I was travelling north in Nigeria when I met a Polish scientist who counted the numbers and species of moths coming to his porch light every night. Decades later I am still impressed

Species of the Month, June 2022: Bumble Bees
by Dr. Victoria MacPhail, Research Associate, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University
June is International Pollinator Month and so it’s a great time to focus on my favourite pollinators – the bumble bees! These cute fuzzy bees are probably our

Species of the Month, May 2022: Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus)
by Mary Gartshore
 
A friend and fellow naturalist yawns in the morning sun as I pass him a cup of coffee. “So where is the off-switch for your whip-poor-will.” One of the pleasures of sleeping outdoors in Norfolk’s summer is the

Species of the Month, April 2022: Spring Frogs
by Mary Gartshore
 
April and the first frogs are singing. Male frogs sing to direct others to breeding ponds, advertise to females and compete to mate. The previous fall, frogs have held territories and built-up reserves. The first wave includes Western

During their winter in Port Dover in 1669-1670, the Sulpian priests Dollier  and Galinee made wine from wild grapes as large and sweet as the finest in France. Today a landscape of tidy vineyards, in rolling countryside epitomizes wine tourism from France to Tasmania.  Yet, in a natural forest one’s

Species of the Month, January 2022: Sandhill Cranes
by Mary Gartshore
Sandhills are arriving daily, foraging in fields of harvested grain, building their reserves for their continued journey southwards. Everywhere we can hear their distinctive calls. But until recently this spectacular avian event was not so. Sandhill Cranes are restocking

Species of the Month, October 2021: Norfolk Road Asters
by Mary Gartshore
A few years back a photographer called me and asked: “Are asters flowering yet down there in Norfolk?” Norfolk is blessed with many species of asters but I will focus on those visible on roadsides.

Asters include

Species of the Month, September 2021: Fascinating Fungus
by Inga Hinnerichsen
The good, the bad and the ugly…
and the weird and the wonderful, too
Enter the mysterious world of fungi, or at least, get a tiny scratch at the surface of this huge Kingdom. There are at least an