What’s going on out on the land?
Osprey and headless fish at Bishop Mac
I went out to Bishop Mac with my pal Tamara to practice trailing Deer and Coyotes but when we got there we watched an adult Osprey fly in with a Goldfish and land atop a nest. We watched as the adult leaned over the brim and two small Osprey heads emerged. Almost as soon as the Osprey had arrived they took off again with the Goldfish still in their talons. We both thought this was strange…
Whose Nests Are These? (Ground Nests)
Three small descriptions of finding different ground nests. I offer them as a game. I do not name the birds in the three accounts but offer images of the nests themselves and some features of the eggs and the nest sites. See if you can use the clues I leave to figure out whose nest is whose?
Rock Dove Kill site?
I was on my morning walk along the riverside when up the path I came across a large pile of feathers.
I love how a simple walk in the morning, just to get out of the house can turn into a chance to really look at the details of a killsite and study the gaits of the possible predators, and look at the structure of a feather. What amazing teachers these wild neighbours are.
Red Tail Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis)
I love Red-Tailed Hawks (RTHA). They are commonly seen, in the midst of peak migration (mid November) and are pretty accessible birds to learn about. They hang out near people and fun to watch perched by the road, or soaring high above.
Here is a first species entry of, hopefully, many more to come. The Legendarium continues!
Truffles and the Muskrat Pond
I was sitting on top of the root dome, looking down over the shelf, peering into the soft muddy substrates below me while folks were figuring the story of the tracks out. While they investigated further, I looked around on top of where I was and was grateful that I did as I realized that I had narrowly avoided putting my hand in a moderate pile of Raccoon scat.
Tracking Cooper’s Hawks along the Etobicoke Creek
I was exploring the northwestern end of the Etobicoke Creek trail on July 14th when I made my way into an Eastern White Pine plantation edging a creekside forest on the other side of the trail I was on. Near the opening of the trail I found a Robin carcass missing the head.