Burrowing Owls have returned to the prairies after a long migration from their wintering grounds in Texas and Mexico. Breeding season is currently underway for these endangered owls. The female . . .
Burrowing Owls have returned to the prairies after a long migration from their wintering grounds in Texas and Mexico. Breeding season is currently underway for these endangered owls. The female . . .
Posted: Monday, May 10, 2021 11:26
If the pandemic has made you think your home is too small, pity the Canadian species with tiny homes which could be wiped out by climate change. This is the pitch made by The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada or COSEWIC. This independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists has the job of identifying the status of species in Canada and what level of conservation they may require.
COSEWIC recently assessed the status of 26 wildlife species and found 15 of them are threatened by climate change. Among them are two rare lichens living in specialized environments, one of the Pacific coast and one on the Atlantic. The tiny Seaside Centipede Lichen lives only on a narrow strip of western Vancouver Island and nearby islands located off Canada’s west coast. It occurs only on small Sitka Spruce twigs, often on trees near Bald Eagle perches and sea lion haul-outs. In the eastern provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundla
Enjoying bird migration | Desirée Falzon
Bird migration is that spectacular journey many birds make
7 May 2021, 11:45am
Grey Heron. Photo by Aron Tanti
What
Bird migration is that spectacular journey many birds make. Some of these journeys are short – like coming down a mountain to spend winter in the lowlands – and some are seriously, mind-bogglingly long. Whether or not you believe that the pigeon-sized Arctic Tern does a 70,000 km round trip from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back in one year, the facts are there. And undisputed.
Of course, birds don’t take on these feats of endurance for fun, nor even to wow us ground-bound humans. They do it to survive, basically to escape bad weather and to look for milder climes where food is plentiful. It’s a good strategy for survival but the journeys are fraught with dangers, not least some formidable geography – like a sea. Most birds can’t swim so they avoid lengthy sea crossings. Many find a route strewn with islands
When I first visited Mallorca (1990), the Kentish Plover was a bird high on my list to see, and on day two we had gone to the Albufereta Marsh between Puerto Pollensa and Alcudia. I was with my late father and we parked up and started the walk in towards the reserve. I remember the moment as if it were now, the little open field on the right had been tilled and there towards the top end were some little waders scurrying about. They were a pair of Kentish Plovers and I was overjoyed. This was a new species for me and the pictures in the books did not disappoint. Armed with