THE BUTTERFLY MAN by Barney Moorhouse In the late 1990s I attended an Outdoor Writers Conference in Waterloo, Ontario. I had signed up for a photographic excursion to see some of the more interesting sites and hoped to pick up some tips to improve my craft. I was summoned by an announcement to meet one […]
LOONS DECREASE Researchers are saying that the loons’ reproductive success has declined since the 1960s and that decrease correlates directly with the quality of water in the Great Lakes. “Loons are really good indicators of the health of the aquatic ecosystem,” said Kristin Bianchini, a researcher at Birds Canada and Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. […]
PROJECT FEEDER WATCH T’is that time of year once again when you can enjoy watching the birds at your feeders while remaining in the warmth of your home; perhaps with a cup of hot cocoa? By joining Project Feeder Watch you can assist the folks at Birds Canada and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology […]
HATS FOR HIDES Here we go again. Sounds like a song. In 1974 the then Ministry of Natural Resources began the Hats For Hides initiative that encouraged hunters to donate harvested hides for use by indigenous craft folk. In exchange for the hides hunters received hunter orange hats and crests. It helped keep hides out […]
LET THEM EAT DIRT Recent research from the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station (AWRS) tells us that Painted and Snapping turtle hatchlings were found eating, intentionally it would appear, a lot of their nesting substrate, including sand and vermiculite. Geophagy – the consumption of hard objects with no caloric value – is widespread in the animal […]
MANDATORY HUNTER REPORTING Introduced in 2019 mandatory hunter reporting is employed by the MNRF to assist in managing Ontario’s wildlife. The data helps to monitor wildlife populations, to set tag quotas and determine the availability of additional tags, adjust seasons, bag limits and develop management policies. Any hunter who bought or was issued a tag […]
RABID DEER? American articles about deer suffering from rabies inspired a query to the MNRF concerning deer in Ontario. Here is what I learned. The most common rabies vector species in Ontario are raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. Although rabies in white-tailed deer is rare, any mammal can be infected with the disease, including humans, […]
SMELLY SOCKS In 2012 scientists started a study of silver nanoparticles in the water at the federal Experimental Lakes Area of Ontario. In 2013 there was a delay as the existence of this facility was uncertain. However, with the decision to continue the ELA the study also continued. Silver nanoparticles are used in some socks, […]
ABOUT LOONS Much of this information is provided by Kathy Jones (Volunteer Manager, Ontario Programs and the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey) and Dr. Doug Tozer (Director, Waterbirds and Wetlands), Birds Canada. Should your memory be flickering, Tozer’s father Ron was an Algonquin Park Naturalist and his mother Pat a founding General Manager of The Friends […]
NEW MOOSE DETAILS A new point-based system will be implemented and replace the former draw system for the 2021 moose hunt. The MNRF will look at a hunter’s data as far back as 1993. A point will be awarded for each year that a hunter applied, unsuccessfully, for an adult moose tag. The points will […]
