A few days ago, on a Hamilton TV channel a news presenter mentioned that he saw a robin.

Today, I saw one here in Waterloo. The first one this season.

Spring is near ...

The sea gulls have been back for a couple of days. Circling high and making their distinctive calls.

Today, another spring visitor was in our backyard: the colorful house finch with its long and distinctive song ...

More signs of spring ...

Today, I saw a small flock of starlings.

Definite sign of spring today ...

It is only March 2nd, with lots of snow on the ground, below zero temperatures are still around, and some more snow yet to fall ...

But signs of springs are already here ...

When I woke up, I heard a male American Goldfinch singing at the top of the tall evergreen in the backyard.

An article about a Manitoba man who died after being attacked by a swarm made it to the CBC today.

The image attached to the article was not that of a wasp though, but rather, a hoverfly. These are dipteras, meaning "two wings", as all other true flies. Also the bulging eyes and very short antennae are very characteristic of all flies.

Prior to European arrival to North Americam wild Turkey was quite common in Eastern North America. As settlement caused habitat loss, combined with hunting of the birds, wild Turkey became extinct in Southern Ontario by the early 1900s.

This article discusses how good video footage is being shot by amateurs. The following high quality macro videography is what caught my eye.

Crayfish are fresh water crustacean that look like a tiny lobster, to which they are closely related. Out of 250 species in the South-East United States, the species Procambarus clarkii, known as Louisiana red swamp crayfish, is the most well known.In places like Louisiana it is farmed commercially and consumed in various dishes.

While beavers are common in Southern Ontario conservation areas, two recent incidents caused controversy because they are right in urban areas.

Beavers on the University of Waterloo campus has gnawed several trees, posing a danger to those who use the trails. The University then paid a trapper to drown the beavers. Four of them were killed that way. There was a public outcry, from the students, as well as Waterloo residents. This caused the university to revise its policy and start a task force headed by the dean of Environmental Studies. Even that task force is being debated.

Desert truffles are an unusual desert crop related to European truffles, found in France and Italy. It can be found in North Africa from Morocco to Egypt, and in Syria, and Arabia.

Names and History

Its classical name is Kama' كمأ - كمأة but today is known as faqa' فقع or by the local variants zubaydi زبيدي -khalasi خلاسي in Arabia, to terfas in Egypt, and terfezia in Morocco.

They have been said to be served for Pharoahs, as well as Fatimid rules from the Muqattam mountain.

It has been known to Arabs for millenia, since the prophet is reported to have said: "Kama' is from manna, and its water is a cure for the [diseases of the] eye".