Nature

Today, I saw the most bizarre thing.

But first, a backgrounder: here in Southern Ontario, there are two types of day time squirrels: the larger grey squirrel, and the tiny red squirrel. What the latter lacks in size, he makes for it by being very aggressive towards the larger greys, often chasing them off from several backyards at a time. The reds also object to humans being present by chattering in a bird like manner.

So what happened today?

For the first time in 10 years, I saw today an adult male yellow warbler.

Because of the stunningly bright yellow color, I thought at first that it is an American Goldfinch. But moving closer, it was apparent this is different bird. A bit smaller, lacking the bold black marking of the goldfinch, and having prominent streaks on the breast. It was inside a bush, well hidden, and had it not flew from another tree into the nearby bush, I would not have noticed it.

Encouraging news for wildlife and nature enthusiasts.

Grey whales, once hunted to near extinction have appeared in two new places, far apart.

One was in downtown Vancouver, and the other is in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Hope this is a sign of less pollution and that conservation efforts are working.

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.

Ants and Bees from youdiejoe on Vimeo.

Hover flies, Bees, and more, camel spider and mantis from Lucasberg on Vimeo.