Jenn Bailey is reaching out to see if Headwaters Nature members might enjoy helping her with snake monitoring at Island Lake. Ontario Nature is her partner, while the Upper Grand District School Board supports and funds the research. Jenn Bailey is a long-time friend of our youngest and was a star pupil in a Summer Outdoor Education Teacher Certification course I helped teach several years ago. She is now the outdoor education teacher at the Island Lake Centre for the Upper Grand School Board. The centre is one of a dwindling number of such experiential nature programmes in the province. She is excellent in many ways. The survey involves checking under 24 boards for snakes, though we may find nothing. Any snakes, other reptiles, or amphibians we locate must be recorded. Tasks include: * identifying any herps we find * photographing reptiles and amphibians (for snakes, top and side of… Read more »
I would like to offer another iNaturalist free training workshop on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026, from 7:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. in Orangeville. I will send the specific location as well as a reading list to those who RSVP to me. Bring a camera, any special lenses you have, a tripod if one is required to do careful focusing by your camera and lenses, a notebook, a laptop or tablet or smartphone, and questions. I have several tripods you can borrow. Or just come, although the more you attempt the more I believe you’ll learn. If you do not have an iNaturalist account, I’ll suggest that you set one up ahead of time. They are free, and it takes only a couple of minutes to get your account basically established. Go to https://www.inaturalist.ca/ I will send those who RSVP to me a short reading list that might take you half… Read more »
For anyone interested in learning more about issues of overlooking female bird song, read on! Female Bird Song (from The Guardian) or here: Female Bird Song (from Audubon From the above Audubon article: “Lend an Ear The Female Bird Song Project, run by Odom and collaborators, began recruiting birders to catalog the vocal ranges of female birds in 2017. Whether females sing remains a mystery in 3,500 songbird species, and for those 660 species known to sing, good recordings are often absent. As audio files have trickled in, about 25 percent uploaded so far are a first, as verified by experts. Recordings will help experts understand the evolutionary forces that pushed both sexes to sing, as well as revise birders’ expectations. To participate, record video or audio of a female bird’s song and upload your data to the apps eBird or Xeno-Canto with the phrase “Contributed for the Female Bird Song Project:… Read more »
