WHAT’S BETTER THAN AN “ELF ON THE SHELF”? HOW ABOUT AN “ERMINE EATING YOUR VERMIN.” Orangeville residents Kirsten and Carmen Plester have a weasel living in their garage. Kirsten managed to photograph the very curious and seemingly unafraid weasel with her cell phone. The Plesters suspect that this little carnivore has been feeding on mice and Chipmunks. They’re hoping to get another look at it in order to determine whether it is a Long-tailed Weasel, a Short-tailed Weasel or a Least Weasel. It was surprising to find that the best sources of information about these three species of weasel was from websites geared towards fur trappers such as this http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/…/wildlife/trapping/docs/weasel.pdf and http://www.furmanagers.com/#!weasel/czxh FYI: In a 2012 article on Least Weasels by Gilbert PROULX in Canadian Wildlife and Biology Management said “The Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis) is the smallest carnivore of Canada….no ecological studies were conducted on this species….The absence of… Read more »
SATURDAY JANUARY 2ND – SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT More information coming soon about how you can participate in our local count. In the meantime find out more about this 100+ year old citizen science event that occurs all over North America, drug in many European countries and involves thousands of volunteers just like you. http://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count (Ron Jasiuk)
Rock and Roll: Tuesday Night Speaker Series Nov. 24th
Nick Eyles is a U of T geology professor and author of Road Rocks Ontario an illustrated book that highlights 250 geological wonders found in Ontario. Dr Eyles will be speaking about some of the easily accessible geological wonders found in the Headwaters Region.
(by Ron Jasiuk)
