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Bird Day Ottawa was a great success this year, drawing close to a thousand people in the Ottawa-Gatineau area to Nature Canada’s annual bird and wildlife event. There were crafts for kids, live falcon demonstrations, and guided nature walks throughout the day. Bird Day is an event dedicated to celebrating nature, getting people excited about nature in their NatureHoods and connecting people – especially kids – to the nature all around them. Here are our top three reasons for celebrating nature in your NatureHood. Discover something new about your neighbourhood! Each guided nature walk at Bird Day revealed a different set of species and a variety of habitats. Depending on the time of day and the season, you will likely see a different… read more →
The Gray Catbird, known in French as Moqueur chat, is a champion mimicker that can make an ordinary bush sound like it’s hiding 5 or 6 different species simultaneously. As you might think, the Catbird gets its name from the cat-like “mew” call it often makes. Each week we introduce a new bird from the Ottawa-Gatineau area through our segment on CBC Radio’s In Town and Out. Alex MacDonald, Nature Canada’s Manager of Protected Areas, shares interesting facts about the birds that live in our communities. Be sure to tune-in to “Bird Tweet of the Week” on CBC Radio One 91.5 FM on Saturday mornings from 6am to 9am and listen to past episodes on our website This episode aired… read more →
In the 17th century, Lord Baltimore, the first Governor of the Province of Maryland, had a coat of arms that featured the orange and black colours we associate with the Baltimore Oriole. Coincidentally, this species’ breeding range is around the area of Baltimore, Maryland as well. Each week we introduce a new bird from the Ottawa-Gatineau area through our segment on CBC Radio’s In Town and Out. Alex MacDonald, Nature Canada’s Manager of Protected Areas, shares interesting facts about the birds that live in our communities. Be sure to tune-in to “Bird Tweet of the Week” on CBC Radio One 91.5 FM on Saturday mornings from 6am to 9am and listen to past episodes on our website This episode aired… read more →
The Warbling Vireo, known in French as Viréo mélodieux, is a very vocal bird that sings regularly throughout the day in order to defend its nesting territory. Its melody sounds somewhat like a wind-up toy. Each week we introduce a new bird from the Ottawa-Gatineau area through our segment on CBC Radio’s In Town and Out. Alex MacDonald, Nature Canada’s Manager of Protected Areas, shares interesting facts about the birds that live in our communities. Be sure to tune-in to “Bird Tweet of the Week” on CBC Radio One 91.5 FM on Saturday mornings from 6am to 9am and listen to past episodes on our website This episode aired on Saturday June 14, 2014.
The Grasshopper Sparrow is considered a rare songbird in our Ottawa region. It prefers to nest and feed in large, open grassland areas, which limits the places where you may encounter this species locally. Each week we introduce a new bird from the Ottawa-Gatineau area through our segment on CBC Radio’s In Town and Out. Alex MacDonald, Nature Canada’s Manager of Protected Areas, shares interesting facts about the birds that live in our communities. Be sure to tune-in to “Bird Tweet of the Week” on CBC Radio One 91.5 FM on Saturday mornings from 6am to 9am and listen to past episodes on our website This episode aired on Saturday June 7, 2014.
Today marks the 42nd year that the world has celebrated World Environment Day! The UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), the coordinator of WED, organizes several events to encourage us to raise awareness about the environment worldwide. These events include taking the annual challenge, contests, and leading your own clean-up campaign. The main idea is to do something- anything, that makes a positive impact to the earth. Each year, the United Nations comes up with a different theme for this day. This year, the slogan is “Raise your voice, not the sea level” with the theme of small islands and climate change. In honour of WED, here are 10 simple tips from the Nature Canada staff on how to make our… read more →
[This blog post is part 2 of a 2-part series. Part 1 can be found here] So it’s Canada Environment Week — did you know? More importantly, did you know that in mid-May the federal government made a significant commitment to conservation in Canada? Notwithstanding what’s missing, the National Conservation Plan does promise $20 million/year and $10 million/year investments in the Nature Conservancy of Canada (for ecologically sensitive areas) and wetland restoration, respectively, which is very positive. It’s fair to question how these investments will help to connect all Canadians to nature, however, since they seem to be focused on protecting private lands, instead of lands (not waters) that will be publicly owned and accessible, or located in or near large population… read more →
[This blog post is part 1 of a 2-part series. Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2] So it’s Canada Environment Week — did you know? More importantly, did you know that in mid-May the federal government made a significant commitment to conservation in Canada? That’s right. On May 15th, just days before the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity (May 22), the federal government released its long-awaited National Conservation Plan. Though the details are still unclear, the Plan promises to invest $252-million over the next five years in Conserving Canada’s lands and waters, restoring Canada’s ecosystems and Connecting Canadians to nature. This is a positive achievement and it’s one that we at Nature Canada generally applaud. For a long time, we… read more →
This tiny bird is actually a long-distance migrant that spends its winters in Central America. The Ruby-throated hummingbird can beat its wings more than 50 times a second! Each week we introduce a new bird from the Ottawa-Gatineau area through our segment on CBC Radio’s In Town and Out. Alex MacDonald, Nature Canada’s Manager of Protected Areas, shares interesting facts about the birds that live in our communities. Be sure to tune-in to “Bird Tweet of the Week” on CBC Radio One 91.5 FM on Saturday mornings from 6am to 9am and listen to past episodes on our website This episode aired on Saturday May 31, 2014.
This blog post was written by Jodi Joy, Director of Development. Have you ever had a nature moment? It could be the appearance of a hummingbird in your garden, sunlight filtering through maple leaves during a hike, or the glimpse of a chipmunk chirping away? It’s one of those moments that lifts your spirits for a minute, takes you away from your busy thoughts and makes you smile from your soul. You connect with nature in that moment, and understand how beautiful and important it is to all of us. It’s hard to imagine a world without these moments, and why Nature Canada works every day to make sure they keep happening. We do so by protecting forests and lakes,… read more →