Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor tells a story. I had some great chance discoveries of birds when I was a kid. During the past five or more years, however, my best bird identifications have involved some hide and seek. Another …
Self-tutoring about local birds: the tutor notices, for the first time, a red-tailed hawk. Red-tailed hawks are summer residents of most parts of Canada, but live year-round on Vancouver Island as well as in extreme southern BC, Ontario, and Quebec. …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor mentions the barn owl. Barn owls inhabit every continent save Antarctica. However, their Canadian range is quite small: extreme southern Ontario and southwestern BC. I saw a barn owl on Mainland BC: as I rounded …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor mentions ravens and crows. Maybe 10 days ago, out walking, I heard some crows making a fuss. They were on the ground nearby, maybe eight of them, but I couldn’t tell what the fuss was …
Self-tutoring about crows: the tutor mentions the different kinds in Canada. To quote a boxing coach I knew many years ago – a very good instructor, btw – I’m not getting any younger. He reflected that when I was 30 …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor discusses jays in Canada. When I was around four, we moved to a house my father had built on the edge of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The forest began behind us, our lot barely cleared. I …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor tells of discovering a merlin. I’ve known for a few months that one or more falcons frequent the skies around here: I’ve been noticing unpredictable flight patterns by birds larger than a swallow, and pointed …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor mentions a chance sighting of a northern gannet. Northern gannets are handsome birds, with very distinct eye, beak, and head. They also have black wing tips. If you notice one from shore, it’s easy to …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor recalls a remarkable sighting. Although they live here, I haven’t seen a cedar waxwing out west. They’re yellow with a black mask across the eyes. I was aware of cedar waxwings as a kid and …
Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor reflects about the black-billed cuckoo. We often hear of cuckoo birds in folk culture, but do they even live in Canada? Yes, two varieties do: the yellow-billed and the black-billed. The black-billed cuckoo certainly lived …