It is now November; the month of grey skies, rain and cold, and woods that feel empty. Sometimes, though, the sun shines through golden tamaracks, Pine Grosbeaks call softly, and – at that moment – the world seems perfect. The…
We are now only a few days away from closing the nets, taking them down, and storing them for the winter. Another season is coming to an end. It is not just the Gregorian calendar telling it so, but the…
Wind is still a major force in our lives here at Cabot Head: in the last six days (as of this writing on October 17), it has prevented banding for three days, and forced us to close nets two hours…
It was a black and stormy… well, week! Windstorms have pounded the Bruce Peninsula for several days over the last week, impeding migration and banding alike. From October 4 to 11, there were four days with winds too strong to…
No doubt remains possible, there can be no more lingering thoughts of Summer, and no more daily dips in Wingfield Basin: Autumn has arrived and is now here to stay! A fire has been lit in the wood stove of…
The defining characteristic of the last week has been the very unsettled weather. The Fall Equinox, September 21, was marked by an intense windstorm. Very strong winds from the South, at first, later shifting to West and increasing, blew all…
This morning, September 19, the North wind blew across a deep blue sky, empty of clouds. There was a chill in the air, hinting of what is to come. Many skeins of Canada Geese were traversing the horizons en route…
In the first ten days of September, warblers have continued to move through on their way to their wintering grounds. Diversity has been high, notably on September 2, when 11 warbler species were detected. There was certainly a good movement…
Inexorably, the days are getting shorter, the nights cooler, the sky emptier. Little by little, we are saying goodbye to the forest gems who enliven our woods with their songs and brilliant plumage. Migration of the wood warblers is now…
As I wrote these lines, on the afternoon of August 21st, a heavy rain falls relentlessly on the grateful Earth. The rain has started mid-morning, forcing me to hurriedly close the nets, after the slowest morning of the season so…
