I would have liked a bit more time between Boston and Rondeau, but no dice. So I’ve been spending this week getting prepared for next, editing book reviews for the CJEE and getting ready for my next gig. It’s been–and will continue to be–a busy spring. I’ll be back in Toronto May 11th for three night before I’m off to direct the Camp Arowhon Outdoor Centre. Ollie gets to come with me to camp, so that should be fun (and Heather gets a break looking after the dog).
OK, back to work–tonight’s task? Clean the desk so I can find my “research in provincial parks” permission form. Whoops!
Without making this post into a reminiscence about my youth and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, I am off to Austin, Texas tomorrow with my supervisor (Dr. Leesa Fawcett) to assist with a research project on animal minds. We’re going to be interviewing Dr. Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International (a non-profit whose mission you should be able to deduce from its name), among other bat researchers and bat enthusiasts in the Austin area.
As far as travelling in Texas, I’ve only been to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. So, I get to have a bit of an adventure, too. Austin is supposed to be a great place to visit, so I’m pleased that its the first real place that I’ll have a chance to explore in Texas1. Leesa and I have congruent interests in so far as what counts as fun, so with the little free time we have, we’re going to be busy exploring the natural history of the area. I posted a question on MetaFilter, and I’ve got some good leads on places to check out.
I’m going to schlep my camera equipment, so I hope I get some interesting opportunities for photographs–who knows, of bats perhaps!
the fact that its supposed to be in the high twenties / low thirties will help, too [↩]
Urban birds that nest in wooded areas don’t do as well (reproductively-speaking) as their non-urban counterparts. Conventional wisdom suggested that this was because of the presence of more egg-eating predators (eating bird eggs, obviously) in urban settings. New research suggests, however, that it might have more to do with fitter (larger, older) birds preferring (and getting) larger, non-disturbed wooded areas:
Urban areas attracted lower-quality birds which, compared to those in rural areas, arrived later in the spring, left earlier in the fall, made fewer nesting attempts and were much less likely to return to nesting spots from year to year.
Acadian flycatchers (Empidonax virescens) were the bird species studied, and it would seem that the urban flycatchers managed to raise one young versus two in the case of the non-urban flycatchers. Knowing just what makes these urban spaces unappealing to these birds is unknown. The brown headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a nest parasite–meaning that it lays eggs in another species’ nest and lets those birds raise the cowbird’s young–and is suggested as perhaps playing a role here. Urban nests were two times more likely to be parasitized than rural ones.
I'm a PhD student who works in the fields of environmental education, environmental philosophy and animal studies. I research peoples' relationships with the natural world. I consider myself, above all, a naturalist. I'm the pack-mate of two border terriers. I live in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto. I enjoy photography. I lead nature tours across North America. I teach courses on Natural History. I likely spend too much time on the Internet.
