Gavan P.L. Watson
In my dissertation, I take some time to talk about the use and adoption of recently-available technologies (specifically digital cameras to take pictures of birds, nexrad radar to predict migration and the Internet to [...]
Haines Ferry Terminal, Haines, Alaska
I had just pulled the van into the ferry queue and stepped outside when they arrived: from the tree-tops of the nearby Pacific Northwest temperate rain forest, two Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus) glided and landed on the asphalt beside me. Hopping to a stop and quickly re-arranging their wings, they [...]
photo credit: Jim Frazier
Research published in Vol. 126, Iss. 3, pg. 579 of The Auk has some interesting implications for habitat conservation for migrating bird species here in eastern North America. In short, during [...]
I’m in the process of culling my photo collection and came across my collection of bird & birding vanity plates taken last year in the Point Pelee National Park parking lot.
Thanks to Flickr member mikebaird for sharing the DCC photo with a creative commons license.
A just-published paper suggests that Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Great Lakes may swallow stones to reduce the number of parasitic nematodes–and in so doing, are self-medicating. Many birds ingest [...]
The past two days in Toronto have been warmer than normal, leading to a large snow melt and the promise of spring (and I know it’s a tease, but it’s a nice break from what has felt like an especially cold winter). With spring comes the return of migratory birds, so this research [...]
If you’ve ever spent time watching House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), you might have noticed just how, well, squabbly they can be. Just today, I was out walking the dog, and a group of three came screaming (in flight and in sound) out from a [...]
I went to the book launch of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America yesterday (pictured on the left) and I was struck by a couple of design decisions that I think are a bit peculiar. While my caveat emptor is that I spent about 5 minutes leafing through it, two [...]
Birds migrate at night. Bird tend to flock together.
These two disseparate facts have been recently weaved together to suggest that birds migrate at night in flocks. What I find interesting here is the suggestion that these flock are “loose”–not the tight configurations visible in the preceding video of starlings flying in a flock–birds [...]
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 [...]
About me
I am an education researcher and practitioner, with a focus on higher education and the environment. I consider myself, above all, a naturalist. I'm the pack-mate of two border terriers. I live within the Speed River Watershed in Guelph, Ontario. 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.
Oh, and the opinions expressed here are wholly my own.
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