How The Birds Got Their Colours
At first all the birds were white, And Eagle was their Chief. All the birds had a meeting. They decided to paint each other.
Birds
Counting Birds This Christmas
I was not sure what to expect for my first Christmas Bird Count, a few winters ago. For someone who, back then, didn’t know her birds…
A Bird With Many Names
If you have been camping this year, was your picnic table visited by a Gray Jay, a Canada Jay, a Whiskeyjack or a Camp Robber? The answer is almost certainly, yes.
Let’s Build A Better Future For Waterfowl
Wetlands are vital for waterfowl reproduction. Unfortunately, encroachment by industry and humans is harmful.
Learn to identify a bird (or 10) this summer!
The Yukon has more than 300 species of birds. How many can you identify? You’d be surprised what you can do with binoculars and a bird guide.
It’s Time for Birds! 37th Yukon Birdathon
In spring &, the Yukon comes alive with birds. The 24-hour birdfest, always held at the end of May, runs this year May 27/28 2022.
Canada Jays love their kibble!
The Canada Jays love their kibble!
They are especially happy when I keep them company while they eat it.
Wildlife photos: Boreal chickadees
We have a family of four Boreal chickadees that spend their days travelling between our feeders and the nearby trees. They seem to love peanuts best, especially when it gets real cold. Photos taken by Steve Wilson with a Nikon D7200.
The joys and surprises of the annual birdathon
Saturday, May 29, birders will head out to identify as many different species as they can. They’re encouraged to go by their own power – foot, bike or paddle.
Yukon Swallow and Bats on Farmlands
For the past two years, Maria Leung and team have been studying a few swallow species in and around farmlands in Yukon, namely Barn Swallow, Bank Swallow, Rusty Blackbird, and Little Brown Bat, with the support of local farmers and landowners.
A chance on winter
The process of watching, listening and trying to identify a bird will help you remember that species, and perhaps that particular bird, forever.
Green talk with the Yukon Conservation Society
Evolving out of the old tradition of a Boxing Day bird hunt, where people competed to see who could shoot the most birds while walking off their Christmas feasts, birds have officially been counted, and the numbers compiled, by the American Audubon Society, since 1900.
What we can learn from the passing of the passenger pigeon
On Sept 1, 1914, the passenger pigeon went extinct. Considering the bird’s once-plentiful population, have we learned anything from this.
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
Some extremely heavy frost made for a beautiful backdrop for our family of resident Canada jays.
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
The colder temperatures have made it a busy time in and around our bird feeders.
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
A small flock of Eurasian Collared Doves showed up in downtown Whitehorse at the end of November. They are not seen around Whitehorse very often. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you …
Christmas bird counts are fun for kids too
Julie Bauer loves birding with kids. The-long-time Haines Junction resident and birder is leading Canada’s most northerly Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for Kids on Dec. 14. The unique event is part of an international citizen science program for monitoring and conserving birds.
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
A flock of about 200 Bohemian waxwings showed up at Yukon College on November 18, 2019. They arrived hungry and took turns eating up most of the mountain ash berries. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s …
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
This young belted kingfisher is trying to convince its parent that it was mealtime at Annie Lake. The reason its beak is always open is because it never stopped squawking. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s …
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
Tree Swallow feeding its babies at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve June 28, 2019 Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
When I checked in during the late summer, the young Robert Service Eagles had left the nest and these two seem to be doing very well. They have no problem defending their fish from a very bold raven on a gravel bar on the Yukon River just upstream from the SS Klondike. Camera: Nikon D7200 …
Living With Wildlife – Robert Stitt
The narrows between Nares Lake, and Bennett Lake host a great diversity of waterfowl in spring. On a May trip I photographed this Greater White Fronted Goose, the day previous there was a flock of 50 of them. This pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye are in the process of pairing up prior to nesting. Camera: Nikon D3100 …
The Joy of Northern Kleptoparasiticpredation
There are two sides to every story, sometimes more. Entry-level journalism students are taught, ad nauseum, by wizened old editors to strive to present both, or all of these sides, to their readers in order to honour the elusive literary gold standard called “objectivity.” Of course, there is an opposing viewpoint which proclaims that objective …
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
A family of Horned Grebes having breakfastat the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
This photo of a Belted Kingfisher was taken near Annie Lake, just before it did a major dive into the water. I didn’t see if it came up with a fish because it flew away too quick. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images …
Living With Wildlife – Dagmar Rudzewitsch
This adorable fledgling flycatcher frequented our campsite up in Dawson. On first sight I named it Scruffy, but by the time we left it was less deserving of the name. Camera: Pentax KP [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on …
Living With Wildlife – Murray Martin
Birds who flock together, stay together. It’s feeding time at the Martin household … for the birds, that is. [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Catch the action in Teslin
With its northwest orientation, Teslin Lake is considered a sort of bird funnel, directing birds south during fall migration. Many migrating birds are attracted to the lakeshore near the mouth of 10-Mile Creek. So many that a seasonal bird banding and monitoring station—the Teslin Lake Bird Observatory—was started there in 2005.
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
Juncos are tough to photograph. The are small, nervous, constantly moving and they seem to like hanging in the shade! I finally got a few photos that are pretty good. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on …
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
April 28 marked the return of the sparrows to Golden Horn. All three of these guys, white-capped, red fox and tree sparrows, showed up this morning and have been hanging out all day. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of …
Living With Wildlife – Steve Wilson
A nice flock of Redpolls visited us in February and hung around until the snow began to melt. Camera: Nikon D7200 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
I found this flock of grouse on the road. They were picking up freshly-laid coarse sand that had been put down for tire traction on hills. There were nine of them! When I stopped, four flew away, but after a few minutes, all of them came back. When my hands started freezing, I decided to …
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
It’s always a pleasant surprise when some crossbills come to visit our deck in Golden Horn. Camera: Nikon Coolpix L840 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
A pair of Canada Jays took a break from eating to enjoy a bit of sunshine. Camera: Nikon Coolpix B500 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
This male Downy Woodpecker showed up on December 23 while we were doing our Christmas Bird Count. I was so happy that we had something a little less common to report. Camera: Nikon Coolpix B500 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s …
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
Is there a better way to decorate a tree for the holidays? Seasons greetings from the Pine Grosbeaks in Golden Horn! Camera: Nikon Coolpix B500 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon widlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected][/box]
Living With Wildlife: Adam Skrutkowski
During early January’s cold spell, a chickadee needs to fluff its down feathers to insulate itself. I captured this brave bird outdoors on January 9, 2019. Camera: Fujifilm Finepix HS50 EXR, F5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO800 [box] We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s …
Counting birds is a social affair
The International Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is Dec. 14 – Jan 5. last year (2017) saw 12 in The Yukon from Watson Lake to the Tombstones.
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Living With Wildlife by Steve Wilson Chickadees are the perfect Yukon bird. The crappier the weather, the happier they seem to be. Camera: Nikon …
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Living With Wildlife by Steve Wilson Driving into Whitehorse on the south access, just past the Robert Service Campground, I had to stop and …
Living With Wildlife: Tim Green
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Living With Wildlife by Tim Green The eagles of Rabbit’s Foot Canyon perch at the top of the Eagle Cliffs between the entrance to …
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Living With Wildlife by Steve Wilson Here is a photo of a raven trying to get as close as possible to the sun this …
What’s on the river? – A winter warm-up to the Christmas Bird Count
It’s snowy and cold outside, and most of the Yukon’s migratory birds, such as swans, pretty yellow warblers, ducks and shorebirds, have long fled the territory. There’s always a few species, however, that linger. A favoured habitat for some of these birds is the Yukon River, just below the Rotary Centennial Bridge (“blue bridge”) near …
What’s on the river? – A winter warm-up to the Christmas Bird Count Read More »
Feeding our feathered friends … do it for joy, and do it for science
It’s winter—time to check out the bird feeders and stock up on “fast food” for our feathered friends. A huge variety of bird feeders are available in local stores or can be made easily from milk jugs or cartons. The cheerful black-capped chickadee is the most frequently reported “feeder bird” in the Yukon and in …
Feeding our feathered friends … do it for joy, and do it for science Read More »
A bird’s-eye view
Whether it’s for the annual bike race or a fishing holiday, Yukoners love Haines. The small southeast-Alaska port is a special destination for many. Come fall, the arrival of thousands of American Bald Eagles, in the nearby Chilkat River Valley, offers another reason to visit. From October to January, between two- and four-thousand bald eagles …
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Living With Wildlife by Steve Wilson Gray jays, a.k.a. Canada jays, visiting our deck on Duncan Drive in the Golden Horn subdivision. We somehow …
Superbirds (a.k.a. ornithology, a.k.a. birdlore)
This quiet, reserved and thoughtful corner of the year-round Yukon has gone to the birds this week, namely Arctic terns, the all-time migratory champions, not only of the bird kingdom but also the entire non-human animal world, including bugs and butterflies. You won’t believe what you are about to read but, first, you have to …
Superbirds (a.k.a. ornithology, a.k.a. birdlore) Read More »
Living With Wildlife: Jeremy McCoy
Captured this beautiful juvenile bald eagle at my favorite spot along McIntyre Creek.
Living With Wildlife: Don Graham
This is what happens when you put fish heads on a lake shore cabin roof.
Living With Wildlife: Philip Doehler
This little beauty watched me when I hiked up a hill by Schwatka Lake in Whitehorse. Lovely spot and there is always wildlife to admire.
Living With Wildlife – Denise Paré
On Sunday, Feb. 10, a few Bohemian waxwings discovered there were still edible berries in the honeysuckle and cotoneaster bushes in our Riverdale yard.Early the next morning, a small flock of waxwings showed up and settled high in our fir tree, soaking up the sun and eating snow. They soon started to visit all the …
Living With Wildlife: Steve Wilson
Here are two photos of a male pine grosbeak in our backyard on Duncan Drive in the Golden Horn Subdivision.
Nothing says spring more than the sounds of birds
The Yukon Bird Club’s new president is Shyloh van Delft (shown here leading a field trip at Tagish). The club has launched a new season of free field trips and special events. PHOTO: Jenny Trapnell The North is a nursery for millions of migratory birds returning from winters in places as far south as South …
Nothing says spring more than the sounds of birds Read More »
Living With Wildlife: Herbert Arnold
Pine Grosbeaks female / Canon EOS 5D Mark II / Canon EF 100 – 400mm / 1/1000 sec. / f8 / freehand (Whitehorse Mosquito Road) Moose Lady Canon EOS 5D Mark II / Canon EF 100 – 400mm / 1/2500 sec. / f8 / freehand (Whitehorse Mosquito Road) [box] Hello Everybody, We invite you to …
Not Just a Dog, But a Best Friend
My dog, who I called The Barron, had an all brown head and a brown patch on his shoulders, but otherwise, was all white and, shall we say, not really accepted by the rich and mighty of the bird dog organizations.
Who’s still here?
Fall migration is over, but you can still see some pretty cool birds around if you know where to look.
Living With Wildlife: Judith Beaumont
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Living with Wildlife by Judith Beaumont, Mount Lorne When we were clearing trees to build a guest cabin this summer, we discovered a woodpecker …
An Unkindness of Ravens
It is easy to laugh at the antics of ravens. They are quirky, curious and yes, funny. A well-known title they carry among First Nations people is that of Trickster, known for their pranks and intelligence. They also carry darker histories, in literature and folklore: wise, feared, revered, portents of death. wreathed in mystery. I …
Jack ‘n Sack
Although I can’t absolutely verify the factual accuracy of the following “claim to fame,” if I’m not the only person who had the unique opportunity to caddy for Jack Nicklaus both before he won his first professional major (1962 U.S. Open) and after his last (1986 Masters), I’m certainly one of the very few fortunate …
Living With Wildlife: Brian Sunico
Hello Everybody,We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] I’m just new to photography, but here are some of my shotsof the eagles nest and their mom(or dad). I used a Canon EOS 70D …
Ordinary Bones of Extraordinary People
It was the summer he turned twelve, after his failed attempts to save the fox kits, that he began collecting bones, scouring the grass and pine duff for tracks and finding deer skulls, a pelvis, a sprocket-like vertebrae, the bones reassuringly solid in his hands. –excerpt from The Afterlife of Birds by Elizabeth Philips Henry …
Living With Wildlife: Dave Rach
Hello Everybody,We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Camera: Nikon D3100 Lens: 55-300 mm Nikor This eagle has been hanging out in front of what’s turned into our favorite place in the Yukon …
Living With Wildlife: Laura Hill
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] The Northern Goshawk was spotted south of Watson Lake on an old logging road. The murder of crows was taken near the Yukon River …
Wild Times
“They’re [cranes] a much more delicate bird, compared to the swans,” says Carrie McClelland, a wildlife viewing biologist with Environment Yukon. “They stand three and a half to four feet tall, with a six foot wingspan, but they only weigh around seven or eight pounds. They’re very slender.” Lesser sandhill cranes migrate each year from …
Look Who’s Parking in Whitehorse
Dr. Katie Aitken, an ornithology instructor at Yukon College, says it’s “unknown” if Yukon’s house sparrow population will expand to become a problem downtown or with bird lovers. She admits she has a soft spot for them. “It was the first species I identified when I started birding as a child down south,” she told …
Spring Guests
If the crocus is the official flower of spring, then the swan must be the official bird of spring in the Yukon. Each year thousands of swans ascend to the Yukon from winter feeding grounds along the coasts of Washington and southern British Columbia. Their annual stop brings them to Marsh Lake, where the birds …
Birding on the Fly
I’ve joined her in a Riverdale neighbourhood in search of a rare Mountain chickadee. The first species we see, however, is a noisy woodpecker, a “Hairy.” Whitehorse resident Tracy Allard brings out her smartphone and taps an app called eBird to start her checklist: the type, number and location of each bird she’ll see on this …
Living with wildlife: Maggie Leary
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] Here’s a photo of two female pine grosbeaks arguing beak to beak about who’s turn it is on the birdfeeder.
Why Fly South When You Can Tough it out Here
Mary Whitley felt surprise and compassion when she saw a robin perched in a tree in her Hillcrest yard on December 9th.
Winter Bird Feeding
I feed the birds in winter because it makes me feel good to do it and the birds certainly seem to enjoy it as well. Squirrels certainly take advantage of the situation, but seem to be much less interested in the feeders that do not contain sunflower seeds. Squirrels can also be stopped by blocking …
Living With Wildlife: Maggie Leary
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] This little redpoll was by himself on our feeder on a forty below day in Mayo, when suddenly his breath puffed out. If you …
Birds and Loss
“His mother used to say the soul was a bird that lived in the nape of the neck. At night it flew out of the mouth, and when you woke it returned; and when you died, it flew away forever. The world outside the glass that night seemed entirely an abstraction, a dream. Here, in …
DIDEE & DIDOO: I’M STILL INTACT
I STILL HAVE MY WINGS. I STILL HAVE MY TAIL. I STILL HAVE MY CLAWS. I STILL HAVE MY FINS. I STILL HAVE MY HORNS. I STILL HAVE MY HOOFS. I STILL HAVE MY BEAK. I STILL HAVE MY QUILLS. I STILL HAVE MY SCALES. I STILL HAVE MY FEATHERS. I STILL HAVE MY BILL. …
The Yukon’s Winter Mermaid: The American Dipper
A happy melodic song rings along the Yukon River below the dam, and you imagine it’s a pretty little bird singing in a tree. But it’s 10 below. Then you notice a small chubby bird, coloured like slate, sitting on boulders near the rushing water. Its body is bobbing up and down. It suddenly plunges into …
Collective Nouns for Birds Near and Far
On water geese are a plump. in flight, geese are a skein. We look at collective nouns for geese, eagles and ravens.
Collective Nouns For Animal Groups- Near and Far
A Late Middle Ages hunting fraternity began a game of inventing animal group names. Some were collected in The Book of Saint Albans
A Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)
I am pleased to announce that I recently had my first encounter with a sandhill crane. I have never gone to the Crane and Sheep Festival in Faro, which is held in May, and the time and place when the cranes fly over the town. Years ago, I saw flocks of sandhill cranes in November …
Ptarmigan: Nothing but facts
The Ptarmigan is the territorial bird of the Yukon. Ed. Note: The distinction of being known as the Yukon’s territorial bird goes to the raven, which, Canada Post recently announced, is to be featured on a stamp. Ravens are more widespread than ptarmigan. They are found throughout the territory and are totally black. The Ptarmigan …
Getting Ready for Fall and Winter Birding
We’re getting ready for winter and so are the birds. They’re chirping and feeding everywhere and the sky is alive with flocks of all kinds. It’s so busy one of Yukon’s most avid birders, Tracey Allard, says fall can seem like spring for a few weeks. “There are so many sparrows and warblers and you’ll …
Summer Birding: It’s All About the Kids
In summer, birding is all about the kids. Or, chicks. After the spring blitz of migration and mating, many birds are rearing offspring and staying closer to their nests. It’s a time when many Yukoners stop birding. “Our forests are usually more silent and less colourful as males no longer have to advertise for mates or rivals,” …
Farewell Winter, Hello Summer
After a long Yukon winter, you look forward to packing away your warm winter coat. We all look forward to the warmer days.
Putting the WOW in Tombstone Park
Looking for a memorable northern road trip? The 17th annual Tombstone Weekend on the Wing (WOW) offers three days of fabulous hiking, a birding festival and interpretive events for all ages. The weekend of free events takes place June 3 to 5 and will start from the Tombstone Territorial Park campground, at kilometre 71 of …
Annual Birdathon a Tweet Event
The birds are back! And so is the annual Yukon Birdathon – a 24-hour birding extravaganza and sweet fundraiser. Held the last weekend in May, the 2016 event starts at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 27 and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. Birders can take from a few hours to all 24 …
The Exciting Bird Migration Period
Back in the early 1960s, I was involved in the capture and banding of waterfowl and consequently receiving the follow up data on just how far some of these birds travelled in their lifetime. From that time on, I have been fascinated with the long distance annual migration of birds, butterflies and other winged creatures, …
A Bird in the Hand is Messy
I don’t like crows. I never have, and probably never will. I can spend hours watching eagles soar and glide on the thermals. I love blue herons, in flight or standing in solitude along the shoreline. Ravens are mysterious and interesting. Loons, well you get the point. There are many birds I like. As a child …
Oh, Chickadee!
Of all the birds of the forest, the chickadee is my favourite. Growing up in Nova Scotia, it was one of the first birds I knew. My family had a cottage in the forest on the shore of St. Margaret’s Bay, outside Halifax. The black caps regularly shared our play areas. This tiny, cheery bird …
Telling Stories
Sandra Grace Storey’s Words Like Birds exhibit digs deep into all that we struggle to express. It finds a great tenderness there. Storey has created an exhibition of small, focussed sculptures for the solo show room at the Yukon Artists @ Work Co-operative art gallery. Storey works in stoneware ceramics coloured with earth-toned oxides. White …
Heidi Hehn is Raven Mad
Heidi Hehn is crazy for ravens. It’s a taste she shares with many northerners. These big, black, intelligent birds bring wilderness into the city. Sometimes they bring that wildness closer than you’d like it, for example, when they tear apart the garbage in the back of a pickup truck. However, many people really appreciate their …
You Know It’s Spring When the Swans Arrive
“Last year was a big year,” says Scott Cameron, Environment Yukon’s Wildlife Viewing Technician. “We were up to 2,000 swans every day for a few days.” The height, he says, was April 9, when 2,200 were counted out on M’Clintock Bay. Typically that number is closer to 1,200. “And early too – usually you expect …
What You Might Not Know About Ducks
Back in the early 1960s, I spent a couple of years banding waterfowl in one of the newly-created marshes of the hydro project in Lake St. Lawrence, just west of Cornwall, Ontario. This is when I really got the opportunity to know the many features of waterfowl (duck, geese and swans). The flooding of the …
Ode to Kusawa Lake
Boxing Day: we drive out to Kusawa Lake. My beloved lake, Kusawa. The joys of the lake for me include swimming, boating, floating, skating, to be in it/ on it or crossing the lake. I have even bicycled on it and now I walk on it. I have often sunbathed on its sandy beaches or …
One-Two-Tweet…
There’s nothing like a bird count to inspire new and seasoned birders. This Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) takes place Feb. 12-15 and it’s a family-friendly event for any skill level. The GBBC helps to give a snapshot of bird life throughout Canada, the continent, and the world. Last year 5,090 species were recorded – …
Tips on Winter Birding
Yes, baby, it’s cold outside. But birding can get you out of the house, connect you with nature, and other people. During December’s Christmas bird counts – an annual winter birding tradition – hundreds of participants recorded birds in 14 different communities. (The numbers aren’t all in yet.) In Whitehorse, 46 people gave up Boxing …
Where will the ravens warm their toes?
Dawson is switching to LED (Light Emitting Diode) streetlights, swapping out the older HPS (high pressure sodium) for the newer, more eco-friendly, longer lasting lights. It’s a move that makes sense in a lot of ways. Yukon Energy and the City of Dawson figure that changing the 170 residential streetlights will save the town about …
The Story of Eagles Paradise
Every November up to 3,600 eagles gather in one place: the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Haines, Alaska. It is the largest gathering of eagles on earth. The Preserve holds unique conditions for these magnificent birds: Sections of the Chilkat River remain ice-free and an unusually late run of salmon from November until January provides …
Living with Wildlife: Jozien Keijzer
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] The photo taken with my Panasonic lumix DMC FZ200 On Christmas Morning, I went out to photograph a pink sky bordered by the forever …
Living with wildlife: 2015-11-05
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your high-resolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] This is what happens when you put fish heads on a lake shore cabin roof. Camera: FinePix S8000 set on continuous mode.
Living with Wildlife: Nancy Ohm Eagles
Walking along the Millennium Trail in mid-July, it was just perfect to catch a shot of these two (eagles), sitting on the cliffs
Squawking with a Swan
One day in 2011, Todd Pilgrim was returning from a hike when he saw something grey and silverish by the road. As he went closer, he discovered that it was a young tundra swan. It had a drooping wing and couldn’t fly away. That’s how real-life tale behind Pilgrim’s children’s book, Angie, the Tundra Swan, …
A word or two about memory, memoirs and waterfowl
The kaleidoscope of memory is a wondrous thing. A quarter twist, and tiny fragments tumble themselves into a startling pattern of perception. Another twist, another vista of the past, another “aha” about the present, or the future; perhaps an insight into an unknown temporal dimension. And, like the river into which you cannot step twice, …
A word or two about memory, memoirs and waterfowl Read More »
Life on the Edge of the Forest is a Hoot
It’s a cold morning. While I’m writing, the twin deer are in the yard — last year’s fawns, without their mother now. May was full of summer weather and I often had breakfast outside. Yet, a deer never walked up to me during those quiet morning times. However, on one lovely morning in May, suddenly, …
Living with Wildlife: Nancy Ohm Robin’s Nest
The robins nest around the house every year, but this time they are on a special spot, like on my hiking shoes next to the house entrance.
Yukon Birdathon
There are 284 bird species recorded in Yukon. This weekend is your chance to count as many as you can. The Yukon Birdathon is designed to get you out birding, and raise funds for bird conservation. Held the last weekend in May, the goal is to identify as many species as possible from Friday, May …
Living with Wildlife
Hello Everybody, We invite you to share your photos of Yukon wildlife. Email your highresolution images with a description of what’s going on and what camera equipment you used to [email protected] I took this photo while I was walking downtown. This little common redpoll was enjoying the sun with its buddies. I used a Canon …
Cranes Fly High Up in the Sky
The thermals above the town of Faro may account for the “tens of thousands” of sand hill cranes that fly above it each spring. Or so Rose Fulton speculates. Fulton works for the town, and is the Faro Crane and Sheep Viewing Festival coordinator. She says she’d be the event coordinator, but there aren’t enough …
A Trumpeter’s Perspective
Hiya, my name is Ed, and I am a proud trumpeter swan. I’m eight-years-old and grew up in the Red Rock Lakes area of Montana, USA. Although I am American, I consider Canada to be a second home since my family and I migrate through there every year. My wife is Lily. We have four …
Homage to a Yukon Birder
Yukon birds, and its birding community, have lost a true friend. When he died last month, at 75, Helmut Grünberg had spent over 40 years promoting the enjoyment, study, and conservation of Yukon’s bird life. He found his way to Whitehorse in the early ‘70s when, en route to climb Denali in Alaska, he was …
Yukon Wildlife Preserve
The Yukon Wildlife Preserve has been helping injured, orphaned, and sick animals for over ten years. Located 25 minutes from downtown Whitehorse on the Hot Springs Road, It is a very important place in Whitehorse because if animals need a home they can take refuge there and be safe. Staff at the preserve’s rehabilitation centre …
Yukon Natural History
Until recently, collections of Yukon natural history have been given homes in other parts of the country. Our own territory has had no formal collection of our own diverse species of birds, plants, or insects. Someone living in Ottawa had a better chance of viewing such collections. But, something is coming. To the Yukon Research …
Happiness is a Warm Bird
It’s a season of traditions, and for thousands of Canadians this means taking part in the annual Christmas Bird Count. Called the “longest-running science project in the world” by the Audubon Society, this annual winter event — the 115th — can be fun, and it also has a purpose. This year the Yukon Bird Club …
Beginner’s Mind
My lack of birding skills used to be a secret shame. When it did come out, it was with an embarrassed acknowledgment that despite a background in biology and an intense love of nature, I was at best a “crap birder”. That, however, was inaccurate. I was no kind of birder, for I had given …
Migration
Early in the spring, Swan Haven offers Yukoners a place to watch swans and other water birds as they stop to rest on their long migration north. Shortly thereafter we see small groups of swans flying past our farm, trumpeting as they go. Our geese really notice when wild birds fly overhead. The migrating fowl …
Swans Return to Their Second Home
April marks the glorious return of thousands of swans to the M’Clintock Bay area of Marsh Lake. This year is particularly special because it marks the 20th anniversary of Swan Haven Interpretive Centre, the facility that has been designed to help humans get a good look at the spectacle – without disturbing the migrating birds. …
What Does the Future Hold for our Famous Eagle Family?
There is real-life drama unfolding in the nest of a Whitehorse eagle couple. Right now the question is, who is the eagle that has appeared and is repairing the nest from last year? Is it the dad eagle, or the mom eagle, or is it some squatter that has taken a shine to the couple’s …
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Fulfilling a Childhood Dream
As a young biologist and a newly married husband, the Yukon offered Dave Mossop a chance to combine these recent developments in his life. “[Grace and I] were looking for an adventurous place to have a honeymoon, and I had the chance to research ptarmigan up here,” says Mossop. It’s almost 40 years later and, …
World of Words: Here, there be dragonflies
The Yukon holds some unusual species of bugs and plants that remain from when glaciers retreated, leaving a land bridge across the Bering Sea. And dragonflies are a part of this unique natural heritage. Syd Cannings has been studying bugs and other natural wonders since he was a boy growing up in the Okanagan Valley. …
Didee & Didoo – Poem ” I wish I had wings”
I wish I had wings ‘stead of these arm things. ‘Cause I prefer to fly way up in the sky. Then I don’t have to walk I would fly like the hawk. I would leave the ground and be sky bound. I would soar like an eagle and play with the seagle. I would fly …
Mother Goose
They say birds of a feather flock together. When you visit our barnyard, you will see that the chickens don’t like to spend much time with the geese. In fact, most things give the geese a wide berth. Even our dog, Schwartz. The geese tend to patrol the barnyard in a very stately manner, hissing …
Sandhills on Demand
A quarter million sandhill cranes! When, anywhere in this territory, do we have the opportunity to see a quarter million anything? Caribou? Nope. People? Not even close. Trees? Well, probably, but trees aren’t typically very active; they don’t really provide a spectator sport, as it were. But a quarter million sandhill cranes, flying overhead in …
Counting Birds: A Christmas Tradition
You may be familiar with the partridge in the pear tree and the two turtle doves – counting birds is a longstanding Christmas tradition. The first official Christmas Bird Count (CBC), however, was started in 1900, after American ornithologist Frank Chapman decided to count birds instead of kill them (the annual “side hunt” was a …
