Think of these rare birds as environmental ambassadors. When a rare Eurasian Wigeon or a Vermilion Flycatcher touches down locally, it is often because they have found a high quality habitat to use as a refuelling station. While they may be here by accident, their presence highlights the importance of our conservation work.

Yesterday, Trent Massey and I were out for a drive searching for whatever interesting wildlife we could find. As we were working our way back home, a beautiful immature Golden Eagle flew over the road ahead of us just west of Desbarats. I managed to snap only a couple of photos out the window before it was out of sight to the north.

Have you ever seen a flying squirrel? These critters are relatively common around here, but they are seldom seen because of their nocturnal nature. If you’re lucky, right at dusk you can see them “fly” from one tree to another.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 10th annual Desbarats Christmas Bird Count, which took place on December 27, 2025! This year, 34 volunteers took part in the count. Of those, 18 were out in the field while 15 monitored their feeders throughout the day.

Rare bird alert! A few days ago, Central Algoma Land Trust member Jane Smith photographed a Yellow-throated Warbler visiting her feeders. This is the first time this species has been documented in the Central Algoma region, and only the fifth record for the entire Algoma District.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 9th annual Desbarats Christmas Bird Count, which took place on December 28, 2024. Despite the poor weather on count day, it still ended up being an above average day compared to previous years. 21 field observers and 15 feeder watchers managed to count 44 species for a total of 2828 birds (the average is 39 species and 2430 birds).

At least five Eurasian Tree Sparrows were recorded together at Fort St. Joseph. Before yesterday, Algoma had three records of five individuals already this year. How many of these birds are going undetected on the many days that there's no birders at Algoma's good migration hotspots?

Tomorrow is the first day of May. The days are getting longer, the flowers are slowly emerging, and the birds are migrating! Each spring, billions of birds in North American move northward to reach their breeding grounds. This month is the best time to see a wide variety of birds, wherever you might be located.

Winter is usually a good time to see owls. There are no leaves on the trees, making them more visible in the forests. Some species are also present more in the winter as they come south in search of food. Some species also begin their breeding season in the winter, making them more active than they are at other times of the year.