Birding in Canada: Beaverhill Lake, Alberta

On a hot, breezy afternoon in mid-June, 2014, I drove a dirt access road to Beaverhill Lake, intent on birding this Alberta avian hotspot. Located about 60 kilometres east of Edmonton, Beaverhill Lak...

Swinging a Beak Like a Pickaxe: Pileated Woodpecker

Kek-kek-kek! The pileated woodpecker’s loud, sharp call rings out in our northern Nova Scotia forests year-round. I always feel a thrill when I spot a pileated lurching its way around a tree tru...

The Owl with George Clooney Eyes: Barred Owl

Chocolate-brown eyes. Throaty voice. Handsome as all get-out. George Clooney, right? Undoubtedly, but the description fits a barred owl, tooooo. Vilis spotted the one in the photo at right while he an...

2013 Christmas Bird Count

Yesterday I joined ten other birders in a Christmas Bird Count in the Tatamagouche area of northern Nova Scotia. After a day of birding on the land and in residents’ yards, we accumulated sighti...