Posts by author
Tracey Etwell
The Prairie’s Rarest Duo
Two Interconnected Grassland Mammals You May Never Have Heard Of Species #1: The Black-tailed Prairie Dog The Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) is so rare in Canada it is only…
Myco Meadows: How is the Mycorrhizae Trial Site Progressing?
It’s fall! That means it’s time to revisit the use of mycorrhizae in our fall roadside plantings. In our Rights-of-Way as Habitat Networks project, the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) is…
Water in the Grasslands
When you think of Canadian grasslands, do you think dry, droughty, with barren soils blowing in the wind? This photo from the “dirty thirties”; the 1930’s when severe drought combined…
Monarch on the Prairies?
Many older residents of the Canadian prairies talk of seeing large numbers of Monarch Butterflies flying about in the summer. This is hard to believe, since it is quite uncommon…
3 Superstar Long Distance Grassland Bird Migrants
As spring arrives on the Prairies, many species are either waking up or migrating to their summer homes. Here are three of our favourites — true superstars of long-distance migration.…
What Does Canada’s Smallest Fox do in the Winter?
The Swift Fox (Vulpes velox) is our smallest, fastest and least known fox species. They’re a dog, but about the size of a housecat, weighing in at only 1.5 to…
Monarch Butterfly Has a New Status in Canada and What You Can Do
As of December 8, 2023, the Monarch Butterfly has a new status in Canada: Endangered. The previous listing by the federal government was Special Concern (the lowest ranking of concern)…
Leave the Leaves This Fall
It’s late fall in Central Ontario. Most of the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. The ground is carpeted with a sea of shapes and colours of decayed leaves. Well-meaning…
Dandelions: The Good and the Bad
It’s spring in Central Ontario, which means the dandelions have finished blooming with a flurry. Seed heads are now blowing those fluffy seeds around. I’ve seen a lot of social…
Winter Monarch Butterfly Population Numbers Released — And It’s Not Good
The newest winter counts for the winter population of eastern Monarch Butterflies have been released (March 21, 2023). “In December 2022, Monarchs occupied 2.21 hectares, compared to 2.84 hectares at…
