It’s that time of year again!
Although they have been back in the area for a while, with the annual influx of Snowy Owls now in full swing, the roads in Clearview Township have been filled with avid birdwatchers looking for the chance to see a visitor from the north.
We are very fortunate to see quite a few of these beautiful birds perched on hydro poles, on trees along the fence rows, and in the large fields along the sideroads west of the Minesing Wetlands.
Our annual visiting owls attract quite a crowd and bring in bird watchers and naturalists from a wide area. To learn more about these birds, and their visit to southern Ontario, check our our earlier blog .
These striking birds are however not the only highlight on road-side bird watching trips at this time of year.
You can also see a variety of hawks in the area including Rough-legged, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-tailed, and Sharp-shinned hawks, as well as numerous American Kestrels.
If you are fortunate you will also see one of more of our resident Bald Eagles!
Other highlights include Pileated Woodpeckers, Northern Shrikes, and Great Blue Herons.
Along the south-west edge of the Minesing Wetlands you will also have a good chance of running into Wild Turkeys as they make their way through woodlands and neighbouring fields.
Spending just an hour along the sideroads bordering the Minesing Wetlands in the month of January can be a rewarding trip.
Bring your binoculars and cameras and stay safe!
These workshops were held in Peterborough, Parry Sound, London and Toronto. They were a joint effort of the 
Topics covered at the workshops included a natural heritage policy update and the Ontario Nature Natural Heritage Planning Best Practices Manual. The Canadian Wildlife Service also provided information about their How Much Habitat is Enough? and How Much Development is Too Much? guidelines. A highlight at the workshops was the release of the Canadian Wildlife Service Biodiversity Atlas. The atlas products provide a geospatial representation of the Canadian Wildlife Service biodiversity portfolio: species richness, migratory bird densities, habitat extent & quality. They were created to better see and understand the distribution of species and habitats, share information with others, and help facilitate the conservation of important natural places by provide guidance on places of high biodiversity value.
The Krystawyn Nature Blog 