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Cottage Life

Create a holiday bird feeder tree

If you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids this season or want to up your wintertime bird feeding game, decorate a tree in your yard with some DIY edible decorations. You may also get some squirrel or deer visitors; which are an extra visual bonus for the kids.

“What I think is fun about this idea is that you turn just filling up your bird feeder every day into a family activity,” says Jody Allair, Director, Community Engagement at Birds Canada. He says it’s a festive thing to do that goes beyond your typical decorating and becomes something the birds will appreciate. It’s also a way to build connections to the natural world. “We need more of those,” he says. “This is a great arts and crafts project to do as a family, and the reward is having birds in your yard.” It’s win-win for you and the birds.

First, pick a tree in your yard. Allair says it doesn’t have to be a conifer – even a bush will suffice. Speaking of trees, he also says once you’re done with your real Christmas tree, instead of putting it in the dump or in the garbage, you could ‘plant’ it outside once you’ve removed the tinsel, garland, and decorations. Of course the stump won’t take root in the frozen ground, but its branches can offer additional habitat for animals.

And since you’re doing all this to help the birds, “there are important elements to keep in mind to create a bird-friendly environment,” say Allair. “Don’t place the food or items in an area where birds are going to collide with the windows. Be strategic.” Also, if you have cats, keep them inside or on a leash. For anything you wish to hang, use natural string (the thicker the better he says); never use fishing line. “Natural string that can break down in the sun after a few months is fine.”

Now to the fun part. Here are five DIY feeder ideas you can make yourself this winter:

Hang bird-friendly Christmas cookies. Use this recipe from Birds Canada. Let your kids choose which shapes they’ll want their cookies to be.

Love blue jays? Give them peanuts, or peanut butter. “The best way to present them is with a peanut wreath, or Allair says you could simply string them together and hang them up. “They’re crazy for peanuts.”

Meet the blue jay

Pinecone feeders. Go for a nature walk and gather some pinecones (not spruce, though, as Allair says they’re too soft). Tie on a string for hanging them up, then add peanut butter. (Allair says regular popular store brands are okay.) The hearty, rigid cones have lots of openings to fill.

Make your own suet balls or cakes. These offer a lot of messy DIY fun for kids. Allair recommends using large plastic margarine tubs to keep the mess at a minimum – unless you like lard all over the place. “It’s fun to roll the suet in seeds,” he says. Which type is best? Allair recommends black oil sunflower seeds – they have a high fat content, which birds need, and all species of birds are able to open them (no nutcracker required).

Log feeder. If you’ve got some hollow branches on hand, you can hang those, filled with peanut butter. “The birds will pluck out the peanut butter,” he says.

The main goal for each of these is to provide things the birds would like to eat in the natural world, “but you’re presenting it in a festive way,” he says.

You can also DIY a more traditional bird feeder and fill it with seed. To attract cardinals, include some sunflower seeds inside. Cardinals are “robust and like the perch,” Allair says, so they’ll need a sturdy structure where they can enjoy their meal.

If you provide a mix of food, you can expect chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, blue jays, and hairy woodpeckers.

Once your tree’s all decorated, relax with some hot chocolate by the fire and watch for visitors that stop by to admire – and eat – the outdoor decorations.

Know someone that’s an avid birdwatcher? Allair says Birds Canada’s Project Feeder Watch program makes a great last-minute gift.

 

Categories
Cottage Life

Create a holiday bird feeder tree

If you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids this season or want to up your wintertime bird feeding game, decorate a tree in your yard with some DIY edible decorations. You may also get some squirrel or deer visitors; which are an extra visual bonus for the kids.

“What I think is fun about this idea is that you turn just filling up your bird feeder every day into a family activity,” says Jody Allair, Director, Community Engagement at Birds Canada. He says it’s a festive thing to do that goes beyond your typical decorating and becomes something the birds will appreciate. It’s also a way to build connections to the natural world. “We need more of those,” he says. “This is a great arts and crafts project to do as a family, and the reward is having birds in your yard.” It’s win-win for you and the birds.

First, pick a tree in your yard. Allair says it doesn’t have to be a conifer – even a bush will suffice. Speaking of trees, he also says once you’re done with your real Christmas tree, instead of putting it in the dump or in the garbage, you could ‘plant’ it outside once you’ve removed the tinsel, garland, and decorations. Of course the stump won’t take root in the frozen ground, but its branches can offer additional habitat for animals.

And since you’re doing all this to help the birds, “there are important elements to keep in mind to create a bird-friendly environment,” say Allair. “Don’t place the food or items in an area where birds are going to collide with the windows. Be strategic.” Also, if you have cats, keep them inside or on a leash. For anything you wish to hang, use natural string (the thicker the better he says); never use fishing line. “Natural string that can break down in the sun after a few months is fine.”

Now to the fun part. Here are five DIY feeder ideas you can make yourself this winter:

Hang bird-friendly Christmas cookies. Use this recipe from Birds Canada. Let your kids choose which shapes they’ll want their cookies to be.

Love blue jays? Give them peanuts, or peanut butter. “The best way to present them is with a peanut wreath, or Allair says you could simply string them together and hang them up. “They’re crazy for peanuts.”

Meet the blue jay

Pinecone feeders. Go for a nature walk and gather some pinecones (not spruce, though, as Allair says they’re too soft). Tie on a string for hanging them up, then add peanut butter. (Allair says regular popular store brands are okay.) The hearty, rigid cones have lots of openings to fill.

Make your own suet balls or cakes. These offer a lot of messy DIY fun for kids. Allair recommends using large plastic margarine tubs to keep the mess at a minimum – unless you like lard all over the place. “It’s fun to roll the suet in seeds,” he says. Which type is best? Allair recommends black oil sunflower seeds – they have a high fat content, which birds need, and all species of birds are able to open them (no nutcracker required).

Log feeder. If you’ve got some hollow branches on hand, you can hang those, filled with peanut butter. “The birds will pluck out the peanut butter,” he says.

The main goal for each of these is to provide things the birds would like to eat in the natural world, “but you’re presenting it in a festive way,” he says.

You can also DIY a more traditional bird feeder and fill it with seed. To attract cardinals, include some sunflower seeds inside. Cardinals are “robust and like the perch,” Allair says, so they’ll need a sturdy structure where they can enjoy their meal.

If you provide a mix of food, you can expect chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, blue jays, and hairy woodpeckers.

Once your tree’s all decorated, relax with some hot chocolate by the fire and watch for visitors that stop by to admire – and eat – the outdoor decorations.

Know someone that’s an avid birdwatcher? Allair says Birds Canada’s Project Feeder Watch program makes a great last-minute gift.

 

Categories
Cottage Life

Is the otter the most Canadian animal?

This essay about the otter was originally published as part of “The Great Canadian Creature Feature” in the June/July issue of Cottage Life.

I have never really understood the choice of the beaver as Canada’s national symbol. Yes, they helped build an international fur industry many believe is largely responsible for establishing Canada as a player (by almost being hunted into extinction). Amazingly, they don’t seem to hold a grudge about that. But looking at the animal objectively, it’s a slow-moving, chubby, flat-tailed creature that eats constantly and builds dams. Additionally, it’s viewed as an industrious animal that is always working hard. It has a Protestant work ethic. Well, maybe the beaver is a better symbol for Canadians than I originally thought. 

But if I may offer up an alternative suggestion…the adorable otter.

First of all, there are two kinds of otters in this world (this world being Canada). I’m sure there are other otters somewhere else on this planet. They are such wonderful and amazing creatures,

I don’t believe the Creator would have limited them to just one continent.  

River otters populate much of the fresh waterways of this country; sea otters frolic along the Pacific coast. River otters, of which I am kin to as they are my clan, are the ones I am most familiar with.

My partner, who hails from halfway up the B.C. coast, is more acquainted with the other kind. So, I am including both species in my argument.

River otters are one of the few animals, which, once grown, retain an innate sense of fun. My kin are famous for gleefully sliding down snow-covered hills, then racing back up to do it over and over again. They are sleek, fast, endearing—and amazing fishermen. They rule the Canadian rivers and lakes. 

Meet the otter

My partner’s otters, the ones with the big moustaches, are more well-known for cracking clam shells on their chests with rocks, and holding each other’s paws while sleeping. They too were once practically hunted to extinction by those pesky two-legged creatures. Equally adorable and amazing, sea otters are also known for taking life pretty easy, by just floating along on the kelp, watching the world go by as they lounge on their backs. All that’s missing is a can of beer and some sunglasses.

River otters in particular are at home both in the water as well as on land, living in burrows or tunnels; both species are social and communicative. Meanwhile, beavers? They say ‘no man is an island,’ but beavers practically make their own islands.

In the world of boxing, beavers would be the heavyweights. Larger, heftier, a little more clumsy, good at weightlifting trees. And yes, they can hold their own in the water. But the otter is leaner, faster, and much more agile. Frequently it can dance around the beaver. 

I think I’ve made my case. Otters epitomize everything we could be and should try to attain. In this next life, I could expect no greater move on the evolutionary or karmic scale than to return as an otter.

I have spoken.

8 fun facts about otters (with adorable gifs)

Facts & figures

 A deep dive: Underwater, an otter can hold its breath for up to eight minutes at a time.

Baby time! Otter offspring are born in the spring; by July and August, mothers move their babies from beaver pond nurseries into larger lakes—there’s better fishing.

 Miss Congeniality: Otters are among the friendliest of the mustelids. They’ll happily swim close to canoes and other boats. 

Read more essays from “The Great Canadian Creature Feature” to read more of our favourite writers making the case for their pick for the most Canadian animal in the June/July 2021 issue of Cottage Life.

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Cottage Life

Wild Profile: Meet the white-breasted nuthatch

While it’s not as colourful as its cousin (the red-breasted nuthatch), the white-breasted nuthatch is just as clever and acrobatic. The bluish-grey and white bird is our largest nuthatch—though still no bigger than a sparrow—with a bulbous head, no neck, and a sharp beak that curves upwards.

Winter is one of the best times of the year to spot the white-breasted nuthatch, either at your feeder (try attracting them with suet or peanut butter) or scaling trees moving up, down, or sidebars, in a trademark jerky motion. You’ll also spot why they earned their name: all nuthatches are known for shoving nuts and seeds into a tree bark crevice, then “hatching” them open by smashing them with their bills. So smart!

Along with caching food, white-breasted nuthatches use a specific foraging strategy to nourish themselves through the winter: they’ll join mixed flocks of other non-migratory birds—chickadees and titmice—and hunt for food as part of a larger group. It’s possible this strategy offers protection from predators and makes it more likely for an individual white-breast to find food. (Many hands—er, eyes—make light work.)

That said, in winter, it’s still every bird for itself: a white-breasted nuthatch isn’t above knocking another aside to get feeder food. If you watch yours carefully, you might spot a male pushing nearby females out of the way. Rude! Nuthatches will also steal from each others’ food hiding spots; this is why, once a bird has gathered a morsel, it will first fly in the opposite direction of where it intends to cache the food, hoping to throw spying nuthatches off the trail.

Recent research suggests that the white-breasted nuthatch is an “irruptive” species, and will migrate—or not—based on food availability in winter. This is big news in the avian world. For a long time, ornithologists believed that red-breasted nuthatches exhibited this behaviour but other nuthatch family members didn’t.

These are the best places to go winter birding in Ontario.

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Cottage Life

Wild Profile: Meet the white-breasted nuthatch

While it’s not as colourful as its cousin (the red-breasted nuthatch), the white-breasted nuthatch is just as clever and acrobatic. The bluish-grey and white bird is our largest nuthatch—though still no bigger than a sparrow—with a bulbous head, no neck, and a sharp beak that curves upwards.

Winter is one of the best times of the year to spot the white-breasted nuthatch, either at your feeder (try attracting them with suet or peanut butter) or scaling trees moving up, down, or sidebars, in a trademark jerky motion. You’ll also spot why they earned their name: all nuthatches are known for shoving nuts and seeds into a tree bark crevice, then “hatching” them open by smashing them with their bills. So smart!

Along with caching food, white-breasted nuthatches use a specific foraging strategy to nourish themselves through the winter: they’ll join mixed flocks of other non-migratory birds—chickadees and titmice—and hunt for food as part of a larger group. It’s possible this strategy offers protection from predators and makes it more likely for an individual white-breast to find food. (Many hands—er, eyes—make light work.)

That said, in winter, it’s still every bird for itself: a white-breasted nuthatch isn’t above knocking another aside to get feeder food. If you watch yours carefully, you might spot a male pushing nearby females out of the way. Rude! Nuthatches will also steal from each others’ food hiding spots; this is why, once a bird has gathered a morsel, it will first fly in the opposite direction of where it intends to cache the food, hoping to throw spying nuthatches off the trail.

Recent research suggests that the white-breasted nuthatch is an “irruptive” species, and will migrate—or not—based on food availability in winter. This is big news in the avian world. For a long time, ornithologists believed that red-breasted nuthatches exhibited this behaviour but other nuthatch family members didn’t.

These are the best places to go winter birding in Ontario.

Categories
Cottage Life

How more motorboat collisions are leaving turtles shell-shocked and mutilated

As a wildlife ecologist, I have been keeping tabs on the northern map turtles of Lake Opinicon since 2003. One of these turtles is CJV. She is one of more than 1,800 turtles encountered during our monitoring program.

Every spring, we catch as many turtles as we can. Each turtle is measured, examined for signs of diseases or injuries, and marked with a unique combination of small notches on the edge of its shell. This is how I recognized CJV on May 31, 2019.

CJV and I go way back, to May 19, 2005, to be exact, but we haven’t seen each other since. The passage of time has left its marks on both of us. For starters, I am noticeably greyer, balder and less fit. As for CJV, she has grown a few millimetres, but that would be nearly impossible to tell without very accurate calipers.

How to identify Ontario’s 8 turtle species

But the biggest change in CJV’s appearance is her shell. After missing in action for 14 years, CJV showed up with a large but partially healed scar running from the left side of her shell to her spine. When and where she got injured is anyone’s guess, but the cause of the injury is clear. No natural predators can slice through her bony armour — but a sharp boat propeller surely can.

an overhead shot of a northern map turtle missing a fragment of its shell
CJV is a female northern map turtle from Lake Opinicon, Ont., with a large boat propeller scar.
(Grégory Bulté), Author provided

Concerning rates

Lake Opinicon is nested in the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site, and at the heart of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve. Unfortunately, these designations are doing little to prevent turtles from being chopped up.

When I first captured CJV in 2005, seven per cent of all the females we examined were scarred. When we met again in 2019, the number had climbed to 13 per cent. But mutilated turtles are not unique to Lake Opinicon.

In 2010, we reported that 13 per cent of female map turtles in the St. Lawrence Island National Park had propeller injuries. Around the same time, researchers from Laurentian University reported that more than 28 per cent of northern map turtles in the Trent Severn Waterway had been struck by a propeller.

There are eight species of freshwater turtles in Canada. All are federally listed as Species at Risk, meaning that to remain a part of our lakes, ponds and rivers, they need protection and conservation efforts.

two different photos of a turtle showing shell and face damage from a propeller
A close call: a male northern map turtle from Lake Opinicon showing a severe propeller injury to its shell and face.
(Grégory Bulté)

Betting on the long haul

It is not a coincidence that all our native turtles are in trouble — the global group of about 350 species is in a dire situation. Sixty-one percent of turtle species are extinct or threatened by extinction. This grim statistic does not have a single root cause. Like most precarious wildlife, turtles are threatened by the usual suspects of habitat loss, poaching, direct mortality from human activities and pollution.

Unfortunately, turtles have something else going against them: a 200-million-year-old gambling habit. When it comes to procreation, turtles play a numbers game: they lay as many eggs as they can over their lifespan, hoping some will eventually make it.

Turtles do not care for their eggs or young in the same way birds and mammals do, and without any care or protection, most eggs and babies are eaten by predators or otherwise die from cold, droughts, floods or other weather hazards. If a female lays enough eggs, however, some will hatch and grow into adults. Longevity is key here, and turtles evolved remarkably long life spans.

Turtles have successfully gambled their way through the last 200 million years, but the playing field has changed. Human activities are cutting the long lives of these animals too short for many females to have won their reproductive bet against time. So here we are with dwindling turtle populations in our protected areas.

We can’t say for sure if, or how much, collision with boats threatens the persistence of turtles because an important piece of information is still missing: the proportion of turtles dying from their propeller injuries. Finding dead turtles in nature is not easy because biologists have fierce competition from scavengers when it comes to finding animal carcasses.

However, what we do know raises a red flag. Many turtle populations are already experiencing an inflated amount of adult mortality. Roads alone kill countless adult turtles every year so boat mortality need not be high to precipitate the decline of some turtle populations.

A hand holding four young northern map turtles
Four three-year-old northern map turtles — the females have eight years to go before maturing.
(Grégory Bulté), Author provided

Testimonial scars

The visible scars of turtles are a testimony to the pressure recreational boating exerts on aquatic wildlife. Motorboats affect aquatic wildlife and their habitats in many ways: noise pollution, chemical pollution, wakes, erosion, collisions.

In a recent meta-analysis of 94 studies on the effects of water-based recreation on freshwater ecosystems, researchers found boats to consistently cause negative impacts on wildlife. Some of these impacts can be subtle but nonetheless important: the noise from motors alone can affect the behaviour and physiology of nesting bass. Disturbances from motorboats can also reduce the foraging time of waterfowl.

According to the National Marine Manufacturer Association Canada, the sales of outboard engines increased by 17 per cent between 2019 and 2020, and is now at a record high. With such enthusiasm for recreational powerboating, the impacts on turtles and other wildlife need to be measured. This data will dictate the need for conservation actions such as outreach programs, best practices and, if necessary, regulations such as limiting engine size, or restricting traffic.

Mutilated turtles like CJV are a reminder that lakes and rivers are living and fragile ecosystems. These ecosystems and the species they host — including turtles — provide us with countless cultural, economic, health and aesthetic services. These services are increasingly at odds with certain forms of recreational boating.

Without changes in how we perceive and use our lakes and rivers for recreation, we will find more injured turtles … until we won’t find any turtles at all.The Conversation

Grégory Bulté, Instructor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Carleton University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

What to do when a snapping turtle snaps at kids

 

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Cottage Life

Is the raven the most Canadian animal?

This essay about the raven was originally published as part of “The Great Canadian Creature Feature” in the June/July issue of Cottage Life.

Ravens have lived in the North for millennia. That’s far longer than our paltry 150-odd years of nationhood. They were there to welcome the first humans across the Bering Land Bridge 15,000 years ago, and we’ve been interacting with them ever since. Archaeologists have found 10,000-year-old raven skeletons, buried with human artifacts and thought to be the oldest evidence of human ritualistic behaviour in Canada. 

“Raven” is an important figure in Indigenous myths and legends, often appearing as a creator or trickster. For instance, Bill Reid’s iconic sculpture, The Raven and the First Men, depicts a Haida story of human creation where Raven coaxes the first men from a clam shell.

Yet somehow, the clever corvid has had a bit of a PR problem over the last couple of thousand years. In some other parts of the world, ravens are considered dark omens (possibly due to their tendency to hover over cadavers). Unfortunately, it’s led to all kinds of problematic labelling. For instance, the group nouns for the species include an “unkindness of ravens” and a “conspiracy of ravens.” In an effort to correct this, I propose we refer to them, in the most Canadian of terms, as a “politeness of ravens,” going forward.

This ebony avian embodies many Canadian values, chief among them, equity and fairness. In one study, a group of ravens were trained to trade bread for a more delectable morsel of cheese. After several transactions, one of the researchers “cheated” by trading with the raven and then gobbling up the cheese himself. Deeply offended, all but one raven refused to do business with the shady researcher even a month later.

Meet the common raven

A family-oriented bird, ravens mate for life and raise their young together. They’re also good community members, exemplifying the Canadian ideals of empathy and inclusivity. When a raven comes out on the losing side of an altercation, bystander ravens have been observed consoling their pal with beak-to-body touching and preening.

Canada is the most educated country in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, so naturally, our national animal should be equally erudite. Ravens are one of the world’s most intelligent birds along with crows, magpies, parrots, macaws, and cockatoos (you’ll notice that the bald eagle is not on this list). Ravens can plan tasks, problem-solve, use tools, remember faces (such as the dodgy researcher), and have been known to outsmart apes and young children.

Ravens also enjoy Canadian pastimes, including socializing. They have a vast range of vocalizations that convey emotions such as happiness, anger, tenderness, and surprise. They give a sharp “trill” when they’re looking for a fight and make a “haa” sound when confronted with food challenges, not unlike our own sigh of dismay when reaching a hand into an empty box of Timbits. 

Are ravens’ emotions contagious?

Unlike the loon, who takes off to Florida or Mexico as soon as the temperature dips, ravens are resourceful, hardy, and stay put for winter. They like winter sports and can be seen sliding down snow-covered roofs and hillsides. They’ve been known to make toys out of sticks and pinecones and are probably not too far from figuring out shinny. 

I believe that Canadians are finally ready to pin their national identity on the wings of this spirited and ingenious creature. Let’s all agree that when Robert Stanley Weir penned the lyrics “With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free,” he was talking about our majestic raven.

Facts and figures

ID alert: They are larger and twice as heavy as crows. They have a wedge-shaped tail; a crow’s tail is more fan-shaped.

Puttin’ on the Ritz: They are acrobatic flyers. They swoop, soar, free-fall, and roll through the air.

Yes, they eat that:  They will sustain themselves on everything from insects and small rodents to carrion and garbage.

Read more essays from “The Great Canadian Creature Feature” to read more of our favourite writers making the case for their pick for the most Canadian animal in the June/July 2021 issue of Cottage Life.

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Cottage Life

Wild Profile: Meet the pika

The pint-sized pika is the coolest mammal that you’ve never heard of. The rodent-like creature is actually a “lagomorph” and has more in common with hares and rabbits than it does with mice or rats. But if you’re familiar with Pokemon—and you are, because you live on this planet—you might be interested to learn that the species is the inspiration for the fictional character Pikachu. Who knew?

Like Pikachu, Canada’s two native pika species are squat-bodied. But unlike the cartoon, the real-life critter has short, round ears and practically no tail. There’s a reason for the round shape: a compact build allows the pika to survive in alpine terrain. In Canada, that’s the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and B.C., and further north throughout the Yukon.

Pikas cache food and sing like birds! 

Pikas thrive in barren, rocky landscapes (they’re nicknamed “rock rabbits”). They don’t hibernate. To sustain themselves through winter, they cache food like squirrels and non-migrating birds. Before winter, a pika will gather bits of plants—wildflowers or grass—cure them to preserve them by letting them sit in the sun, and then hide them amid rocks. (This isn’t the species’ only bird-like behaviour; the mammals “sing” to defend territory and to attract mates in the spring.)

Winter is a pika’s preferred time of year. (Because their coat is thick year-round, too much time in the heat isn’t good for them; similar to the polar bear, the pika has been impacted by climate change and overall warming temperatures.) Even though they’re active all winter, they do spend more time in their rocky dens. Pikas live in colonies. This type of group living is a survival strategy. One pika can alert others to potential predators—hawks, weasels, and coyotes—by giving out a warning call.

How Canadian animals adapt to winter

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Wild Profile: Meet the bobcat

Do you know the difference between the bobcat and the Canada lynx? Well, you will soon—read on. The lynx and the bobcat are cousins, and close enough genetically that they can successfully interbreed (though it’s rare). But bobcats are smaller, with shorter ears tufts, smaller paws, and a slightly longer—but still “bobbed”—tail. The most easy-to-see difference between the two, though, may be their colour. The bobcat has spotted orangey-brown fur; the lynx is typically lighter, often closer to uniformly grey.

Meet the Canada lynx

The bobcat’s smallish size—it’s about twice as big as a house cat—doesn’t stop it from being a ferocious hunter, as long as the prey isn’t too big. Along with birds, rabbits, foxes, and the occasional lizard, they’ll take down young deer and skunks (brave!). Bobcats and lynx overlap in habitat, and can compete for food. But unlike the Canada lynx’s range, which is shrinking, its cousin’s has been expanding. Good thing it isn’t too picky about food; these little carnivores will feed on carrion—or even their own cubs—if they have to.

Are bobcats dangerous?

The bobcat is “crepuscular”—that is, most active during twilight. Even though the cats’ territory can range close to human populations, attacks (or even encounters) are rare. Like cougars, these kitties are reclusive and would rather avoid people. They’re more likely to be a danger to outdoor cats or dogs which owners leave unattended. (So don’t do that if you’ve seen one near your cottage. The same goes for cougars and Canada lynx, for that matter.)

Bobcat pairs hook up in winter, with Mamas giving birth roughly two months later, to up to six kittens. By one month, the babies are old enough to wander (briefly) outside the den. By two months, they’re ready to start eating meat. And when fall rolls around? The kittens are ready to hunt. Mommy taught them well!

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Cottage Life

Wild Profile: Meet the red-throated loon

If you’re asking, “What the heck is a red-throated loon?” you’re probably not alone. This smaller, paler diving bird is a cousin of the Canadian-famous common loon. But the red-throated loon is far less known, and definitely less photographed. One reason? Red-throats breed in the north. The only time a cottager is likely to spot one is when the birds journey south in the fall, stopping along the way at large water bodies including the Great Lakes.

Like other loons, the red-throated loon is a strong swimmer but terrible at walking on land. This is because its legs are positioned far back on its body. No matter—fish-eating loons were designed to dive for their dinner. Or, in the red-throat’s case fly, then dive. They often locate prey while flying—sometimes in flocks. Then, they drop rapidly into the water when they spot a school of fish. Red-throated loons have thin, dagger-like bills (all the better for spearing a meal).

Red-throated loons are more masterful fliers than their common cousins. At least, they’re better at getting airborne. Other loons need a long runway of water to “patter” along before they can take off; red-throats can spring into the sky. This means that they can use small tundra and taiga lakes, or even ponds, for nesting.

Just like the common loon, a red-throated loon loses its red eyes and breeding colours—a rust-coloured neck patch—in the winter. Their generic greyness makes nonbreeding common loons and nonbreeding red-throated loons tricky to tell apart during the cold season. Look closely: a common loon still has a mostly-dark face and neck, with only a blaze of white down the front. A red-throat has more white on its face and neck, with a more black-and-white speckled back. The latter is smaller, with a sinewy neck, a slighter build, and pointier wings.

Cottage Q&A: Why are these loons gathering in groups?