NatureNL Blog

We’re hiring an Executive Director!

Our all-volunteer Board of Directors is excited to be hiring for one part time Executive Director position. The position will run this summer and fall. There is a possibility of renewal and/or eventual full time work, depending on funding. We want to offer our members, supporters, and donors more ways to connect with nature, get outdoors, learn, play, and participate in conservation, while we grow our organization and help it run smoothly. Competition closes May 16th 2021, position is expected to start in June. Please feel free to share with anyone who might be interested! https://naturenl.ca/about/opportunities/

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April 17, 2021
Outdoor events / Uncategorized

Youth Birdwatching Walk with WILD Outside

Group of people on a boardwalk looking out into a wetland using binoculars. Last weekend, Nature NL was excited to head out on a spring birdwatching walk with the WILD Outside program through the Canadian Wildlife Federation! We had a great time walking through Bidgoods Park in Goulds with a great group of teenagers learning all about the outdoors. With many people new to birdwatching, we all got lots of practice using our binoculars and eventually spotted a total of thirteen species! We hope to see some of your faces on trails with binoculars again soon! The complete bird list is below: Mallard Yellow-rumped Warbler Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow American Robin American Crow American Goldfinch European Starling Golden-crowned Kinglet Barn Swallow Wilson's Snipe Black-capped Chickadee Herring Gull Group of people on a boardwalk looking out onto the surrounding wetland.

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May 23, 2021
Youth Birdwatching Walk with WILD Outside
In The News

Young Reporter Shows Off Her Birdwatching Backpack!

Check out this article from young reporter Harriet Roche as she talks about the birdwatching backpack she borrowed from the library and shares some birdwatching tips! https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/community/on-your-street-harriet-1.6020607 Birdwatching backpacks are currently available to borrow from public library branches in the St. John's area. They include all the necessities for beginners to try birdwatching for the first time. You can learn more here. We are looking forward to making birding backpacks available in all library branches across the province in summer 2021!

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May 18, 2021
Young Reporter Shows Off Her Birdwatching Backpack!
NatureNL Blog / TBT Osprey

#TBT The Osprey – Ask a natural history question: Why slugs?

The Osprey, vol. 42, no. 03 (Summer 2011) By: Barry J. Hicks Q: Slugs are the bane of vegetable gardeners everywhere (especially this rainy spring and summer!), but do they have any redeeming qualities? What is the ecological role of the slug and is there a reason why we can’t do without them? A: Slugs are the bane of many gardeners. Many people do not have a loving relationship with these invertebrates that share their gardens. Although they are not well known in North America, the slugs are considered important members of terrestrial ecosystems world-wide by many biologists. The slugs are terrestrial, air breathing molluscs they are also related to bivalves (e.g. mussels and clams) and cephalopods (e.g. squid and octopus). Generally the molluscs have a muscular foot and a mantle which secretes a calcareous shell. However some molluscs have reduced or absent shells. Slugs are an example of a…

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May 13, 2021
#TBT The Osprey – Ask a natural history question: Why slugs?
NatureNL Blog / TBT Osprey

#TBT The Osprey – Nature Sketches: Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui)

The Osprey, vol. 35, no. 02 (May 2004) By: A. Glen Ryan Painted Lady Butterfly by A. Glen Ryan The Painted Lady is likely the most widespread butterfly in the world. It is found almost everywhere except in the deep tropics and the Arctic icecaps. It occurs on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, the reason for one or its common names; the Cosmopolitan! Its preferred habitat is open or disturbed areas including old fields, gardens, and roadsides. It is particularly fond of open sunny fields with thistles, especially the Canada Thistle in Newfoundland, where large numbers sometimes congregate in late summer, resulting in still another common name, the Thistle Butterfly. The Painted Lady belongs to the Nymphalidae, or brush-footed butterflies. They appear to have 4 legs instead of 6. The front legs are much smaller and use less for walking. They are hairy and brushlike in appearance and are…

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April 29, 2021
#TBT – Nature Sketches: Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui)
NatureNL Blog

Molly Morrissey Receives 2021 Leslie Tuck Avian Ecology Award

The recipient of Memorial University's Leslie Tuck Avian Ecology Award, an endowed scholarship started by friends of the Natural History Society (now Nature NL) has their winning essay published by Nature NL. This year's winner, Molly M. Morrissey (MSc Candidate, Dept. Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland) contributed the following essay, which discusses innovative efforts to understand seabird population and survival in Newfoundland and Labrador. by Molly M. Morrissey The world’s oceans have undergone significant, rapid changes since the onset of the industrial revolution. Human activities, directly and indirectly, are nearly universally recognized as a major contributor to these changes. One consequence has been massive food-web shifts, from which Newfoundland has not been spared. Overfishing, poor data collection, and weakly enforced quotas led to the near loss of the Atlantic cod, a fish synonymous with Newfoundland. The Newfoundland cod population collapsed in the early 1990s and is not even at half…

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April 18, 2021
Molly Morrissey Receives 2021 Tuck-Walters Award
TBT Osprey

#TBT – The Osprey, vol. 01, no. 01 (May 1970)

Stay tuned for more Thursday blog posts featuring throwback articles from The Osprey journal! Ruff sketch by Howard Clase Bird Group News - Rare Birds by: Howard Clase, Founding Editor of The Osprey "Pride of place in this month's report must go to the Reeve which was seen by many people at Long Pond in St. John's in the period 28th April - 1st May. The Ruff (female: Reeve) is one of the spectacular birds of Northern European meadows. It is a medium sized shore bird which in spring puts on a gorgeous multicoloured plumage in the form of a "ruff" and a pair of ear tufts. Each male is different, the colours varying from white through orange, brown and grey to black, and the Ruff may be plain or banded in more than one colour. The males gather together in groups to spend their time displaying their finery to…

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March 11, 2021
#TBT – The Osprey, vol. 01, no. 01 (May 1970)
Citizen Science / NatureNL Blog

The Snow Bunting Project – Labrador

Snow buntings taking flight. (Photo: V. Buckle) By Cheryl Davis, with Megan Boucher Cheryl Davis (Dartmouth, NS) got excited about the snow buntings she saw while living in western Labrador. She has been collecting data since 1998, and recently expanded the count with the help of the Canadian Wildlife Service in Goose Bay and local birders across Labrador. Each year, people come together to report their sightings of snow buntings on her project's Facebook page, "The Snow Bunting Project". The snow bunting, also known as the snowbird, is the most northerly recorded passerine in the world and an indicator of spring in Labrador. This migratory black and white bird is a tough survivor that breeds on frozen tundra in sub-zero temperatures. In recent years, climate change has made the snow bunting a species of concern, as it is unclear yet how warming arctic climates may affect the bird's breeding success.…

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March 6, 2021
The Snow Bunting Project – Labrador
In The News

Migratory Birds on the Radio

We're in the full swing of fall bird migration here in Newfoundland! While World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated in May each year, you can learn more about bird migration and Newfoundland and Labrador’s migratory bird species now by listening to this Migratory Bird Day interview with Nature NL board member, Beverly McClenaghan, on VOCM’s The Outdoor Hour. Find the episode from May 10th to learn more about the fantastic migratory birds of our province!

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September 28, 2020
Migratory Birds on the Radio

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