TFN Juniors Spring 2021 Nature Class #2

Thanks to everyone who shared photos and joined us for our second zoom nature class of Spring 2021. So awesome to be able to come along on your nature outings through the experiences you share in the opening discussion and the photos you contribute to the slideshow. I always learn so much.

Spring is progressing and creatures are waking up and returning all around us.  I shared about a ‘Bird strike’–a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker’ female hit a back window of my son’s new house. Please consider your windows and treat them if they reflect the trees and shrubs in your yard, and might cause such a collision. 

Enjoy the slideshow below.

Andrew Interisano joined us this week, with a presentation on amphibians of Ontario, especially ones we can see or hear early in the season. Thanks for the lovely photos and interesting thoughts, Andrew.  He challenged us to try jumping from standing. Some of us could jump one body length. We learned from Andrew,  that frogs jump 13 times their body length. They have a system in their rear legs, winding up the tendon, as well as contracting the muscle. This acts like a catapult, giving that unbelievable edge. Wow, we won’t beat that distance.  Check out Andrew’s slideshow, to straighten out those details you didn’t quite get the first time.

https://speakerdeck.com/andrewinterisano/tfn-junior-naturalists-amphibians

Please join us next week for an interactive presentation by Ken Vogan on Bird Language. Ken asks that you walk around your neighborhood or favourite nature-watching spot, and listen for as many different  bird calls as you can. Try to spot the birds and notice what they are doing. If you have your phone or camera with you take a photo and send it in to the slideshow–these might be hard to share in the opening discussion.

Toronto Field Naturalists wishes to acknowledge this Land through which we walk. For thousands of years, the Land has been shared by the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe. Toronto is situated on the Land within the Toronto Purchase, Treaty 13, the traditional and treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is also part of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum, a covenant agreement between Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Wendat peoples and allied nations to peaceably share the land and all its resources. Today, the Land is home to peoples of numerous nations. We are all grateful to have the opportunity to continue to care for and share the beauty of this Land.