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This One Is For The Birds

17 Mar 2023

Pet birds are very popular and loads of people have bird feeders in their back yards. That makes for birdseed being a huge business! Most people of course don’t give much thought to what it...

Birds Seem To Be Scared of Googly Eyes, and That’s a Good Thing

21 Oct 2022

Every year upwards of 25 million birds are killed in Canada due to collisions with buildings, communication towers, wind turbines, and as a result of being tangled into marine gillnets. From window...

Why is poop brown?

23 Aug 2022

A certain amount of the muddy colour can be attributed to the different colours of food we eat. Like mixing all the paint colours together, the result is a dull brown. But, much bigger factors for...

Should I Attach a Bell to My Cat’s Collar?

26 Sep 2019

​Reprinted with the permission of Animal Wellness Magazine.  Consider these pros and cons before attaching a bell to your cat’s collar.

In China Birds’ Nests Are Not Only For Birds

23 Jan 2019

Believe it or not, some 200 tons of birds’ nests are consumed in the world every year with Hong Kong diners leading the way.  We’re not talking any old birds’ nest here.  These are very special...

Ostriches Do Not Really Stick Their Heads in the Sand

20 Aug 2017

Despite popular misconception, ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand. This myth originated in ancient Rome and is so pervasive that it’s used as a common metaphor for someone avoiding...

The Stormy Petrel

30 May 2017

The Shetland Islands are famous for sheep and wool.  But did you know that they are also home to the stormy petrel?  This unusual bird, so-named because it was thought to appear before a storm, has...

"Chaotic seabirds" influenced Alfred Hitchcock

20 Feb 2017

In August 1961, in Capitola and Santa Cruz, California there was an invasion of what people described as “chaotic seabirds.” These birds were believed to be under the influence of domoic acid, a...

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