Species at Risk Spotlight: Bobolink
May 2023 Dawson Trail Dispatch: May is a very exciting time in the tall-grass prairie, especially for birdwatchers. The spring migration is well underway, bringing new species to the area daily.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Short-eared Owl
April 2023 Dawson Trail Dispatch: A species that is out of sight, out of mind like the short-eared owl is sometimes forgotten, but if you are lucky enough to witness one as it hovers over the prairie it is an image that you won’t soon forget.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Snapping Turtle
March 2023 Dawson Trail Dispatch: Snapping turtles have been a part of the landscape for such a long time it would be a tragedy to lose them now. Conservation efforts are making a positive impact.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Black Ash
February 2023 Dawson Trail Dispatch: If you are in search of black ash, good places to look would be undisturbed wetland areas near rivers, swamps, and fens. Here they can live 150 to 300 years.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Chimney Swift
January 2023 Dawson Trail Dispatch: There is a threatened bird that is linked with our use of wood, the chimney swift, whose Canadian population has plummeted by at least 95 per cent since the 1970s.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Red-headed Woodpecker
December 2022 Dawson Trail Dispatch: Woodpeckers are one of the most dynamic families of birds we share the tall-grass prairie ecosystem with. They are highly adaptable species and come in a variety of unique colours and patterns.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Eastern Tiger Salamander
November 2022 Dawson Trail Dispatch: As an amphibian, the eastern tiger salamander depends on both aquatic and terrestrial (land) habitats to complete their life cycle.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Eastern Wood-pewee
October 2022 Dawson Trail Dispatch: It can be bittersweet knowing that you won’t be seeing these migrants until warmer weather returns, and this is especially true for species that are at risk of disappearing like the eastern wood-pewee.
Species at Risk Spotlight: Riddell’s Goldenrod
September 2022 Dawson Trail Dispatch: In Canada there are over 30 species of goldenrod, and in the tall-grass prairie we have our fair share. Out of these species one is considered at-risk, Riddell’s goldenrod.
“There are probably fewer than 500 globally”, butterflies released in the Southeast
August 2022 Pembina Valley Online: Nearly 200 endangered butterflies were released into the wild near Vita earlier this summer.