Would a bird in need ever be rescued? — On June 13, I went to High Park in Toronto’s west end for what I thought would be a day of butterflies and dragonflies. The park is vast (161 hectares, or 400 acres) and contains a variety of habitats, including wetlands and one of the last dry-oak savannahs in the…

Another Native Knockout — I like every element of the popular name: Early Blue Cohosh. Early means the flowers appear when I most long for them — in April, when winter has just released its grip, and the soil, if not frozen, is still clammy and cold. Blue signifies a color I don’t see…

A Study in Diversity and Beauty — Recently, I was asked to compile a checklist of the dragonflies and damselflies that frequent the Leslie Street Spit, the so-called “urban wilderness” and parkland that extends into Lake Ontario from Toronto’s east end. One thing that intrigued me about this project was the contrast between the old and new…

Especially those that turn into moths — To paraphrase Thoreau, I wish to speak a word for caterpillars, if only because so few defend or find them beautiful. …

But a strangely beautiful hybrid — For the second year in a row, a rare hybrid duck has decided to spend the winter at Ashbridges Bay on Toronto’s waterfront. Last year, this male duck, or drake, was still a juvenile and had a juvenile’s dull-colored plumage. …

A Commission He Couldn’t Refuse, Part Two — I spent a year at the University of Toronto reading the epic poem Beowulf in the original Anglo-Saxon. The prof for that class was Laurence K. Shook, a Basilian priest who had a special interest in the riddles contained in an Old English manuscript called the Exeter Book. These riddles…

A Commission He Couldn’t Refuse, Part One — When she stops him on the Rue Royale, she’s wearing a dark veil that makes it impossible to see her face. Even so, he can tell she is “a femelle of a fine form.” She speaks to him in French because she knows it’s his native tongue. Is he the…

The Most Elegant of Damselflies — All damselflies — the tiny, slimmed-down cousins of dragonflies in the order Odonata — are elegant creatures, but the Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita) is in a class by itself. Is it the name alone that makes me think so? …

Bloodroot, a Native Knockout — When I’m outside in early spring, I find myself not so much longing for the sight of something green as lusting after the color yellow. …