artFrom coffee and clothing to fabrics and original arts and craft works, you may be noticing more and more products on store shelves (ours, anyway) that are marked as “fair trade” items. So, what does fair trade mean? Fair Trade Explained The best way to define fair trade is as a movement seeking social, economic … Read more
A Great Time to Fall for Birds Fall migration season is a great time for watching for new and unusual birds as they leave the north, continuing to follow the food in warmer climates. In some cases, their destination is right here in central Ontario, like northern juncos, for instance, whose arrival is the … Read more
American goldfinches (spinus tristis) are cheerful birds and year-round givers. Even through southern Ontario winters, we’re fortunate to have sufficient food supply to host goldfinches year-round; you’ll often see and hear families and flocks, with their dull green coats and chippery chirps as they bounce in wavy flight from tree to tree to nyger feeder. … Read more
We asked our newsletter readers to guess how many provinces and territories are represented by artists whose work we have carried over the years in our Avant-Garden shop. Take a guess and read about some of our unique artists (or scroll down to the bottom if you’re impatient) to see the answer. Leading … Read more
The Problem with the Flight As our migratory birds return to spring habitats, it’s a wonderful time to watch behaviours specific to this time of year. Many species migrate in large flocks, but once they arrive, their mating displays and territorial behaviours kick in. They chase or are chased by other birds over mates … Read more
We all have a friend or family member who is hard to shop for at Christmas time! If the don’t need or want anything but they love watching and feeding the birds, we have some ideas for you! Mixed seed trees and balls make great gifts that the birds will love as well. Top quality … Read more
It’s the time of year when we’re seeing a lot of different birds migrating through the area. Some are heading south from here, some coming from the north to our feeders for winter, or simply passing through. It’s really important to have good quality seed, and to make sure your feeders are clean. Birds don’t … Read more
Fall migration is underway. Like many Canadians, a lot of bird species prefer to spend their winters in warmer climes, often for the simple reason that food is more abundant there than it is here. Migration is risky business, though, and the move to the food is replete with challenges. First of all, it takes … Read more
On our last episode of the Garden Gate we met Michael Burrell and he told us about the book he and is brother recently had published. On this episode we delve a little deeper into places locally that are his favourite birding hot spots. Including the Lakefield lagoon!
Throughout his life, Gordon Hare has had an extraordinary ability to not only see intricate detail in wildlife, but also to capture that detail through three dimensional depictions. Gordon, born in Canada, was introduced to the world of bird carving by his uncle as a young boy and as early as age five Hare was … Read more