Bird Talk, Chitchatter, & Calls

Birds are talkative animals, often calling (quite loudly) to one another. But what exactly are they saying?

Here are some birds you may hear in the GBBR, and what they are talking about.

1.    Black-capped chickadee
The famous chick-a-dee-dee call is an alarm used to tell other chickadees of nearby danger. The closer a predator gets, and more dee notes a chickadee will add to its call.


2.    Pileated woodpecker
While they can sing, woodpeckers will drum on wood to establish territories. Woodpeckers even drum on the sides of houses and metal signs, because while the noise this creates can be annoying to people,
 it sounds great to a woodpecker! You’ll know you’re listening to a pileated woodpecker if you hear a slow, powerful drumming.


3.    Common loon
If you hear a high, wavering call, a loon is sounding an alarm. Loons use long, haunting wails to tell other loons where they are.

If you hear bird song and want to figure out who you’re listening to, an amazing resource is The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This site gives you tons of information on different kinds of birds, and you can even listen to their calls!

Let us know if you hear any interesting bird songs this summer!

Here’s to soaring hawks and nature walks!

Our Friend the Spotted Turtle

Hello everyone!

We have a very special guest joining us at the GBBR this summer, a spotted turtle!

Spotted turtles have bright yellow dots on their shells and bodies. They are one of the smallest turtle species in Ontario, only reaching about 12 cm in length.

Spotted turtles are native to the Biosphere, and like to live in wetlands like bogs and small ponds. Sadly, spotted turtles are endangered. This means that they are disappearing from our Biosphere, and soon there may not be any left in the wild. There are several reasons spotted turtles are endangered. Can you think of any?

Our little turtle needs a name! We’ve collected a few turtle names, and it’s up to the Kids in the Biosphere to choose the best one! If you send in a vote for a name to kids@gbbr.ca, add one point for your Kids in the Biosphere scorecard!

1. Blueberry        2. Freckles        3. Pearl        4. Speedy

We're Like'n Lichens!

Ever noticed a green or orange rock while out exploring Georgian Bay? It’s likely that you’ve discovered a rock covered in lichen!

Lichens are actually made up of two living things, an algae and a fungus. They join up together in a symbiotic relationship, where they both benefit from living together.

Algae produce energy from the sun through photosynthesis, just like trees and other plants. This energy is used as food for the algae and fungus. In return, the fungus provides a home and protection for the algae. Sounds like a good partnership!

Lichen are very sensitive to air quality. If lichens start disappearing from an area, that can be a big warning sign that there is air pollution.


Here are some lichen you may spot this summer:

1.    Caribou lichen
The caribou lichen is favourite food of - you guessed it - caribou!



2.    Common orange lichen
This lichen can grow on rocks but it needs a bit of help getting all of its nutrients. One way it can do this is by growing on top of bird droppings - so if you find some orange lichen, it’s likely a bird





3.    Map lichen
Astronauts exposed a species of map lichen directly to outer space for 10 days. The lichen survived


Three cheers for ancient rocks and floating docks!

Prevent Plastic Pollution

We love exploring the waters of Georgian Bay! People use the Bay to go fishing, sailing, kayaking, swimming and even scuba diving! 

We all want our lakes to be clean for us, animals and plants. But there is a sneaky type of pollution making its way into the water - plastic microbeads!

Plastic microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic that people put in cleaning products like hand soap, body wash, and even toothpaste!

Microbeads scrub away dirt, but once their job is finished they get washed down the drain and into lakes. Fish, birds and other animals can become sick by eating these plastic beads.

To help protect wildlife, make sure you’re not using any products with microbeads. When you’re at the store, look at the ingredients on the soaps and toothpaste. Make sure you don’t choose any soaps with an ingredient called polyethylene - that’s plastic!

If you want to get creative, the GBBR has put together some recipes to make your own eco-friendly shampoo, soap and toothpaste! Check it out here! That way you can keep yourself and Georgian Bay squeaky clean!

Three cheers for canoeing on the lake and spotting a snake!

Reach for the Stars - Summer Stargazing

Now that nights are getting warmer, we’re excited to do some stargazing!

Stargazing can be hard when you’re in a big city. The lights from buildings, streetlights and cars can block our view of the night sky. The extra light can be confusing for animals such as birds and insects that use moonlight and starlight to find their way around at night.

In the GBBR we have less artificial light than big cities, so we have some spectacular views of space. Remember, to keep our skies dark always turn off lights when you leave a room.

Here are some stargazing tips:

You don’t need a telescope to go stargazing. Your eyes alone can spot stars, meteors, and planets.

Bring some blankets to sit on, plus a warm sweater and hot chocolate for when it gets chilly!

Tri-coloured Bat by S. Dobbyn

While you’re stargazing, keep a lookout for nocturnal animals. Nocturnal animals are creatures that are active at night and sleep during the day. Listen for owls hooting and watch for the glow of fireflies. You'll probably see a bat fly by at night too!

Let us know if you have any neat space or nocturnal animal sightings!

Three cheers for starry skies and dragonflies!