Ocean sunfish are sometimes found on the beaches of the
Bras d’Or estuary in autumn and early winter, generating a lot of interest.
You may think that Ocean sunfish (Mi’kmaq: E’pma’jit)
earned that name because of...
Now that winter has eased its grip, the cold-blooded
creatures are starting to make an appearance in the Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere.
The Mi’kmaw word for May is Squoljuiku’s which
translates to “frog croaking time.” Frogs...
One of the questions that I am asked most often is: “Are
there more jellyfish (Mi’kmaq: sasap) in the Bras d’Or estuary now than there
used to be?”
I have a lot of trouble answering that...
Why do some plants have medicinal value for humans?
Plants produce multitudes of chemicals. Some of these chemicals are of primary importance in their metabolic processes and some are secondary. The bulk of chemicals...
During this year’s Bras d’Or Watch field day on July
14, participants noted flocks of swallows (Mi’kmaq: pukwales) at all five
sites. These charismatic acrobats were quite numerous and entertaining.
Their apparent abundance is of interest...
The summer populations of hummingbirds
(Mi’kmaq: militaw) should be well established in our Biosphere by now.
Did you know that we only have one
species, the Ruby-throated variety? The Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere is near the
northern...
Would it surprise you to know that the Bras d’Or Lake
Biosphere is the home of three species of wild cats (not including the escaped
domestic variety)?
They are all very mysterious and probably aware of...
We don’t know as much about the owls (Mi’kmaq:
ku’ku’kwes) of the Bras d’Or Lake Biosphere as we do about other birds.
I expect that may be due to the fact that observers are
not out...
In this column, we are going to revisit the porcupine
(Mi’kmaq: matues) and its colourful quills.
In particular, we are going to look at the sources of
violet (nisqunanamu’k) and blue (musqunamu’k) pigments. The red (mekwe’k)...