Alison 🇨🇦

@n8rnerd

Consulting Ecologist with a focus on Species at Risk and Impact Assessment/Mitigation, working with bioacoustics and camera trapping. Enjoy iNaturalist, baking, board games, hockey, & reading. Parront 🦜 😷 Based in #HamOnt. She/her.

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Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 17h

I have a mature female Kentucky Coffee Tree in my yard and its seeds have germinated in abundance this year. Hoping to give some out to friends!

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 3d

Beautiful evening to sit outside with Artuu and read the Sept/Oct issue of @thewalrus.ca (check out the first article, "How to Blow Up a Data Centre" by Ira Wells).

Artuu the African Grey Parrot in her travel cage with some colourful toys, sitting in the evening sunshine.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 12d

From The Walrus: thewalrus.ca/trump-is-thi...

LATE LAST SUMMER, as heat records were being smashed all over the world, an international team of scientists published an analysis of more than twenty years of satellite data from the US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration, concluding that the continents are slowly dehydrating—likely as a result of uncontrolled mining of groundwater by farmers, cities, and corporations—imperilling people and ecosystems across 101 countries.

With rising heat and drought conspiring to reduce surface water, humanity is increasingly extracting groundwater stored in aquifers—subterranean basins that underlie all the continents, composed of porous layers of rock and sediment that store precipitation as it seeps down from the surface. Much of this groundwater, replenished over millennia, is being exploited too intensely for it to recharge adequately.

We are now collectively pumping so much water to the surface, it is discharging via rivers into the world’s oceans, becoming one of the greatest contributors to global sea level rise. The depletion of underground water joins another kind of freshwater depletion on land: melting glacial ice. At least 70 percent of BC’s 17,000-plus mountain glaciers, which run up the Western Cordillera like a frozen spinal column of fresh water, will melt into the sea by 2100.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 15d

Oh, no. No thank you. Google Assistant worked perfectly fine without being "AI powered" to add items to my calendar, set up directions or respond to a text. Anyone else considering the move to Commodore Callback? It's nearly perfect, except for not having email or a browser. #NoAI

Excerpt from an email from Google titled "Google Assistant is going away on mobile devices":

We’re writing to let you know that the Google Assistant on your mobile device is being discontinued, and Gemini—our next-generation AI-powered assistant—is now the assistant experience on Android.1
What This Means for Your Mobile Device
As we transition our mobile experience to Gemini, Google Assistant will no longer be available on your mobile device. We will begin removing access to Google Assistant starting on September 4, and expect that this process may take a few weeks to reach everyone. Once availability is removed, you will no longer be able to use or switch back to Google Assistant on your phone, tablet, or paired devices.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 22d

Also, it's mammal species #20 for my yard! I'm now gearing up to find my 900th species before the end of the year 🤞 #iNaturalist #biodiversity

A circle chart showing a breakdown of species group (by colour) found in Alison's yard. There are 843 total, and mammals make up 2.37% with 20. Insects is the largest group, followed by plants and birds.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 22d

MOLEY MOLEY MOLE! 😍 I never dreamed I'd get to see a star-nosed mole in my yard and then this one just scampered alongside my garage while I was watering the garden! They're so weird and I love them ❤️ #neature

A star-nosed mole alongside the foundation of Alison's garage.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 25d

My final moth of #MothWeek2026 was this Large Tolype Moth, Tolype velleda. It was just hanging out on a stucco wall by a Moores Clothing store in a large commercial area.

A Large Tolype Moth on a white stucco wall. The moth is fluffy and white along its forelimbs, head and "shoulders", with a fringe of dark grey down its thorax and then grey & white wings.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· 26d

Check out this STUNNING snowberry clearwing moth that was found while I was volunteer bird banding this morning! #neature #MothWeek2026

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jul 20

Well I couldn't just go to Canada Post and leave without buying these 😍

Two booklets of 10 stamps: one features a rainbow-coloured hot air balloon carrying a variety of Canadian mammals alongside swimming orcas and flying Canada geese with a Canada jay, while the second features wildflower species butterfly milkweed and spotted beebalm.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jul 15

Perhaps I should "know better" than to take a week off in July, when for the past several years we've had prohibitively hot temperatures and fire smoke polluting the air, preventing me from enjoying my holiday. Sorry Artuu, no fun hikes this week, capitalists gotta capitalize.

Artuu the African Grey Parrot looking out the window at the brownish-grey sky, thick with smoke from northern wildfires. The air quality is 10+ (out of 1-10).

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jul 12

I wanted to play boardgames but I also wanted to be outside because it's cool and clear out tonight, so this is what I came up with. I'm now surrounded by fireflies and very cozy & content!

Alison's perspective from her chair on the deck of her home, under a gazebo lit with globe lights. In the foreground, on her lap is her laptop with a game of Wingspan on the screen. In the background is the lit underside of the gazebo with trees silhouetted by the dusky blue sky in the background. Venus is just visible to the left of centre.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jul 9

I did find a SECOND toadlet enjoying one of the naturalized areas in my yard!

Can you spot the toadlet among the sedge, barren strawberry and log at the base of the black walnut trunk?

Second tiny toadlet camouflaging with the soil underneath a sedge.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jul 8

I am both delighted and horrified to find a teeny tiny toadlet on my driveway. Please go find somewhere in my garden that's safer to live 🥹

A tiny American Toad toadlet on a gravel driveway, behind a car tire

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jul 1

My Michigan Lily was about to have 3 blooms open, but my resident White-tailed Deer had other plans 🥲

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 30

I do wish we had Restaurant Lafleur or something like it in #HamOnt that served up a good toastie or steamie.

Alison's meal from Restaurant Lafleur (aka Lafleur's) in Pointe-Claire, QC. The green tray is lined with a paper advertising the restaurant. The meal includes fries in a brown paper bag, and two "Supreme" toasties which are steamed hot dogs each with a slice of processed cheese and bacon together in a toasted, upright hot dog bun in a little cardboard tray.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 22

I'm so grateful for all of the natural areas in and around #HamOnt. We have the best time ❤️🦜

Alison with her African Grey Parrot, Artuu, in a special carrier backpack while out for a walk.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 21

@beeregenerative.bsky.social appreciate the enthusiasm, but if all 4 of your similar responses are from your AI assistant perhaps check it. Generative AI is environmentally damaging, takes 10x as much energy as a basic web search. Not sure it's worth it in this context.

A screenshot of the 4 responses to my post by "Bee Regenerative" that read very similar, posted from this time of writing 9, 7, 6 and 4 hours ago.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 21

28 days later I've blown my goal out of the water, reaching 740 species for my yard! Insects are still doing the heavy lifting, I've found 1-3 new species each day. #biodiversity #iNaturalist #ecology #nativeplants

A circle graph produced by iNaturalist showing the breakdown of various taxonomic groups for the species found in my yard. At the centre of the circle is "740 Species", with Insects representing approximately 408 species or 55.21% of the total. The second largest is Plants, with 171 species, followed by birds at 60 species.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 14

Ugh, they got into the garden beds and munched on my 3 patches of green beans. This hasn't happened the previous 3 summers, apparently I've made my yard too welcoming to wildlife.

Bean plants, browsed by deer, with their tracks in the soil.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 14

The deer that visit my yard are enjoying my native plantings a little too much 🫠 please stick to the goldenrods and asters you're used to, not my young tulip tree, sugar maple, joe pyeweed and new shrubs. Heck, give the invasive buckthorn a try, maybe you'll love it!

A young tulip tree, minus most of its leaves.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· Jun 13

I saw a Blanding's Turtle this morning 🥹 They're a Threatened species provincially, Endangered nationally, so it's always a special occasion when one makes an appearance.

A medium-sized Blanding's Turtle basking on a log above water covered in duckweed, with reeds growing out of the water in the background.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 24

My @inaturalist.bsky.social project for my yard is progressing well, going into its 4th year now. Earlier this year I hit 600 species and may reach 700 in the next few months, largely thanks to all the cool insects that I happen to find (no targeted trapping/attracting).

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 23

I am ok at art! Fun paint night at the @dvsa.ca #HamOnt

A chickadee (probably chestnut-backed) painted in acrylics, perched on a branch with a yellow and orange background.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 18

Is your AI chatbot subtly reshaping your opinions? | AI systems can draw upon a huge amount of data about the world, language and you to tailor a highly personalized pitch. www.thespec.com/gift-redeem?...

A screenshot from the article page with the title, byline, a photo of sheep with the caption "research shows that AI chatbots engage in deliberate emotional manipulation strategies, such as appealing to guilt, fear of missing out and a human tendency to follow the herd. The article is by Richard Lachman, a digital media professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. The article is republished from The Conversation.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 16

Did a little botanizing, birding and herping at one of my favourite local nature spots today (97 species tracked!). These two Midland painted turtles were so photogenic. On my bike ride home I was also able to help a little Eastern gartersnake across a busy road to the habitat on the other side!

Two Midland painted turtles basking on a log above the calm water of a pond, surrounded by growing green cattails.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 16

My Ontario Native Plants order arrived and I finally now have red osier dogwood, snakeroot and Wood's sedge. Today my yard was also visited by a few spring migrants including an Epidonax flycatcher, Nashville Warbler and Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and we heard Eastern Whip-poor-will tonight! #HamOnt

A moist patch of soil beside the base of a black walnut, including 2 Wood's sedge, 2 red-osier dogwood and 2 snakeroot.

An Epidonax flycatcher. It was not vocal so I'm not sure whether it's alder or willow.

A Nashville Warbler perched on a rock in a concrete birdbath with a solar fountain.

A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched on a twig.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 15

This mosquito has ✨style✨

An Aedes species of mosquito with tufted antennae

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 10

Yesterday I picked up my order of 35 plants from the North American Native Plant Society Plant Sale in Toronto. It feels like slow progress converting parts of our property to native plant communities, and it sure is expensive, but I'm sure it'll look amazing in another few years.

Part-shade native Ontario woodland plants including mayapple, trillium, hepatica, geranium, anemone, meadow rue, and a few ferns. Covering about 10 square metres of woodchipped ground around & between mature spruce and basswood trees.

Full-sun, moist-wet soil native Ontario plants with monkeyflower and buttonbush in the foreground and giant sunflower, vervain and gentian to the back, behind a set of plantings done last year.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 9

Finished product!

A Flapper Pie in a glass pie dish, cooling on a wire rack on top of a black ceramic cook top.

Alison 🇨🇦@n8rnerd· May 9

Baking dessert for a special dinner with my Mom tomorrow night. It's Flapper Pie, using my great-grandmother's recipe. All the items I've used to prepare it are from important people in my life, like my Grandma's wooden spoon, Nana's mixing bowl, pot from my parents, spatula from my BFF, (1/2)