Come on in! Welcome to the Nature Zone

I've always loved nature and some of my best memories come from being out in the woods, by the river, or even in my own backyard. So, with this in mind, it only made sense to put a whole page dedicated to nature.

Some Stories

There's no better way to start out a page about nature other than some good ol' stories. So, pretend that you're around a campfire, grab a snack, and learn about my misadventures in the wilderness.

Lost in the Woods

This is probably a story that almost everybody can relate to, so I'll keep it short and sweet. A few years ago, being the pea-brained preteen I was, I went to the forest by myself to look for salamanders. 3 hours and 20 salamanders later, it was time to head back . . . and I was completely lost. The next hour was filled with google maps tweaking out, sending voice messages to my friends like a captain lost at sea, and seeing the same tree 4 different times. Luckily, after the 10th loop up the hill, I found a paved pathway which I followed all the way out of the forest and got home by nightfall.

A Muddy Hell

This story takes place from my first time going dipnetting in a new part of the river. If you don't know what dipnetting is, it's where you wade around in the water with a net to catch fish. In the part of the river where I usually dipnetted, it was pretty rocky, and that's what I expected with this part of the river. I was very wrong. 20 minutes in and I was over ankle-deep in river mud, contemplating what choices I made to get here. Using the sheer power of the indomitable human spirit, I freed myself and didn't even lose my sandals.

My Hand and the Water Serpent

You see, in my city there are 5 species of snake: The Eastern Garter Snake, The Dekay's Brownsnake, The Eastern Milksnake, The Red-bellied Snake, and lastly, the subject of this story: The Common Water Snake. I was a pretty dumb pre-teen as you could probably imagine and I tended to pick up most snakes I found: most of those snakes being Eastern Garter Snakes. So, when I went to the river and saw a snake swimming down the river, I immediately grabbed it and just as quickly had judgement delivered. Completely unrelated, I learned that Common Water Snakes have an anti-coagulant in their saliva, which prevents the blood from clotting and causes you to bleed for longer.

Sixteen Snakes, Two Days

During the early days of April 2026, I was skipping Calculus(as one does) but I didn't want to just head straight home just yet, so instead I took the oppertunity to drop by a local creek near my school. Now mind you, this creek is an incredibly urban creek. It is practically smack dab in the middle of the city, so obviously, I wasn't expecting to find much while walking it's paved trails(other than common birds like Robins, Gackles, Cardinals, etc) but while I'm walking, I hear rustling in the leaves. Ussually I would assume that it's just the wind but I glanced over regardless of that, that's where I spotted 2 Common Garter Snakes. I got them for my inaturalist but now I had a mission to find more, where there's 1 snake, there's gotta be more. That day I ended off with finding 3 snakes, including the beauty in the picture for this story. I went back the next day during my lunch and spare, that day was truely insane. The day started off strong when I went down to the bank of the creek and spotted a snake. The luck kept on going and by the end I found a total of 13 snakes, I also saw 3 snakes all grouped up together, likely recouvering from brumation. For a creek right in the city, I was beyond surprised.

INaturalist

INaturalist is a platform I found back in 2023 and ever since then, I've been absolutely hooked. INaturalist in a nutshell is like irl pokemon, you take pictures of animals, plants, fungi, etc and then it's stored for you so that you can see how many species and how many individuals you've observed. Now, obviously, it's a great tool for collecting data about various species for researchers but the main reason I use it is because of the leaderboard. For each species there's a leaderboard to see who has observed it the most, there's a global leaderboard and there's also leaderboards for cities, countries, etc. With all this said, all the animals on the right are the ones I'm ranked number one for in my city.

Finding a very Special Turtle

If you look to the right, you'll see one species stands out from the others, that being the only turtle on there, The Blanding's Turtle. The reason why it gets a whole section dedicated to it is because . . . drumroll please . . . in the entirity of my city, I am the ONLY one to have an observaton of the Blanding's Turtle. So ya, I think that's pretty neat.

My Local Gems

Sometimes it's the most unexpected places that really surprise you and as I've explored my city more and broadened my horizons, I have found some places that can only be described as gems. Some of these gems are obvious, such as Riverwood, which is a conserved section of forest right along the Credit River but some of these gems are diamonds in the rough, which is even more satisfying.

Riverwood and the rest of the Culham Trail area

Riverwood, as I briefly explained above, is a conserved section of forest thats right along the credit river. Riverwood objectively is a gem, it holds a huge amount of diversity in such a dense area and it is the only spot where I got to see a white tailed deer(which I sadly couldn't get for inaturalist). There's also a lot of species that I saw for the first time there, such as the Eastern Red Backed Salamander. A species which I'm trying to get number 1 on the leaderboard for in my city.

Species Observed

So far, I've observed 59 species in Riverwood/Erindale area out of 1,801(To be fair, while there I almost always just look for salamanders so that's likely why I haven't found many of the birds and insects in the riverwood/erindale area)

Eastern Red-backed Salamander 50 Observations

Northern Clearwater Crayfish 43 Observations

Virile Crayfish 32 Observations

Big Water Crayfish 15 Observations

Downy Woodpecker 11 Observations

Common Shiner 10 Observations

Fantail Darter 9 Observations

Chinook Salmon 7 Observations

Longnose Dace 7 Observations

Eastern Chipmunk 6 Observations

Stonecat 6 Observations

American Toad 5 Observations

Western Blacknose Dace 5 Observations

Common Garter Snake 4 Observations

Rainbow Darter 4 Observations

Creek Chub 4 Observations

Green Frog 4 Observations

White Sucker 4 Observations

Red-winged Blackbird 3 Observations

American Red Squirrel 3 Observations

Johnny Darter 3 Observations

Black-capped Chickadee 3 Observations

Rathke's Woodlouse 3 Observations

Ring-billed Gull 2 Observations

Mallard 2 Observations

Blue Jay 2 Observations

Common Grackle 2 Observations

White-breasted Nuthatch 2 Observations

Common Watersnake 2 Observations

Common Snapping Turtle 2 Observations

Eastern Cottontail 2 Observations

Isabella Tiger Moth 2 Observations

Hornyhead Chub 2 Observations

Granulated Ground Beetle 2 Observations

Mourning Dove 1 Observations

Turkey Vulture 1 Observations

Great Blue Heron 1 Observations

Canada Goose 1 Observations

Northern Cardinal 1 Observations

Red-bellied Snake 1 Observations

Dekay's Brownsnake 1 Observations

Rainbow Trout 1 Observations

Common Shiny Woodlouse 1 Observations

Common Striped Woodlouse 1 Observations

Brown-lipped Snail 1 Observations

American Rubyspot 1 Observations

Eastern Boxelder Bug 1 Observations

River Chub 1 Observations

Six-spotted Fishing Spider 1 Observations

Serrate Dark Fishfly 1 Observations

Hedgehog Slug 1 Observations

Gammarus fasciatus 1 Observations

Tribe Brachinini 1 Observations

Hobo Spider 1 Observations

Black-margined Loosestrife Beetle 1 Observations

Immigrant Pavement Ant 1 Observations

Stenocranus minutus 1 Observations

Perce-Oreille 1 Observations

Hairy Woodpecker 1 Observations

Credit Meadows Park

Credit Meadows Park is my favorite place to go dipnetting at for many reasons. Firstly, it is just way more empty meaning that I get pretty much the entire river to myself. Secondly, it is one of the most biodiverse sections of the credit river that I have been to with many different species of minnows, darters, crayfish, etc. There's also a huge meadow next this section of river, which I haven't gotten to fully explore just yet but it looks promising for spotting insects and birds.

Species Observed

I have observed 32 out of 228(Many the species I haven't obsereved there are birds, which is something I don't tend to observe. I also haven't explored the park full, only recently learning about a pond nearby in the park)

Virile Crayfish 48 Observations

Rainbow Darter 41 Observations

Northern Clearwater Crayfish 36 Observations

Fantail Darter 27 Observations

Stone Cat 22 Observations

Big Water Crayfish 22 Observations

Longnose Dace 21 Observations

Western Blacknose Dace 20 Observations

River Chub 20 Observations

River Chub 11 Observations

Hornyhead Chub 8 Observations

Creek Chub 7 Observations

Brook Stickleback 6 Observations

Chinook Salmon 3 Observations

Johnny Darter 3 Observations

Green Frog 2 Observations

White Sucker 2 Observations

Turkey Vulture 1 Observations

Great Blue Heron 1 Observations

Mallard 1 Observations

Canada Goose 1 Observations

American Robin 1 Observations

European Starling 1 Observations

Common Snapping Turtle 1 Observations

Bluntnose Minnow 1 Observations

Autumn Meadowhawk 1 Observations

Ebony Jewelwing 1 Observations

Embossed Stone 1 Observations

Goldenrod Leaf Beetle 1 Observations

Complex Lasioglossum pilosum 1 Observations

American Mink 1 Observations

Carolyn Creek Park

If you read the story section above, you would've learned about my 16 snakes in 2 days blitz and this is the location where that took place. I love garter snakes and finding so many and so consistantly at this little urban creek automatically made this a gem in my eyes.

Species Observed

I haven't observed a super wide variaty of species here(I've mainly focused on snakes if you could imagine that) so out of the 98 species that have been observed by this creek, I have found 2. Which 98 unique species for such a tiny little stretch of urban creek is absolutely absurd! Most of these species are insects, some very interesting and unique ones at that such as the Hummingbird Clearwing (a mouth that very closely resembles a hummingbird) and the Northern Walkingstick. I didn't even know there were walking sticks in my city, so now I have a new goal of an insect to find.

Common Garter Snake 18 Observations

Virile Crayfish 2 Observations

Creditview Wetland/Willowvale Fields

This is by far the single most surprising spot that I found whilst out and exploring. Previously, I had came here before but I never really found much of anything. Probably because I wasn't really paying attention but now it has become a certified gem. I have obsereved a ton of new species of birds and I can even hear tons of frogs(I plan on getting one on camera soon).

Species Observed

As I said above, I've observed a ton of different bird species here but I've also seen other types of animals there as well. In total, I've obsereved 46 species out of 161, which for such a small area is super impressive. On top of that, there are some incredibly rare species spotted here such as a Blanding's Turtle being spotted there and 2 Scarlet Tangers.

American Robin 29 Observations

Common Grackle 9 Observations

Canada Goose 8 Observations

Red-winged Blackbird 8 Observations

Common Garter Snake 8 Observations

Grey Catbird 7 Observations

Mourning Dove 6 Observations

European Starling 5 Observations

Black-and-white Warbler 4 Observations

Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Observations

House Finch 4 Observations

Red-tailed Hawk 3 Observations

Northern Cardinal 3 Observations

Chipping Sparrow 3 Observations

Veery 3 Observations

House Sparrow 3 Observations

Least Flycatcher 3 Observations

Eastern Grey Squirrel 3 Observations

American Goldfinch 3 Observations

Cedar Waxwing 2 Observations

White-throated Sparrow 2 Observations

Barn Swallow 2 Observations

Coyote 2 Observations

Brown-lipped Snail 2 Observations

Palm Warbler 2 Observations

Northern Yellow Warbler 2 Observations

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Observations

Killdeer 1 Observations

Great Blue Heron 1 Observations

Mallard 1 Observations

Baltimore Oriole 1 Observations

Scarlet Tanager 1 Observations

American Redstart 1 Observations

Brown-headed Cowbird 1 Observations

Swainson's Thrush 1 Observations

Warbling Vireo 1 Observations

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Observations

Pure Green Sweat Bee 1 Observations

Magnolia Warbler 1 Observations

Bay-breasted Warbler 1 Observations

Alfalfa Weevil 1 Observations

Cresson's Mining Bee 1 Observations

Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Observations

Clover Weevil 1 Observations

Cooper's Hawk 1 Observations

Hairy Woodpecker 1 Observations

How to Find Gems in Your City

Finding nature gems in your city may seem incredibly difficult but it's not as hard as you think and here, I'll provide you some tips about finding these gems. Firstly, I'd recommend downloading Inaturalist. There's a pretty high chance that people in your area have clustered around one area to observe wildlife. For example, I found out about Riverwood and Erindale through this method as I saw a ton of people make observations in these two areas. Now obviously, this may not help you find a more obsecure little gem, such as the Creditview Wetland in my case. Well, you cna also try finding the website of a conservation organization for your local watershed or ecosystem. In my case, I learned more about the Creditview Wetland through looking through the CVC(Credit Valley Conservation) website. Lastly and I'd say this is the most practical tip, just explore your city with your eyes and ears open. It doesn't particularly matter how you do this, whether you do it by foot, car, or bike but just exploring your city and then making sure to notice every small detail is guranteed to find you a gem. That's how I found some of my very favorite spots like the Creditview Wetland, Credit Meadows, and Carloyn Creek. So get outside, touch grass, and find some gems of your own!

My Trip to Costa Rica

Nearly 2 years ago, I visted Costa Rica along with my family and to say it was amazing is a gross understatement. It was so biodiverse that everywhere I looked there was a new species. In fact, Costa Rica was so biodiverse that in 2 weeks, I went from 100 species to OVER 300 SPECIES. So, making a section of the Nature section dedicated to Costa Rica was a no brainer.

Tortuguero: The Boat Ride and the Night Walk

Tortegero is a small village that borders right on the Tortuguero national park. We had to take a boat ride to get there due to how remote it was and on the way there, I spotted a species I was really hoping to spot: The American Crocodile. After a very strong start to this trip, we went to the hotel, rested, and then left by nightfall for the nightwalk. The trail was completely flooded, so we had to wear boots as the guide showed us the hundreds of different species of frogs, insects, and spiders. At one point, we even saw a turtle swimming about in the flooded trail. It's impossible to describe how amazing it was seeing new species, after new species, after new species. The species I have below are, from left to right, Black River Turtle, Helmeted Iguana(which is related to chameleaons), Brazillian Wandering Spider, and the American Crocodile.

Tortuguero: The Canoe Ride and The Day Walk

The next morning, we were out on the lagoon in a canoe. It was so calm, there was absolutely no other noise other than the water and the occasional bird. Speaking of birds, the diversity of birds on this lagoon and it's creek was extrodinary. We saw many different species of herons and other fish eating birds. Other than birds, we also saw some Spectacled Caimans. After the canoe ride, we took a trail into the forest for a day walk. Which, while not as diverse as the nightwalk, still allowed us to spot many interesting species, such as land crabs, lizards, poison dart frogs, and monkeys. The species listed below are: Northern Jacana, Little Blue Heron, Spectacled Caiman, and The Strawberry Poison Dart Frog.

La Fortuna and Tamerindo

The next two places we went to in Costa Rica was La Fortuna and then Tamerindo. We didn't see many animals in La Fortuna, there most of the species I photographed were birds I saw at the resort we stayed at. The main attraction of La Fortuna was the amazing views on the hikes. After that, we were off the sandy shores of Tamerindo. There, we stayed at a resort where we saw some very chill iguanas. Then we went to do some snorkling, where I spotted a big pufferfish just chilling out in the open. Another amazing thing about Tamerindo was how clearly you could see the stars at night on the beach.

Monte Verde

So far all of the places I went to in Costa Rica were hot and humid, like you'd expect from a rainforest. Monte Verde however, was completely different. While it was just as wet as the other places, it was cold, which was due to it being up in the clouds. Here, we stayed in a cabin in the woods, which allowed me to see some cool animals such as a hummingbird and a coati, which is a creature that sorta resembles a racoon. We also did a nightwalk here, which not as amazing as the Tortuguero nightwalk was still amazing.

Crocodile Bridge and Manuel Antonio National Park

The last two places of notes we went to were Crocodile bridge, which, just as the name suggests, is a bridge where you are able to spot tons of crocodiles from. Manuel Antonio National Park was also amazing, we spotted a bunch of sloths, monkeys, and some very unique birds. The animals below are: American Crocodiles, Central American White-faced Capuchin, Terciopelo, Common Potoo, and the Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth

The Pets(Sorta)

As a kid, I've had some pets, mainly fish, but I did also have two African Dwarf Frogs, respectfully named Lightning and Thunder. Now that was about 10 years ago, now I have over 10, beautiful koi fish. Other than that, we dont keep any animals but we do have some animals that I consider to kinda be pets. Firstly, we have 3 squrriels that come to our backyard who we feed. They first started coming a few years ago and have been coming ever since. Recently, other than just the squrriels, a cat has begun visiting our backyard frequently. We, as anyone would, gave the cat food and now it spends hours in the backyard, sleeping and chasing the birds.