Rooted in Ontario · Celebrating the wildlife outside our doors
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Ontario field notes / Habitat

Ontario Backyard Field Guide

Autumn leaves are habitat, not simply yard waste. Discover a practical middle ground between tidy pathways and a living landscape.

Explore 20 Ontario backyard species. These profiles use locally stored decorative illustrations, not unverified species photographs. Follow each profile’s identification link for photographic confirmation.

Birds

Illustrated card: American RobinAmerican RobinTurdus migratoriusIllustrated card: Northern CardinalNorthern CardinalCardinalis cardinalisIllustrated card: Black-capped ChickadeeBlack-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillusIllustrated card: Blue JayBlue JayCyanocitta cristataIllustrated card: Downy WoodpeckerDowny WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensIllustrated card: Ruby-throated HummingbirdRuby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris

Mammals

Illustrated card: Eastern Grey SquirrelEastern Grey SquirrelSciurus carolinensisIllustrated card: Red SquirrelRed SquirrelTamiasciurus hudsonicusIllustrated card: Common RaccoonCommon RaccoonProcyon lotorIllustrated card: Eastern CottontailEastern CottontailSylvilagus floridanusIllustrated card: Striped SkunkStriped SkunkMephitis mephitis

Insects

Illustrated card: Monarch ButterflyMonarch ButterflyDanaus plexippusIllustrated card: Common Eastern Bumble BeeCommon Eastern Bumble BeeBombus impatiens

Trees

Illustrated card: Eastern White CedarEastern White CedarThuja occidentalisIllustrated card: Sugar MapleSugar MapleAcer saccharumIllustrated card: Eastern White PineEastern White PinePinus strobusIllustrated card: Red OakRed OakQuercus rubra

Plants

Illustrated card: Wild BergamotWild BergamotMonarda fistulosaIllustrated card: Purple ConeflowerPurple ConeflowerEchinacea purpureaIllustrated card: Common MilkweedCommon MilkweedAsclepias syriaca