i noticed there being a lot less bugs on the windshield. the bees are gone mostly due to roundup and that infestation that i forgot the details of a couple of years ago, some sort of fungus or something. ddt wasnāt as bad as roundup is, i almost wish theyād bring that shit back.
Varroa mites are the biggest problem here in the states. Huge well established hives have collapsed because of this parasite. Ddt used to handle all these tiny bugs and didnāt seem to fuck with the pollinators. I still have the lizards and birds, in fact I have 2 blue Jayās yelling at me right now, but the bees are scarce.
Where we lived previously for the last 15 years, I saw a steady decline in wildlife as well, from when we first moved there it was very disturbing to me.
At our new place, experiencing our first spring, I am amazed at how much more wildlife there is here. I have already seen butterflies which is way earlier than normal, loads of bees and other pollinators. We get several deer in the back yard, loads of squirrels, even flying ones, didnāt know they were in Canada. Frogs are going crazy now and birds are building nests everywhere in our bushes, I am going to have to wait until they finished nesting before cutting them back.
Atlantic salmon are pretty much gone here our lakes and rivers have become to acidic, there are several sport fishing groups dumping lime into the lakes and rivers trying to reverse it, but they are fighting a losing battle atm. Our neighbor told me we used to get smelt runs up the small river that runs beside our property but he has not seen any for a few years now, not even any brook trout in there.
I am thinking of getting a beehive next year to help the bees out, the previous owner had bird, owl and bat boxes put up in our woods and garden, they seem to be still in use as well as the bushes for nesting. We even have a pair of ducks nesting here for several years, I am hoping the dogs donāt put them off this year.
Been walking the Rouge since I was a young boy fly fishing, honestly sometimes I forget Iām in Toronto down there, itās really a beautiful river in a sprawling metropolis, the Donā¦ā¦ not so much lol
Iāve noticed an abundance this year around me already, even seen 20-30 random honey bees already even though itās cool still, helped a couple out of danger in fact. The birds are insane! Robins, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers and humming birds everywhere! And of course the geese, I was headed a couple hours away the other day and the geese in the wetlands along the way was insane! There were entire ponds HUGE! Where you couldnāt see the water, just geese and the crop fields looked camouflaged by geese! Iām in Niagara Region and the only thing dissapearing here are the BIG fish, used to regularly land 12-15lb steelhead, now they are a rare treat! 20ās were caught often 10 years ago, now I havenāt seen one in over 3 years and I live on the water. Oh and eagles. We used to have 7 or 8 resident pairs along the gorge , and a couple by the falls, think thereās only 2 families left sadly. Such a beautiful bird to see in its natural habitat. And the nests are unreal! I could lay down in them comfortably and Iām 6,2ā and 190 lbs .
Flying squirrels huh? Thatās cool! Such a shame about the fish, with water levels depleting world wide the issue is only getting more drastic I pioneered a water watcher group locally , we also breed and dump fingerlings into the local ecosystem year after year since the ministry stopped. Our coho gone! Donāt even see an Atlantic anymore āgod I miss them and their 10ā leaps in the air flipping madlyā and the ecosystem is becoming harsh and less and less desirable areas for the fish to actually breed plus pollution etc. I felt if we didnāt help they would all dissapear however I often feel we are fighting a losing battle. The amount of time I volunteer is ALOT and I have 14 people helping as well yet I feel we would need hundreds and possibly government funded but EVERYTIME I try and bring it up, SHOT DOWN. 
I live in the middle of nowhere and the population of bees and birds seems lower every year. And more nuisance pests like grasshoppers, ticks, mosquitos, etc. Iām sure some areas are still alright but this does seem like a trend.
69% average decline in wildlife populations since 1970, says new WWF report
Oh ya ticks! Those bastards are everywhere now! Literally almost forgot but theyāll be exploding as we speak 
little pricks disgust me ! And the alewives āsalmon/trout natural food are also becoming more scarce forcing them to seek out alternatives which end up jeapordizing other ecosystems itās a crazy vicious cycle 
Yeah. I remember reading a report that the water quality in the Don is really quite good but Iām not going swimming in it. Itās pretty remarkable when they all splash upstream.
Actually, although the frogs are strangely quiet, and thatās not good, the other wildlife here seems to be flourishing.
We have two Robinās nests under our deck w/ eggs. I swear itās the fattest pack of squirrels this side of the Mississippi guarding our grapes and blueberries. I saw a snake in the flower bed this week, chasing after a blue tailed lizard, woodpeckers in force.
Weāve also got raptors threatening our dogs while they feast on the squirrels and rabbits and the neighbors photographed a skinny bear in their backyard the other day.
Nature is raging here on the outskirts of the Richmond metro area.
Who me? Oh. Grrrrrrr. Youā¦ better stayā¦at bay! Rar.
See the birds ate the bees and the lizards ate the birds and thatās why itās so quiet. We need to introduce things that will eat lizards.
We have tons of birds and fuzzy critters coming out of hibernationā¦ have seen a few beesā¦
But here in MI- we donāt get them āfull forceā until night temps are higherā¦ our weather has been so erratic, that the beeās come out, then get too cold to make it back to the hive. That- plus that nasty Bee fungal diseaseā¦
Hope they come out soon-- our apple trees are already starting to bloom!!!
A LOT of this is OUR FAULTā¦
If Americans/humans in general didnāt demand so many imported fruits/veggies, an just ate local/native species-- the parasites and diseases that effect bees that used to be limited to their Country/Continent of origin are now world-wide.
I went to Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago and I can tell you this they have no shortage of green Anole lizards as those smooth salamander looking ones.I seen them crawling all over the condos and had fun trying to catch all of them.Hundreds of the little buggers every where all over the beach heads.Here our Honey bees are back in full force thier everywhere with the bumble bees here and Monarch butterflies.This is the most of the flying insects Iāve seen in a real long time.Seen 3 monarchs havenāt seen those in years around here.More people are planting flowers around here and we leave all the wildflowers we can now everyone here knows not to rip them all out .The local Flora and Fauna here is slowly getting better
Itās only in Jan and Feb that the ticks become semi dormant here. March I was pulling 3 or 4 ticks a week of the dogs, itās tick central here, every time I go into the back yard I come in and check myself, usually find one crawling on my legs, had 2 on me today after an hour of gardening. The dogs are all dosed up with the tick tablets but it doesnāt stop them getting bitten by them. Our small dog got a blood infection shortly after we moved here in October. I must have pulled 30 off her in two weeks, big fat bloated ones were dropping off her on the bed. I am getting used to them now but they gave me the shudders at first.
One of my nerve damage symptoms is called clonus, itās nerv signals that jump to other nerve pathways, causing micro muscle twitches all over my body. It feels like something is crawling over me, so I am constantly stripping off my clothes to check itās not a tick lol.
Oh man, thatās crazy. Iād have constant heebie jeebies, poor dog ticks are just gross, anything that gorged in blood is imho, I thought I had it bad, not like that! Although last year my friends Akita had about 200 on him, we spent an entire day scouring his body only to be pulling them off of each other and ourselves that night and the next day. I was traumatized for a month, huge ones, fat, full. Tiny babies two different kinds, just nuts! Making my skin crawl thinking about it 
I remember reading somewhere that if like 10% of the people starting growing 10% of their own food, it would reduce the need for imported and big ag grown stuff by āinsert rest of the stats hereā I donāt remember the rest of it, but it was astounding. Thatās why we grow/raise as much of our own food as possible, as well as planting things specifically for pollinators. I also tilled up my entire front yard and planted pasture grass and three different types of clover. And before anyone complains, I know that all the clover isnāt technically native. I donāt care. Bees and butterflies love it.
And everyone that said ticks are gross. You are correct. One of the most disgusting creepy crawlies out there. Chickens and guineas eat the fuck out of them 
Also have any of you noticed crows becoming more aggressive to other birds? The murder ha of crows that live around here have chased almost all other bigger birds away? Weird
We live on a railway corridor and see tiny birds chase off giant hawks all the time. They fly by my window. They are huge.