Nature

HILL ISLAND - Bud Andress grabs his binoculars and hops on the Jet-Ski at the dock of his St. Lawrence River home to go ...

When the thermometer starts dipping into negative values at night, and only rises into the single digits in the day, the...

Two species of Asian carp, bighead and steel carp, are daunting invasive fish, weighing 80 to 100 pounds. They jump when frightened, which can injure...

  Winter has come early this year. As I write this article, the temperature outside is hovering around 0 degrees...

The River teaches us lessons and I learned mine one night while ki-YAKKING—thankfully without catastrophic

Explosive storm on the River last night! I thought I was going to be capturing it way off in the distance, but suddenly

Save the River’s program brings many successes and new challenges Common tern with dinn...

The world’s greatest avian travelers are in trouble. The Earth’s populations of sandpipers, plovers and thei...

I arrived at Canoe Point by kayak from Thousand Island Park and offered to pay the $6-day use fee. The friendly staff provided a Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) brochure, information on the winery, and some local knowledge ...

A dear friend gave me a book about angels recently. I thought to myself, I have never read of anyone telling about their...

“This article is dedicated to Ken Deedy, the visionary conservationist to whom the songbirds owe a debt of gratitu...

The good folks of Trinity Anglican Church, in Marysville, Wolfe Island, first introduced me to Dog-strangling Vine (DSV)...

Anyone who knows the Mondores also knows that my husband and I love to hike! And we especially love to hike the Thousand...

While walking through the woods one day… in the merry month of July… We had a nice surprise a few weeks...

So, family members and/or friends are coming to share our special brand of paradise. While the River is the perfect &ldq...

New York Sea Grant reminds those of us who have dogs, who love the water, to be alert to the danger that harmful algal b...

When was the last time you saw a rainy day postcard? Sure, we all like the postcard view of the world. The one where the...

Perspective, in history, is everything. Aerial photography captures a River being transformed by the Seaway...

The St. Lawrence Islands National Park, established in 1904, is the oldest Canadian national park east of the Rockies. L...

We were lying on our west rock last summer, soaking up sunshine and listening to the squeals of delight from children sw...

It is interesting to note that the rise and fall of the water level of Lake Ontario is not some strange phenomenon that ...

I never know what I might find when I go fishing, but I never expected to find a sea serpent, with three-inch teeth. Tha...

On any given summer weekend, a passer-by to East End Park, in Cape Vincent, may see 10 to 20 scuba divers entering or ex...

For most of my life, I experienced the Thousand Islands only during the summer months. Many of my earliest and fondest m...

I Through the St. Lawrence Seaway story, runs a current of movement that goes beyond water. It is a story of risin...

You could say it all started on December 28, just days before the Seaway was set to close for the season, as Pacific Huron, a 623-foot ocean-going vessel, ran aground

While my wife and I, along with our three kids, certainly look forward to our annual summer vacations in the 1000 Island...

“Hey Susie, have you seen this?” asked Bill, “No! Then look, and tell me Where and Why?” The ...

Enjoying the River until freeze up! River enthusiasts who stay year-round are hardy souls well-prepared for cooler te...

In 1957, I started a new phase in life. I became a ninth grader. I entered the high school experience at Clayton Central...

When I titled my June TIL article, “The Year of the Boots,” I didn’t imagine then that I would need to...

The natural world is ever fluctuating within limits. This was once true of water levels on the Eastern Great Lakes and S...

What is it about the Thousand Islands region of the Saint Lawrence River that inspires a quiet sense of wonder” Ce...

Brambles catch my clothing and prick my arms. My feet slide in my sandals, wet from the dew. As the bright sun strengthe...

I love learning about the history of the Thousand Islands and its many communities. And I am not alone.  At the end...

“For I’d rather be thy child and pupil in the forest wild” Henry Thoreau Solitude. I hear the ri...

I love our place on the River at every moment of the day, but there is something extra special about sitting on the deck after the sun

An electronic survey to report the impact of high water is now online for property owners on the New York side...

Thank goodness we bought our boots in Florida and brought them north with us. From what we’ve heard it’s hard to find bo...

River Projects Receive Great Lakes Research Consortium Funding Projects focused on St. Lawrence River habitat and wat...

If you want to find happy, come to Topsy Farms on Amherst Island for the sheep shearing. Photographs by Steve Sturtz

If you are convinced the Double-crested Cormorant is a demon bird, sent from the dark side to gobble up all OUR fish, th...

Yes, we are applying environmental science: from crude oil transport boating to teaching the next generation. The St....

“Is that a black squirrel?” I’m amazed at how surprised people are to see a black squirrel running ...

So far my articles have concentrated on the winners with increasing populations over the last four decades. Now I will m...

How do we measure time? Is it with a watch? A smile? Or perhaps the increasing number of grey hairs that look back at...

The dynamic nature of our regions avifauna continues to be shaped by human actions, positive and negative. Some species ...

“Where are you from?” This is usually one of the first questions asked when we meet people while we are trav...

All Photographs by Patti Mondore. Click to Enlarge I was out for an early morning kayak ride. I was passing by one of...

When this young biologist first began working on the River in 1976, many things were very different in the bird world. T...

I’ve enjoyed watching clouds all my life. They are like expressions on the face of the sky. The sky’s expressions are so...

Even though I was born and raised in New York State, I never cease to be awestruck by the beauty of our changing seasons...

My father was an avid Mountaineer. When we were children, he took us climbing in the Sierra Nevada’s and the Bavarian Al...

We don’t have one workshop on the island, but two. Sometimes it feels like we need to have two because with six bo...

Quickly becoming one of Canada’s freshwater hot spots, Brockville offers wrecks, underwater sculptures, and an...

Early on Sunday morning, the phone would ring at the Tremont Island cottage. My husband groaned, “It’s your mother, no o...

A River Essay   This summer we went to our camp. Our camp is on the St. Lawrence River....

The west wind came up at 2:49 a.m. A huge gust shook the cottage and the windows creaked like they might shatter into pi...

Yes. Take the white pine! It is standing in my brother’s back yard. It is ugly. It is pathetic. It has passed its prime,...

Under a cloudy sky, two boats dropped anchor off of a windswept and rugged island. Eager with anticipation, a landing pa...

There have been hints all day: a rustling behind a fern frond a trail of glitter across a rock a tiny acor...

In July of 2016, the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) conserved two parcels on one of the largest remaining forested

  It’s 1968.  It’s July.  I’m 13.  The sun is beating upon us.  Mercil...

John Poland, a retired Queens professor and author of the ‘Pictorial Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of the Kingst...

Our second day on the island, I woke up with a sore throat, body aches and chills. I hoped it was just a cold that would...

Brockville’s newest tourism attraction - The Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing has officially opened its doors on the sho...

Canadian and American family history is intertwined with Thousand Islands history, for Bob and Paula Street. They are th...

Most “Thousand Islands Life” readers will know me for my work on Rock Island Lighthouse, but genealogy and l...

It seems that no matter how many years we've been here at the river enjoying its natural beauty and wildlife, we see...

One April morning, while still at home in Dunedin, Florida, I awoke to thunder from an approaching storm. A massive stor...

It’s time for island time again, in the 1000 Islands, as this year’s print issue of “Island Life Magaz...

I recently visited The Aquatarium with my 6-year old daughter and 9-year-old son. While each of the exhibits garnered comments like “this is so cool!”

I’m Thomas Harder, and I am part of the Aquatarium’s Animal Husbandry team. I’ve worked professionally in this field for nearly 20 years and have a background in biology, chemistry, life support and exhibit design, and maintenance.

The first island I ever visited was Mackinac Island in Lake Huron. Sadly, I was only three and have no memory of the vis...

Henderson Harbor, on Lake Ontario, is more than 100 miles by boat from Waddington, N.Y., where the Bassmaster Elite Seri...

It was the first day of spring, March 20th, 2016. My family and I decided to go on a spring hike to one of our favourite...

With March and April, the snows melted away; brooks roared to life; lakes and rivers rose. Insects emerged searching, hu...

U.S. and Canadian governments poised to remove St Lawrence River from list of endangered rivers with a simple the stroke...

The 1000 Islands is slowly starting to wake up after its seasonal slumber during the winter months when Canadian Geese j...

I heard a splash and looked out. A woman* had jumped off her boat in our little cove. With the bowline of her 23-ft boat...

Mud Bay, are you kidding me? Who ever heard of Mud Bay?  Well, for your information, Mud Bay is an approximately 20...

It was a far cry from the elegant Edwardian rooms of Fulford Place, Brockville’s finest mansion, but it fits in with the question: “Where do Wet-Bobs go in winter?”

It wasn’t until I was packed up and ready to leave that I realized 2015 was a special year for me. I first came to Grene...

Editor’s Note:  The headline reads “Otter Creek Preserve is Open!” with “Thanks to you. our supporters…”  Yes, the Thous...

Experts who look at this science every day are now concerned that El Niño 2015 could be the strongest ever on record – and those particular records date back to 1950

It happened on a calm evening right after sunset, while light still lingered on the horizon. Islanders on the south side...

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin used this phrase...

Editor’s Note:  Melody and Ken Brabant live in the village of Clayton, NY.  This article is a spe...

Imagine being on an island and not owning a boat, at least not a motorboat. That’s how it was back in the 1880s. L...

I recently followed a beautiful trail that led me to discover the Macsherry family. The adventure, ever-so-appropriately...

About a month ago we started noticing some “unusual” things on our island in the Lake Fleet Group. We have a...

(WARNING: If you are afraid of snakes…do NOT read this article) *********** “Are there snakes there?” I demanded, prior ...

This is a journey I embarked on, trying to find out where Mr. Edgar Cayce vacationed, in the 1000 Islands. I came across...

Editor’s Note: “Summer Magic” was written by Robert L. Neulieb, a member of the Poet & Writers, IN...

The summer I was 14, I named my journal, “Summer is an Island.” No one would find that title odd now, as I spend my summ...

“Darn!” I exclaimed; “I forgot to buy rhubarb.” My friend and I had planned to make rhubarb marmalade the next morning. ...

We all remember that great summer day when we passed our first real test on the river: “If you can swim from our dock to...

It's that time of year again: Island Time. This year's issue of Island Life Magazine,available this month,

When I was a little girl, (a long time ago) we rarely saw squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, etc. I think there had been an e...

Justin Heath has a dream that someday the sign on Heart Island will read: Boldt Castle & Formal Gardens. For some, the g...

2014: A Successful/Record Year for Common Terns in the 1000 Islands. After 25 years of working to restore the dwindling...

Last summer I read Captain Henry Johnston’s 1937 book, The Thousand Islands of the St Lawrence River with Descriptions o...

When I was a toddler many years ago, there were several thoroughly river rat locals who were known to relish the bounty ...

August 4, 2013: the day my husband Terry & I chose to honour our river heritage, pay homage to thirty-five years of ...

We thank you most sincerely - Les Boszormeny - for continuing to share your passion...

Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve Conservation Biology Blueprint Study We are two students completing our final year at Q...

A Loon Encounter The first time it happened, I suppose I chalked it up to luck – being in the right place at th...

Our thanks to Kenneth Deedy of Grindstone Island, for sharing an article from his collection of Thousand Islands memorab...

Thanksgiving Day in Canada brings River families together for the traditional holiday dinner and weekend activities.&nbs...

Tuesday, July 22nd was a perfect day on the river – sunny and warm with a light wind blowing from the southwest. My budd...

It’s been almost 15 years since the first time I laid eyes on the beauty of the 1000 Islands. I still remember it,...

I have a love/hate relationship with Canada geese. One goose by itself I can handle, but as a group…oh, my! The n...

I am not really old and wise, yet, but I have been fishing the St Lawrence for all of my 68 years. I am not a fisheries ...

Good questions…. and there is one more:  “Do you want it back”?  Here is the beginning of the mystery. Early ...

All Photographs by Sue March How excited I was to be invited for a week of sailing on The River! I summered there all o...

Yes, we have more news.  National Geographic Event…Sea-Doo Ride...Boat Parade… and a Wedding Celebration. David Do...

1000 Islands Tower – (recent) past, present and future 2013 was a great first season. There was so much media coverage ...

The peep- peep –peep call of the Common Tern is a ubiquitous part of the sound of the 1000 Islands. Once a very plent...

Surely there are enough 1000 Islands dog stories to fill a dozen books. Few places on earth are better suited to the end...

This is my first summer interning with the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT), but for years I have periodically spent m...

My mother-in-law said when she was growing up, her relatives, the Pratts didn’t allow any weeding, raking or lawn mowing...

We have always lived in Clayton, NY,  but not on the River. Our farm is at the upper end of French Creek and border...

“What’s the local brew?” It’s a simple question, but arguably the one that began Thousand Islands B&B owner Bruce Da...

The Thousand Islands have been affected by an invader – the Pale Swallow-wort – with large infestations in the region, i...

About right now, I’m thinking about sitting on the dock, staring out at the St. Lawrence and sipping on a MacDac. It’s t...

It was serendipitous that TI Life heard about local nature and wildlife photographer Bruce Dana. Bruce first introduced ...

From my beginnings I flowed quietly and deep. In Summer you could hardly see my current as it flowed to the Great River....

When you talk about The River here in the Thousand Islands, no further explanation is required. Why? Because it might as...

It is Christmas on the River, a place quite different from summertime. The hustle and bustle of water sports and recreat...

When I was young, one of my favorite verses went like this: "They who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They ...

The River is my lover… I believe I can speak those words intimately because the beautiful St Lawrence River is big enoug...

These days, there does not seem to be much to distinguish young river rat types. Times have changed and young people hav...

Email, Facebook, Instagram, and all the other wondrous tools available on the Internet have made it easier than ever to ...

I’d like to share some insights as a boater of the Thousand Islands. I’m not talking about day boaters or island hoppers...

With its combination of shallow bays, marshes, and island ponds, our region is a prime area for appreciating turtles. Th...

It was a dark and stormy night! OK that is a pretty lame way to start a narration but it was a dark and stormy night. I ...

My sister, Smith, and I have been coming to the Thousand Islands since we were little, following the tradition of spendi...

I met Ann Davis in the Thousand Island Pavilion last month..

We’ve had a merganser nesting in the white pine outside our bedroom window every season for about four years now. We usu...

“The Russians are Coming! The Russians are coming!” Okay, I don’t think that’s actually what Stephanie Weiss, assistant ...

Editor’s Note:  Imagine how pleased we were to receive this submission written by Kate Modler, who just competed 4t...

Back in the early days of television, we watched the CBS’s show: “What’s My Line”, which ran fro...

Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) has once again announced their Annual Loon Count for July 20, 2013. Observers across...

We’re here! We arrived on the island in the middle of a glorious sunny day. The crossing was a little bumpy but Linda at...

Camping on an island has a special appeal -- that feeling of leaving the everyday back on the mainland. This quality tha...

I’ve only been working with the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) for a little over a year, but in that short time I fe...

This summer we want to hear from visiting mariners.  Whether you are on a yacht, sailboat, or canoe or kayak – cons...

The dock spider has the uncanny ability to strike fear into the hearts of all but the hardiest of souls.

The solitude and silence of the frozen sub-arctic winter sets the mind to thinking and the sharpens the senses. Without ...

When people hear the word ‘volunteer’ a lot of things may come to mind. For me, volunteering as a way to give back to my...

Many years ago, when I was a student at Linklater Public School in Gananoque, I used to participate in the local Royal C...

For River folks of all ages the world of nature and all of its beauty is literally waiting just outside your door. ...

My grandfather, Thomas Mitchell (1913-1990), told me many stories about life on the river during the winter months. Many...

I have been feeding the deer for years at our winter home along the Parkway near Ivy Lea.  They were emptying my bi...

I’ve heard stories, seen pictures and I’ve even seen the dusty stuffed trophies mounted...

A few weeks ago, just after sunset, I saw a gorgeous ship upbound at Clayton... It was unusual because it was bathed ent...

The day that she and partner David Belding bought their first two pigs is the day Dani Baker thinks her mother rolled ov...

Just imagine yourself being one of the Seaway River Pilots stationed in Cape Vincent and you are scheduled for duty to g...

Sometimes Mother Nature needs a hand. Low water levels on the St. Lawrence presented environmental groups the perfect op...

Island neighbor, Catherine Hinds, tells me the water was so low the year she was born, that her parents could walk from ...

The best thing about Thousand Island Park is its proximity to the swamps of Wellesley Island. When I insulated our su...

A few weeks ago, just before closing the island for the season, I awoke to a scene I had never seen before. Just beyond ...

“Oh my God! That’s disgusting. That snake is going to get into the birdhouse”, my sister-in-law screamed. We had been w...

“Please remember to dump your garbage far enough from shore so it does not wash back onto the shores of Grenell.” I foun...

Now that my first summer as Coordinator of Education & Outreach at the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) is winding...

What actually makes you a River Rat? A while ago, I ran into an old fellow who was reputed locally to be a "River Rat"...

Have you ever wondered what the Thousand Islands would be like if all the birds disappeared? I have, and I certainly hop...

Dave and Mary Roberts signed a lease to open their privately owned public aquarium...

For several years I’ve been interested in flags and flag etiquette and wanted to share some of the correct and incorrect...

If Minna Anthony Common had a Rock Ridges Trail blog I would have had it bookmarked, or better yet I would have pinned i...

I grew up in rural Maine with “back-to-the-land” parents, so naturally I couldn’t wait to move to the big city...

Everyone loved those seventy degree days we enjoyed this past March. However, one of the downsides of what seems to be a...

For more than a decade, River communities have advocated for a new water levels management plan that is protective of Ri...

We rowed carefully into the bay at Georgina Island, one trainee looking expectantly into the water off the bow, waiting to spot ...

On Saturday, January 28th, Alexandria Bay held their Annual Ice Fishing Derby. Each year Ice Fishermen (and women) and y...

The Grindstone Island community gathers for the last church service of the season, hand in hand, around the old poplar t...

Getting to Grindstone - First glitch, the boys had thrown locking hitches on the dock lines. NEVER a locking hitch after November 1!

As the summer of 2011 rapidly comes to a close I find myself thinking about our latest two-week cottage vacation and rea...

The Canadian Geographical Names Data Base at Natural Resources Canada is the repository for official names records...

Official names of places and features in the United States are selected by the Board on Geographic Names...

Two old cottages beneath a fistful of pines—that was my first impression of what was then known as Ogden Point.  Be...

A few weeks ago, Sue-Ryn Burns called the TILT office asking permission to release a Great Horned Owl at the Crooked Cre...

I see ospreys almost everyday of the year. When I go to the grocery story, in the parking lot and ditto at the gas station...

When I see a ‘saltie’, I wonder what critters might be stowed away in its ballast tanks...

If you garden in the Thousand Islands you have probably experienced this frustrating scenario: Monday evening at dusk yo...

Because of daily walks on Wellesley, rarely does a day pass that I’m not out on the River. I can’t imagine visiting the ...

Getting stranded on an island with your students may sound like a teacher’s field trip nightmare, but in St. Lawrence Is...

The last two months I’ve written about my walks on Wellesley. But as with anything in life, sometimes it’s not the desti...

Last month, I gave you a peek at the trails of Wellesley Island State Park  (WISP). This month, I want to take you ...

For many of us the beauty and uniqueness of the Thousand Islands is without question. And yet we may know little of thei...

For me, walking in nature and writing are somehow connected. The more I write, the more I need to walk. In order to writ...

Higgins, the Welsh Terrier, is back for our young readers.

The St. Lawrence Bald Eagle Working Group, which I co-chaired for many years with my U.S. counterpart from the New York ...

Hunched, damp and tired, we look at the scribbled number on the page and debate calling the U.S. Coast Guard. Almost 24-...

My co-workers warned me that June seems to skip right into September and everything in between is just a blur. How true it is,

A "microburst" swept through the Thousand Islands last month, uprooting trees, damaging cottages and leaving some island...

I remember the first time I saw a loon. It was in the early 1980’s, because we still had that small aluminum fishing boa...

August bring its rewards:  usually, much better, night-sky viewing; unique planetary alignments; Northern-Lights; s...

This article is written for our young readers... They call me Higgins. I am a Welsh Terrier and proud of it.

As the first decade of the new millennium has passed, this writer has met many people in our community who ask “what doe...

Most folks on the River know me as the Executive Director of Save The River, but I also wear a few additional hats – yea...

Every spring begins as the birds migrate, the snow melts and the little white and green tug boat sitting in Massena, New...

Anyone who has spent any time in the Thousand Islands becomes accustomed to its creatures... NEW: Audio by Jan Eliot

It isn't easy When I first thought of over-wintering, I thought of all the free time to do just as I pleased. Perhaps a ...

Like so many inhabitants of the northern regions, the moose is one that when spotted, is a sight to behold.

The greatest way to experience the Thousand Islands is from the water. Each hidden channel, quiet cove, and marshy bay holds little secrets

Janet was five, when her parents bought the cottage on Grenell Island, and it's where she spent her summers. She became ...

I stepped out onto the grass on a dull gray July morning. Before me, I could see the great St. Lawrence River. The waves...

Change is constant in our world, and certainly in our region. While the focus in the Thousand Islands, more often than n...

After mowing the lawn in front of the camp, I took out my snorkeling mask last weekend to cool off and check out the riv...

About 10,000 thunderstorms occur in Ontario during a typical summer and only about 1% of these are "severe"

As the new season begins on the River, I’m pleased to offer this Sixth online edition of POLLACK’S GAZETTEER OF THE THOU...

The tradition of worship in Half Moon Bay began in 1887.  People came from neighbouring islands and from Gananoque ...

Have you ever wanted to help the River, but you were not quite sure what to do?  Save The River, an environmental o...

In January, Phil Chadwick read Dr. Richard Withington's "A Winter Islander" story and offered to write about the weather...

This is the fifth online edition of “Pollack’s Gazetteer of the Thousand Islands of the United States and Canada in the ...

HILL ISLAND - To many, the Canadian Shield is the quintessential Canadian landscape—the rugged “north”, ...

Len Rusin is familiar to many viewers since he was the 2006 featured Artist at the Clayton Decoy and Wildlife Art Sho...

We initiated this "Pisces Redux" series of fishing articles with a less favored species (or at least less popular among ...

By Bud Andress Not that long ago, some 12,500 years, the great North American continental glacial period drew to an end...

Are Carp news? Have the big fish suddenly migrated into our waters, perhaps filling some void left by decline in other s...

Most of us have spent a lifetime—or a lifetime of summers—on the river without ever even seeing, let alone catching, a M...

If Muskies grow large, the real colossus of our fish is the sturgeon, “the King of Fish.” A six-foot long record-breaker...