This site provides general information about nature journaling. Always follow local regulations when observing wildlife.

About Cedar Journal

Field guides on nature journaling, wildlife observation, and identifying the flora and fauna of Canada's forests.

What this site covers

Cedar Journal publishes practical articles on documenting the natural world in written and drawn form. The content focuses on Canadian forests — boreal, mixed, and temperate — and covers three main areas: the practice of keeping a nature journal, techniques for identifying and sketching local species, and the biology of specific plants, birds, mammals, and fungi encountered in forest environments.

Articles are written to be useful on their own, without requiring additional reading. Where technical identification is involved, the relevant field-observable characteristics are described in enough detail to be checked against a live specimen. References to external resources — iNaturalist, NatureServe, the federal Species at Risk Registry — are included where they extend the information available here.

Editorial approach

Content on this site follows a few consistent practices:

  • Species descriptions refer only to characteristics that can be observed in the field without specialist equipment
  • Range and habitat information reflects publicly available data from authoritative Canadian and North American sources
  • Where data is uncertain or contested, this is stated directly rather than presenting a single figure as established fact
  • Seasonal timing information applies to broad regional averages and is noted as such — local conditions vary considerably across Canada's forest regions

Contact

For questions about specific articles, species identification queries, or information about a particular region of Canada, use the contact form on the home page.

Contact information:
Cedar Journal
Email: info@cedarjournal.org

Last updated

This page was last reviewed: May 2026.

Send a message

Questions about specific articles, species, or forest regions — use this form.