The World Through Our Lens
There is nothing like strutting your stuff, and that is just what several Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) were doing when we showed up on the beach at LaSalle Park in Burlington, Ontario, in the spring of 2013. Read more
Bob and I had not gone out to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in Whitby, Ontario, for about 5 weeks in the spring of 2013. Nor had we heard if the babies had hatched, so a visit was in order to check on the status of things. What a thrill when we sighted two Great Horned Owlets in their nest. Read more
Bob and I spent one afternoon exploring a marsh near Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. We barely had gotten underway when we spotted a member of the Weasel Family, a Mink, coming towards us, totally unconcerned about our presence in its habitat. Read more
I have lived in Ontario my whole life, and despite trekking through the bush as a child, and doing endless hikes as an adult, this past spring was the first time that I have ever come across a Skunk Cabbage plant at Cootes Paradise, in Hamilton, Ontario…lots of them, in fact. Read more
On a visit to the West Cranberry Tract at Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, in Ontario, another keen birder pointed out to Bob and me this Barred Owl (Strix varia) perched high in a tree. Completely at ease, it was wiling away the day quite oblivious of the interested observers nearby. Read more
Bob and I had never gone snowshoeing before, so when the chance to try out a pair presented itself, we seized it! After skiing the Leaf Lake Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, in the morning, we ventured over to the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail where we knew we could walk out on the bog and really give the snowshoes a workout. Read more
Bob and I do not profess to be expert bird watchers, but when we sighted our first ever owl, a Northern Saw-Whet Owl, a fire was lit within us. To learn more about raptors in general, we decided to take a drive out to Campbellville, to the Mountsberg Raptor Centre, in Ontario. Read more
Early one spring, on the shores of Lake Couchiching, Bob and I caught up with two members of the trumpeter swan family as they began their migration back to their breeding grounds in central Ontario.
Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) at one time were familiar sights in southern Ontario during periods of migration, but due to over hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries, for their feathers and their skins, as of 1886, they had vanished from the region. That year, a hunter at Long Point on Lake Erie shot the last known trumpeter swan that was migrating from the west.
I was so happy to have three days wide open for hiking and skiing in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario. It meant more opportunities to explore the trails and look for wildlife and birds. This cute little Red Squirrel captured our interest along the Beaver Pond Trail. Read more