Month: November 2014

Common Snapping Turtle hatchlings on the Nokiidaa Trail in Ontario

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Common Snapping Turtle hatchlings on the Nokiidaa Trail in Ontario

4 baby snapping turtles - aurora - ontario 3

Early last fall, Bob and I wanted to introduce my sister and brother-in-law to a new trail system that we discovered earlier this year.  It is called the Nokiidaa Trail, which in Ojibwa means “walking together”.  The trail which links between the towns of Aurora, Newmarket, and East Gwillimbury is used by cyclists as well as walkers, and we were on wheels on this particular day.  Well into our ride, I spotted something round and dark on the crushed rock surface of the bicycle trail, and nearly ran over what turned out to be a baby Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina).  In the immediate vicinity, we discovered four others lingering on the path. Read more

Eastern Screech Owl (Red Morph) in Burlington

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tan morph eastern screech owl_burlington_ontario_ 6

Bob and I had heard that, at a particular cemetery in Burlington, Ontario, there are no less than three Eastern Screech Owls that inhabit nest holes in a couple of different trees.  On the morning of our most recent visit, we did find one of the Red Morph Screech Owls, but when directed to a second tree that a pair of Screech Owls calls home, the cavity showed no sign of its occupants.  It wasn’t until much later in the afternoon that I spotted this Red Morph when it poked its head out of the dark hollow for a peak at the world. Read more

Eastern Screech Owl Red Morph In Burlington

Eastern Screech Owl - Red Morph at Woodland Cemetery in Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Well, Bob and I can finally say that we have seen an Eastern Screech Owl in the wild, as opposed to one we visited at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre a couple of years ago.  It has taken us two years to finally see the Eastern Screech Owls in Burlington and not for lack of knowing where to look.  It was overcast one day last week when Bob and I again ventured west of Toronto in hopes of finding at least one of the known Screech Owls out of its nest hole.  Read more

Belted Kingfisher At Colonel Samuel Smith Park



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Belted Kingfisher At Colonel Samuel Smith Park

belted kingfisher at colonel sam smith park, etobicoke, ontario

What a challenge to capture any Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) in a photograph!  Over the years, as Bob and I have canoed on various lakes and rivers, we have observed countless Kingfishers taunting us with their perpetual cat and mouse routine.  Always just one step ahead of us, it seems that these birds are playful at best, and always wait until we are in sight before taking flight for another tree a couple of hundred feet further down the shoreline.  This handsome female took no notice of our presence on the observation deck at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Toronto. Read more

Exploring The Cliff Dwellings At Mesa Verde National Park

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Exploring The Cliff Dwellings At Mesa Verde National Park

spruce tree house at mesa verde national park - colorado 5

It was becoming a habit, it seemed, for Bob and me to wake up between 6-6:30 a.m., and the day following our hike on the Bright Angel Trail was no different.  Because our leg muscles were way too spent for any other activity, our intentions were to drive across Arizona into Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park.  Once there, we were absolutely in awe of the excellent examples of preserved and protected cliff dwellings once used by Pueblo people. Read more

Great Black Digger Wasp At McKenzie Marsh In Aurora

Great Black Digger Wasp At McKenzie Marsh In Aurora

great black digger wasp - atkinson park wetland, aurora - pic 1

When Bob and I set off to explore the Atkinson Park Wetlands found at St. John’s Sideroad and Yonge Street in Aurora, Ontario, we expected to find ducks and herons, frogs and toads, but had not anticipated or planned on focusing on a number of interesting insects.  As I studied the frogs in the pond, Bob was absorbed in observing a curious black bug that turned out to be a Great Black Digger Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus). Read more

A Northern Pearly-Eye Butterfly In Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

A Northern Pearly-Eye Butterfly In Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

northern pearly-eye butterfly - algonquin park - 2014 pic 5

This past summer, Bob and I undertook to hike the Mizzy Lake Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario.  For a summer’s day, the temperature was not all that hot, but we were blessed with wonderful sunshine and a gentle breeze to cool us over the course of the 7 hours that it took to complete our hike.  Along about mid-morning, amidst the flickering shadows cast by millions of green leaves, a Northern Pearly-Eye Butterfly (Lethe anthedon) settled its dainty body on some foliage at the edge of the thick forest. Read more

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron At Colonel Samuel Smith Park

Yellow-Crowned Night Heron At Colonel Samuel Smith Park

yellow crowned night heron - juvenile - col sam smith park - etobicoke pic 7

For weeks, Bob and I had been hearing about a Yellow-crowned Night Heron  making a stay at Colonel Samuel Smith Park on Toronto’s lakeshore.  When finally we had a chance to pop down there for a look, it was quite late in the afternoon so we did not hold out much hope of seeing it since other people had been numerous times without success.  Lo and behold, after we circled the main pond on an obscure trail through the woodlot, we came out to a clearing and found the Night Heron perched nonchalantly on a rock. Read more