The World Through Our Lens
Our morning got off to a slow start hunkered down as we were against a cold winter day. By early afternoon, Bob and I decided that we needed some fresh air and exercise. We had heard that a Barred Owl sometimes frequents Altona Forest in Pickering, Ontario, but we never expected to actually find it. Read more
Bob and I refrained from visiting the Great Horned Owls in Markham, Ontario, Canada, for a few days. From another person in the know about the owls’ location, we learned that the Great Horned owlet was becoming increasingly difficult to find. Read more
On May 12, Bob and I went to check on the Great Horned Owls’ nest previously observed in a Markham park in Ontario, Canada. We found the 3-week old Great Horned owlet hunkered down out of sight. After a few minutes, the owlet appeared over the lip of the nest and looked in our direction. We were there and gone after 15 minutes. Read more
In early spring, 2021, Bob and I were contacted by a friend who had been tipped off to the location of a Great Horned Owl in our midst. It turned out that there was a pair of these owls raising a newly-hatched chick near the urban area of Markham, Ontario. Read more
Northern Hawk Owls are denizens of boreal forests and rarely leave their breeding grounds. Some winters, however, for lack of food in their normal habitat, Northern Hawk Owls will venture into southern Canada and even the northern United States. In 2019, nature enthusiasts like ourselves were thrilled to have a Northern Hawk Owl show up in the village of Schomberg in southern Ontario. Read more
When I suggested a walk in Rouge National Urban Park one day, I jokingly said that maybe we would see an owl. About an hour later, that prediction came true when I almost walked up to a beautiful Barred Owl sitting low in a small deciduous tree. Read more
Bob and I learned about Amherst Island from fellow birders who touted it as the most reliable location to see Snowy Owls in the winter. On our first ever trip there, we were not disappointed. Read more
The date was in mid-November, Bob’s birthday actually, and to mark the occasion, we decided to get out in the field for some birding. Little did we know that a diminutive Northern Saw-whet Owl would make our day! Read more
An irruption of Snowy Owls in southern Ontario in the winter of 2017/2018 gave Bob and I huge expectations of seeing one. Reports had been pouring in from all across the province, so we made plans to go touring with friends in the hopes of turning up a couple. Read more