The World Through Our Lens
Photography of birds we have observed in the wild.
Bob and I had not gone out to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in 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
On a visit to the West Cranberry Tract in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, we came upon this Barred Owl perched high in a tree. Completely at ease, it was wiling away the day quite oblivious of the world around it. 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 the Mountsberg Raptor Centre in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. 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.
There are many things one can see while walking on the streets of Toronto, in Ontario, but in this guest post, Michelle and Arthur share their pictures and their story about a Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) that they recently sighted sitting on a city lamp post while holding a rat in its claws. Read more
Bob and I spent three days skiing and hiking on various trails in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, trying to make the most of the last weeks of winter. We love to go looking for birds and animals, but in this case, on Opeongo Road a Gray Jay came looking for us. Read more
On an extremely warm and sunny spring day, Bob and I drove east to Whitby, in Ontario, for a walk at the various conservation areas found in that area. Along the roadway, we spotted an American Kestrel eating a mouse on a telephone wire. Read more
One winter day, Bob and I drove into Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, with plans to walk the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. It is there that we sighted numerous Boreal Chickadees. Read more
On one of our winter excursions, Bob and I drove to Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada, where we got to see a Black-backed Woodpecker when hiking along the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. Read more
