The World Through Our Lens
Photography of birds we have observed in the wild.
Bob and I were so excited as we set off from the pier on our mangrove swamp tour in San Blas, Mexico. With our guide, Chencho at the helm of our substantial launch, we were confident that many tropical birds would not allude detection. One species that caught our eye on several occasions was a Green Kingfisher, seen here perching at the edge of the San Cristobal mangrove estuary. Read more
When Bob and I headed out to Darlington Provincial Park to have a look at the Piping Plovers, it was because 4 recently-hatched babies could be observed on the beach there. They were creating much excitement in the world of birding here in Ontario. Never before had Piping Plovers nested in the Park or in Durham region. Read more
It was late spring and because of the warm temperature, we opted to bike from Scarborough to the Lake Ontario shoreline in Ontario, Canada. At the first rocky breakwater east of Highland Creek Trail, we spotted 5 whimbrels grouped on some large flat slabs of concrete. Read more
The day in June that we chose for our visit to the Carden Alvar, in Ontario, Canada, was a steamy one. Our first stop was at Cameron Ranch, where friends had photographed beautiful expanses of Indian Paintbrush wildflowers only a couple of days earlier. The flowers were past their prime, but we came face-to-face with this brown thrasher as it sat on a fence post with freshly caught insects. Read more
Patience is a virtue, and often when Bob and I are birdwatching, time is of the essence so patience goes out the window. On one “quick” visit to Milliken Park in Toronto, to check the progress of the recently-hatched Trumpeter Swan cygnets, what actually stole my attention was this Great Blue Heron. Bob left me to my stakeout while he enjoyed the company of the 2-week old cygnets. Read more
For the second year in a row, the mated pair of Trumpeter Swans that have taken up residence at Milliken Park in Toronto gave birth to a new set of cygnets…7 in all this past spring! Within a couple of days, Ashton and Tango, as they are fondly known, lost one cygnet to unknown causes, but the other six are thriving. Read more
What a thrill to learn that, this year, not one but two pairs of Piping Plovers have nested on the beach at Darlington Provincial Park here in Ontario. This is really noteworthy for three reasons. Read more
In our quest to see and photograph as many different species of tropical birds as possible while visiting San Blas, one of the best locations in all of Mexico for birding, a boat tour into the mangrove swamps was a must-do activity for Bob and me. And what could be more perfect than a languid birding boat trip through La Tovara National Park, a federally protected ecological preserve? Read more
After spending all day at the Carden Alvar in Ontario, basically patrolling along Wylie Road north to the T intersection and back again to McNamee Road, Bob decided that we should continue to check out some other areas of that protected habitat before we made for home. Cameron Ranch and Canal Lake both deserved a short visit, and near the causeway that crosses the lake we discovered one pair of Osprey already occupying a nesting platform. Read more
Bob and I were surprised when we visited Oxtongue Lake, Ontario, in late April to see a northern flicker, or Yellow-shafted Flickers as they are also known. On the first day alone, we saw no less than eight of these birds, six at one time in a leafless deciduous tree. Read more