The World Through Our Lens
Photography of birds we have observed in the wild.
My childhood home at Oxtongue Lake holds a very special place in my heart, and we visit there often. Every season has something special to offer and to excite Bob and me. In early June, it was the nesting pair of returning Eastern Bluebirds that first captured our attention, but with expansive views from mom’s sunroom windows, we saw at least a dozen other species of birds including four pairs of Cedar Waxwings. Read more
Bob and I came home from Ontario’s Carden Alvar very satisfied with our experience in that unique habitat. The combination of grasslands, forests, shrublands and wetlands creates a landscape that is not only favoured by a wide variety of wildlife but also is attractive to those people who go in search of the birds and animals that live there. One such bird that we managed to see was a Wilson’s Snipe. Read more
What great fun to set off exploring the vicinity around San Blas, Mexico, in search of wildlife. The morning that Bob and I scoped out the shrimp ponds on the outskirts of this small fishing community, quite a variety of birds met our searching eyes, most of which we had never seen before. Among those plying the water for something to eat was this impressive White Ibis. Read more
Our first time visiting the Carden Alvar had Bob and me astonished by the myriad sounds of nature that combined into a marvelous symphony: choruses of frogs, whirring of Wilson’s Snipes, echoing conk-la-rees from the Red-winged Blackbirds, and Savannah Sparrows raising their voice in song. On several occasions, all were overshadowed by another lively bit of birdsong that had us mystified…until we finally spotted this Brown Thrasher. Read more
One day in early May, as I returned home from doing some errands, I found Bob tied up on the telephone. He no sooner hung up the receiver but what he declared, “there’s a new bird in our back apple tree!” It turned out to be a male Black-throated Blue Warbler. Read more
Our anticipation ran high the night before our first visit to the Carden Alvar that is located northeast of Toronto, Ontario. We had our alarm set for 5:45 a.m. but I woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. We were on site by 8:30 a.m. and spent hours touring the area. It was around mid-afternoon that we came across an American Woodcock, and the sighting pretty much made our day! Read more
On our boat tour through the mangrove swamp near San Blas, in Mexico, we saw no less than three Northern Potoos, one of the most highly-sought-after species for birdwatchers. Bob and I had booked a week’s stay in the tiny fishing village on the Pacific Coast and planned to use our time wisely. Known as a birding hotspot, the town attracts scores of avian enthusiasts, so we had to secure our guides and tours promptly upon arrival to ensure availability. Read more
One of the highlights of our January visit to Algonquin Park was seeing a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks. What a marvelous way to spend my birthday, trekking about the trails in the Provincial Park. Our winter weather had been so fickle…fluctuating between spring-like temperatures and those more typical of the Canadian Arctic…that we had no idea what was in store for us when we booked our stay in Whitney. Read more
Blue Jays are a fairly common bird seen here in Ontario, in Canada, during the winter months, Read more
On our first day in Grand Canyon National Park, after gaining a bird’s eye view of the spectacular world-famous canyon from a helicopter, we set off to explore the South Rim trails. In the afternoon, we caught a shuttle bus to the extreme western end of the trail at Hermit’s Rest. An impromptu exploration below Hermit’s Rest Lookout turned up a fleeting glimpse of this Rock Wren. Read more
