The World Through Our Lens
Photography of inspirational events and people, places, animals, and landscape from our travels around the world.
On a recent day spent cycling along the Waterfront Trail from Scarborough to Ajax, Ontario, Bob and I drew up at a picnic table to have our lunch and rest in the shade. There was lots of bird activity in the thickets of sumac, deciduous trees and shrubs that dotted the wide open space of the trail-side park. When Bob spotted a red and black bird, it took us a few minutes to identify it as an Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius), a Lifer for us. Read more
An Eastern Comma Butterfly was the icing on the cake for Bob’s and my bicycle tour around Tommy Thompson Park in Toronto, Ontario one Sunday. Eager to check out the construction of new cells along the eastern perimeter of the Leslie Street Spit, we had embarked on a day-long circuitous route around the man-made peninsula in the hopes of seeing some shorebirds in the dwindling amount of water in the huge holes. Read more
Because Mizzy Lake Trail in Algonquin Park, in Ontario, visits so many small lakes and ponds, there are ample opportunities along its length to spot wildlife including a variety of waterfowl. One such bird to catch our eye was a Great Blue Heron that was skulking along the edge of a wetland adjacent to the old railway bed upon which a section of the trail is built. Read more
On a rainy, cool day in mid-June, we found ourselves in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, on the off chance that we might spot a bull moose. No bull presented itself, but this darling baby moose with its mother was on the crest of a knoll enjoying a respite from the hordes of blackflies deeper in the forest. Read more
On a whim, at the end of May, Bob and I decided to organize a short stay in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, on the heels of another commitment that took us to the area. We opted to book a yurt at the Mew Lake Campground, never having experienced that type of camping before, and spent three glorious days scouting out birds and wildlife. What a thrill to have the opportunity of photographing 4 Red Fox kits (Vulpes vulpes) that were only about 4 weeks old. Read more
After a spate of hot, humid weather, Bob and I seized the first day of below-seasonal temperatures to go cycling in Toronto. While cruising along the Lake Ontario shoreline at the bottom of Rouge National Urban Park, we spotted a Mink loping along the rocky shore with a floppy fish dangling from its mouth. Read more
On Father’s Day, my family teamed up for a hike in Rouge Park, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was towards the end of our day’s explorations that we came upon a female Wood Duck and several ducklings at the ponds along the Cedar Trail. Read more
After waking up to a damp and foggy morning, Bob and I postponed our plans to drive directly to the Giant’s Causeway, in Northern Ireland. On one headland of that inspirational coastline, we discovered the dramatic ruins of Dunluce Castle. Read more
On one of our spring birdwatching excursions, Bob and I dropped by Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Etobicoke. The favorable habitat of this urban park attracts many species of migrating warblers, and it often rewards us with sightings of shorebirds. On this particular day, it was a nesting pair of Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) that stole our hearts. Read more
For a change of scenery at the end of a week of birdwatching in parks around Toronto, Bob and I decided to pay a visit to Oshawa. Our goal was to seek some of the migrating waterfowl that were moving through this area of southern Ontario. It came as a surprise to come upon a Great Horned Owl and two Great Horned Owlets in the same neck of the woods. Read more
