Black-Capped Chickadees Excavate A Nest In Thickson’s Woods

Black-capped chickadee with full peak of woodchips - thicksons woods

Black-capped chickadee on tree beside nest holes - thicksons woods

You know that spring has sprung when you see birds building their nests.  One spring, at Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve in Whitby, Ontario, a pair of Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) worked industriously to hollow out a cavity in a dead tree trunk, preparing to lay their eggs. Read more

Great Horned Owlets In Their Nest In Thickson’s Woods

Great Horned Owlets In Their Nest In Thickson’s Woods

great horned owl chicks and mother in nest -- - thicksons woods - whitby - ontario

Bob and I had not gone out to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in Whitby, 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

Skunk Cabbage Blooming in Cootes Paradise

Skunk Cabbage Blooming in Cootes Paradise

Skunk Cabbage plant, spathe bract, cootes paradise, hamilton, ontario

I have lived in Ontario my whole life, and despite trekking through the bush as a child, and doing endless hikes as an adult, this past spring was  the first time that I have ever come across a Skunk Cabbage plant at Cootes Paradise, in Hamilton, Ontario…lots of them, in fact. Read more

Barred Owl We Sighted At West Cranberry Tract In Whitby

Barred Owl - catching a snooze - Cranberry West Tract - Whitby

On a visit to the West Cranberry Tract at Lynde Shores Conservation Area in Whitby, in Ontario, another keen birder pointed out to Bob and me this Barred Owl (Strix varia) perched high in a tree.  Completely at ease, it was wiling away the day quite oblivious of the interested observers nearby. Read more

Snowshoeing The Spruce Bog Trail In Algonquin Park

With snowshoes on Jean looks for beavers in Algonquin Park

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

Mountsberg Raptor Centre a world of hawks, owls, and eagles

photograph of Jean holding an Eastern Screech owl at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre, in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada.

Bald Eagle landing at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre

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 Campbellville, to the Mountsberg Raptor Centre, in Ontario. Read more

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