The World Through Our Lens
On a drive north of Whitby, Ontario, Bob happened to glance into a farm field adjacent to the highway where he spotted a Coyote (Canis latrans) sauntering along. It is quite common to see Coyotes in and around rural farm properties in Ontario, as well as right in the heart of cities like Toronto, where they share our green spaces and waterways. Read more
Dun Aonghasa Fort was our first destination of the day when we awoke on Inishmore Island, one of the islands in the chain known as the Aran Islands in County Galway, Ireland. This prehistoric fort is the most famous of those found on the Aran Islands, and it is perched at the brink of a 100-metre (328 ft) precipice buffeted by the north Atlantic Ocean. Its location is spectacular. Read more
Early last fall, Bob and I wanted to introduce my sister and brother-in-law to a new trail system that we discovered earlier this year. It is called the Nokiidaa Trail, which in Ojibwa means “walking together”. The trail which links between the towns of Aurora, Newmarket, and East Gwillimbury is used by cyclists as well as walkers, and we were on wheels on this particular day. Well into our ride, I spotted something round and dark on the crushed rock surface of the bicycle trail, and nearly ran over what turned out to be a baby Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). In the immediate vicinity, we discovered four others lingering on the path. Read more
Bob and I had heard that, at a particular cemetery in Burlington, Ontario, there are no less than three Eastern Screech Owls that inhabit nest holes in a couple of different trees. On the morning of our most recent visit, we did find one of the Red Morph Screech Owls, but when directed to a second tree that a pair of Screech Owls calls home, the cavity showed no sign of its occupants. It wasn’t until much later in the afternoon that I spotted this Red Morph when it poked its head out of the dark hollow for a peak at the world. Read more
Bob and I could not believe our good fortune when we found a second Eastern Screech Owl on the same visit to Burlington, Ontario. This Eastern Screech Owl Grey Morph is quite different from the Red Morph Eastern Screech Owl we had just observed at a nearby Cemetery. Read more
Well, Bob and I can finally say that we have seen an Eastern Screech Owl in the wild, as opposed to one we visited at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre a couple of years ago. It has taken us two years to finally see the Eastern Screech Owls in Burlington and not for lack of knowing where to look. It was overcast one day last week when Bob and I again ventured west of Toronto in hopes of finding at least one of the known Screech Owls out of its nest hole. Read more
What a challenge to capture any Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) in a photograph! Over the years, as Bob and I have canoed on various lakes and rivers, we have observed countless Kingfishers taunting us with their perpetual cat and mouse routine. Always just one step ahead of us, it seems that these birds are playful at best, and always wait until we are in sight before taking flight for another tree a couple of hundred feet further down the shoreline. This handsome female took no notice of our presence on the observation deck at Colonel Samuel Smith Park in Toronto. Read more
It was becoming a habit, it seemed, for Bob and me to wake up between 6-6:30 a.m., and the day following our hike on the Bright Angel Trail was no different. Because our leg muscles were way too spent for any other activity, our intentions were to drive across Arizona into Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park. Once there, we were absolutely in awe of the excellent examples of preserved and protected cliff dwellings once used by Pueblo people. Read more
When Bob and I set off to explore the Atkinson Park Wetlands found at St. John’s Sideroad and Yonge Street in Aurora, Ontario, we expected to find ducks and herons, frogs and toads, but had not anticipated or planned on focusing on a number of interesting insects. As I studied the frogs in the pond, Bob was absorbed in observing a curious black bug that turned out to be a Great Black Digger Wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus). Read more