The World Through Our Lens
Earlier this past fall, visitors to Milliken Park in northeast Scarborough would have noticed that only two Trumpeter Swans were inhabiting the main pond where previously there had been a family of four. Tango, the female or pen, was diligently caring for her one remaining cygnet after the untimely death of her other baby in mid-September. Read more
At the height of the past spring’s migration, Bob and I made a plan to check out Ashbridge’s Bay Park at the shoreline of Lake Ontario in Toronto. Hundreds of sightings had been reported there the previous week, so we were up much earlier than usual and on site in the parking lot before the sun’s rays were much above the horizon. It was fairly late in the morning, however, when we discovered this female American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) in the middle of a dense thicket of trees. Read more
Along about mid-summer, Bob and I were interested in exploring some new wetlands that we had come to know about, and one of them was Atkinson Park Wetlands or McKenzie Marsh in Aurora. It is located near St. John’s Sideroad and Yonge Street. Bob and I were delighted to find a series of boardwalks that traversed a good-sized pond and wetland, and these conducted us to a paved trail adjacent to another smaller pond. It is there that we came upon a Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) sitting discreetly on a milkweed leaf. Read more
Come join me on a virtual tour of the magnificent Fall Colours In Algonquin Park this past autumn. Even before we entered the Park, the show of coloured foliage took our breath away. At the boundary of the Park is Park Lake, known to many as Long Lake, and as we passed that way, stretching before us was this tantalizing stretch of highway lined with trees dressed for the season. Read more
The location of our picnic spot along the Mizzy Lake Trail in Algonquin Park, happened to be very ideal next to a pond where we were rewarded with the pleasure of observing this Atlantis Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria atlantis). Read more
One summer, people had been reporting sightings of one, if not two, Juvenile Least Bitterns that have been hanging out at Colonel Samuel Smith Park at the lakeshore in Toronto. Bob and I went to the Park to look for a flutter of Monarch Butterflies one morning, but coming up empty-handed, we turned our attentions to birdwatching. It wasn’t too far from our location on Whimbrel Point that we found one of the Least Bitterns. The bird was much smaller than expected. Read more
As Bob and I cruised along the black tarmac, the air literally shivered with the heat. In the distance, at the base of the Vermilion Cliffs, a mirage appeared complete with stone houses rising up out of the desert sands….or so we thought. This was one of Blanche Russells Rock Houses that was constructed during the Great Depression. Read more
Earlier one summer, Bob and I undertook to hike the Mizzy Lake Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park. It is touted as one of the more difficult trails in the Park but also the trail along which hikers have the best chance of sighting wildlife. The 11-kilometre loop skirts nine small lakes and ponds while passing through dense forest. We enjoyed a clear day with intermittent clouds that gave brief reprieves from the blazing sun that threatened to discourage any wildlife from making a show of themselves along the trail. Still, we sighted many turtles and frogs such as this Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). Read more
Bob and I recently visited Lower Reesor Pond in north Toronto because it is fairly close to our home and the day’s weather was uncertain. There had been recent reports of a Green Heron sighted there, and we were keen to see for ourselves what waterfowl might be on location. One of the birds that pleased us that day was a Solitary Sandpiper. Read more