The World Through Our Lens
April showers bring May flowers, and true to that adage, the forests in Cootes Paradise in Hamilton, Ontario, were already liberally sprinkled with clumps of Round-lobed Hepatica (Anemone Americana). We had been enjoying very warm temperatures in Southern Ontario, and in combination with the odd April shower, it has given rise to these early spring wildflowers. Read more
In the spring of 2013, while communities floundered under the worst spring flooding ever, song birds were flocking to Oxtongue Lake as part of their seasonal migration. What a pleasure it was to see migrating birds such as Purple Finches visiting my dad’s bird feeder just outside the patio door. Read more
Only a week after first photographing the Great Horned owlets in Whitby, Ontario, Bob and I returned to catch up on their progress and development. When we first spotted the mother Owl, she was taking a break from her nesting responsibilities perched at the end of the same branch as that holding the nest. Read more
In the spring of 2013, it was evident that spring was upon us along the shores in Huntsville, Ontario. Not only had the heavy snows of winter 2013/14 all but melted away, but April showers were in full swing. For several days in a row, heavy rains had added to the runoff creating dangerous levels of water and flooding in all bodies of water. Huntsville was one of the worst hit areas when it came to the Flood of Spring 2013. Read more
What promised to be a sunny, warm weekend was anything but that. Instead the rainy weather produced The Spring Flood of 2013 at Oxtongue Lake, in Ontario. Read more
In the spring of 2013, Bob and I happened to be at Oxtongue Lake, Ontario. It was far from a normal spring visit. With the recent warm temperatures, the abundance of late spring snow had all but melted away. This caused substantial and normal runoff conditions, but when combined with the heavy rainfalls, it resulted in volumes of water and Ragged Falls under major flooding on the Oxtongue River. Read more
Bob and I went to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in Whitby, Ontario, one spring, to check on the growth of the Great Horned Owl chicks, but we were treated to wildlife observations of quite a different kind. As Ontario’s spring weather finally started to include warmer days, it was no surprise to discover a number of Eastern Garter Snakes taking advantage of the warmth where direct sunlight penetrated to the forest floor. Read more
We learned one spring that the Osprey had been sighted at Youngs Point, on the Trent-Severn Waterway at Lock 27, a small village just north of Peterborough, Ontario, in Canada. They had returned to their nesting grounds for the season. Read more
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
A pair of Bald Eagles have made their nest in a tall pine tree at Cootes Paradise, part of the Royal Botanical Gardens, in Hamilton, Ontario. Although they have nested in the same area for a number of years, 2013 was the first time that the pair laid eggs, and two eaglets hatched. Read more
