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
Ragged Falls Under Spring Flooding
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
Eastern Garter Snakes in Whitby’s Thickson’s Woods
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
Osprey return to their nest at Youngs Point
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
Black-Capped Chickadees Excavate A Nest In Thickson’s 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
Bald Eagles With Their Babies At Cootes Paradise
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
Trumpeter Swans Sighted In The Spring At La Salle Park
There is nothing like strutting your stuff, and that is just what several Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) were doing when we showed up on the beach at LaSalle Park in Burlington, Ontario, in the spring of 2013. Read more
Great Horned Owlets In Their Nest In Thickson’s Woods
Bob and I had not gone out to Thickson’s Woods Nature Reserve, in 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
Mink Hunts Muskrats in Ontario Swamp
Bob and I spent one afternoon exploring a marsh near Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. We barely had gotten underway when we spotted a member of the Weasel Family, a Mink, coming towards us, totally unconcerned about our presence in its habitat. Read more
Skunk Cabbage Blooming in Cootes Paradise
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