The World Through Our Lens
One fall, Bob and I were so excited to see what we thought was a new bird sitting on our backyard arbour. Trouble was, we couldn’t find the bird in any of our bird books, so we turned to Toronto and Southern Ontario Birding for their input. It turns out that this beautiful bird is a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Read more
Every spring and again in late summer, Bob and I are graced with the attentions of hummingbirds in our flower garden in Ontario, Canada. This Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) was seen visiting our Butterfly Bush repeatedly over the course of several days. Read more
When Bob and I decided to travel to the Grand Canyon, it was more about seeing the spectacular scenery than anything else, but on our first morning at Grand Canyon National Park, we had an early morning helicopter flight booked at the local heliport. When we emerged from our rental car to check in, our birding instincts took over when we spotted a Mountain Bluebird perched in one of the trees at the edge of the parking lot. Read more
About mid-morning one day, as we traveled along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, Bob and I decided to take a drive over to the North Rim since a couple of highly touted unique features, one being Angel’s Window, are situated on that side of the sprawling gorge. Our progress took longer than expected because of frequent stops to admire the scenery. Finally at our destination, we hastened to take in the views, but were brought up short by the unexpected sighting of a Western Tanager at Cape Royal. Read more
After an hour-long guided hike known as a Fossil Walk at Grand Canyon National Park, Bob and I were returning to Maswik Lodge for lunch by way of the forested area adjacent to Village Loop Drive and the railway track. A brilliant blue flash of colour had us both looking up into one of the pine trees where sat perched a male Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana).
After yet another early morning wake-up call, Bob and I found ourselves fed and watered by 9 a.m., ready for exploration. We enjoyed breakfast at El Tovar Hotel on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, then meandered along the South Rim Trail and investigated Grand Canyon Village. It was there that Bob and I came upon a Lesser Goldfinch nestled in amongst the feathery styles of an Apache Plume plant. Read more
When Bob and I paddled through the extensive wetlands known as Minesing Swamp, one of the highlights was observing dozens of Great Egrets at rest in a stand of long-dead trees. The sight was breathtaking! Read more
Bob and I enjoy making annual trips to Fernwood Farms in Stayner, Ontario, for that is where we pick the biggest, juiciest blueberries that one can imagine. There had been a deluge of rain the day before we visited the farm, and a Solitary Sandpiper was making use of an impromptu pond that had formed at the edge of the cornfield. Read more
Bob and I had been catching glimpses of the Western Scrub Jay since our arrival at Grand Canyon National Park, but it wasn’t until we were on our early morning hike down the Bright Angel Trail that we finally caught sight of a Western Scrub Jay sitting in a tree…stationary enough for us to snap a few quick photos before we continued on our marathon hike. Read more
My husband, Bob, while in the process of putting bird food into the feeders, happened to notice a new visitor to our backyard…a Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta varia), a type of Wood Warbler. Read more
