The World Through Our Lens
They’re back! It seems that trumpeter swans, H11, and her cygnet were just taking a short vacation away from their home pond. When Bob and I cycled to Milliken Park, in Toronto, Friday morning, October 17, the whole family was cruising the pond together. 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
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
Over the summer, Bob and I made numerous trips to Tommy Thompson Park. It all started when we went to look for Monarch Butterfly larvae. On one subsequent trip to the Park, we ventured further out on the Spit than usual and were quite pleased to find an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) perched on a tree stump in the middle of the first large pond. Read more
Of the various Warblers frequenting our backyard one spring, it was the Pine Warblers and this Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) that made the longest stays. We experienced long periods without rain that spring so the water fountain on our property was a real attraction for a lot of migrating birds. Read more
What a delightful day we had birdwatching at Ashbridge’s Bay Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a park we had never visited before. One Sunday this past spring, Bob and I ventured there because it seemed to offer some of the best prospects for seeing migrating birds. Although more expert eyes probably picked out umpteen species, we managed to sight over a dozen ourselves including this little gem, a Palm Warbler. In breeding plumage, its dull red cap is diagnostic. Read more
It had been two weeks since Bob and I first spotted the two Trumpeter Swan cygnets at Milliken Pond, and they seemed to be thriving. We dropped by the park one day to check on their well-being and were thrilled to see them paddling along with nary a care in the world. Read more
After hearing about the scores of different bird species being seen at Ashbridge’s Bay Park in Toronto, Ontario one spring, Bob and I made it our mission to be up and out early one Sunday in mid-May in order to check out the lakeside park where hundreds of birds rest after crossing Lake Ontario. It was not until lunchtime, however, that we unexpectedly came upon two Scarlet Tanagers adjacent to the park’s restaurant parking lot. Read more
How exciting to find that the pair of Trumpeter Swans at our local park in north Scarborough now have two recently-hatched offspring to care for. As Bob and I looked on, the cygnets kept very close to “mom” on the shore of the pond… Read more