Tag: Birds

Great Horned Owlets in Whitby, Ontario

Great Horned Owl mom with two chicks - Thicksons Woods - Whitby - Ontario

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

Osprey return to their nest at Youngs Point

Two Osprey in their nest at Young's Point - Ontario - Canada

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

Bald Eagles With Their Babies At Cootes Paradise

Bald Eagles together in nest - Cootes Paradise Marsh - Hamilton - Ontario

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

Great Horned Owlets In Their Nest In Thickson’s Woods

great horned owl chicks and mother in nest -- - thicksons woods - whitby - ontario

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

Snowshoeing The Spruce Bog Trail In Algonquin Park

With snowshoes on Jean looks for beavers in Algonquin Park

Bob and I had never gone snowshoeing before, so when the chance to try out a pair presented itself, we seized it!  After skiing the Leaf Lake Trail in Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, in the morning, we ventured over to the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail where we knew we could walk out on the bog and really give the snowshoes a workout. Read more

Mountsberg Raptor Centre a world of hawks, owls, and eagles

Bald Eagle landing at the Mountsberg Raptor Centre

Bob and I do not profess to be expert bird watchers, but when we sighted our first ever owl, a Northern Saw-Whet Owl, a fire was lit within us.  To learn more about raptors in general, we decided to take a drive out to the Mountsberg Raptor Centre in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. Read more

Trumpeter Swans On The Shore Of Lake Couchiching

Trumpeter swan A41, Washago, Ontario

Early one spring, on the shores of Lake Couchiching, Bob and I caught up with two members of the trumpeter swan family as they began their migration back to their breeding grounds in central Ontario.

Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) at one time were familiar sights in southern Ontario during periods of migration, but due to over hunting in the 18th and 19th centuries, for their feathers and their skins, as of 1886,  they had vanished from the region.  That year, a hunter at Long Point on Lake Erie shot the last known trumpeter swan that was migrating from the west.

Read more

A Gray Jay in Algonquin Provincial Park

Northern Gray Jay - Algonquin Park - Ontario

Bob and I spent three days skiing and hiking on various trails in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, trying to make the most of the last weeks of winter. We love to go looking for birds and animals, but in this case, on Opeongo Road a Gray Jay came looking for us. Read more

Black-backed Woodpecker In Algonquin Provincial Park

A Black-backed Woodpecker, Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

On one of our winter excursions, Bob and I drove to Algonquin Provincial Park, in Ontario, Canada, where we got to see a Black-backed Woodpecker when hiking along the Spruce Bog Boardwalk Trail. Read more

Great Horned Owl In A Forest In Whitby, Ontario

Great Horned Owl sits with eyes closed 2 - Thickson's Woods - Whitby - Ontario

On a frigid yet sunny winter day, Bob and I ventured out to a forest in Whitby, Ontario, to see if we could spot one of the two Great Horned Owls that makes that forest it’s home. Read more